THE VAMPS
Background information
Australia
pop rock
Origin
Genres
Years
1965-1975
active
Associated
Peaches, Skyz The Limit
acts
vampsoz.blogspot.com
Website
Past
members
Margaret Britt, Kay Gazzard, Judy
Owen, Wendy Walton, Janice Glading,
Jan Little, Merlene Ryder, Elaine
Nielson, Lisa Kay James, Denise
Cooper, Terri Scott, Linda Cable,
Marilyn Ockwell, Julie Hibberd, Carol
Middlemiss, Val Falloon, Joy Carroll,
Mary Kay Kuenzli, Diane Smith, Cheryl
Petrak, Micky Petrak, Nancy
Kuminkovski
The Vamps were the first Australian all-female rock group, formed in April 1965 by guitarist
Margaret Britt.[1][2] Between 1965 and 1969 they toured extensively in Australia, New
Zealand, South East Asia and the Pacific Islands. This included a 6 month tour of US bases in
Vietnam during 1967-8. In 1969 the band left Australia for the United States, and toured
there almost continuously until 1975. Upon returning to Australia they were renamed Peaches
and worked in Australasia and the Pacific through to 1980. Founder of the band and lead
guitarist Margaret Britt continues to perform with Skyz the Limit.[3]
Contents
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1 History
2 Vietnam
3 South East Asia and the Pacific
4 United States
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5 Discography
6 Peaches
7 Margaret Britt
8 References
History
In April 1965 Margaret Britt, following two years performing throughout Australia and New
Zealand in male-led bands, decided to form an all-female rock group. This was at the time a
novel idea, as it was only the previous year that recordings by the first all-girl band of the pop
era - Goldie and the Gingerbreads - had appeared, followed shortly thereafter by The Pleasure
Seekers, featuring a young Suzi Quatro. Britt initially put together a 4-piece band comprising
herself, Kay Gazzard, Wendy Walton and Judy Owen. They performed a mix of
instrumentals and contemporary pop and rock and roll songs. Their first gig was at Stomp
City, AMOCO Centre, Orange in June 1965, where they drew a record crowd of 2030.[4]
Following this a fifth member - Janice Glading (stage name Babs King) - was added on
vocals.[5] The Vamps played the Millers Hotel circuit in Sydney and other venues through to
the end of 1965. They also appeared on the Don Lane television show, performing Twist and
Shout. At one point in late 1965 Richard Neville of OZ magazine fame was considering
managing the band, but he left for London early in 1966. In February of that year Britt put
together a new version of the Vamps, with Jan Little, Merlene Ryder, Elaine Neilson and Lisa
Kay James. They toured extensively throughout eastern Australia, including the show circuit
in Queensland. During September they were joined by Denise Cooper on vocals, following
the departure of Neilson. Whilst performing in Brisbane the Vamps recorded two numbers for
the IN television show on BTQ7, these being House of the Rising Sun and Hanky Panky.[6][7]
Early in 1967 the Vamps were offered a tour of Vietnam and in February Britt put together a
new line-up with Melbourne musicians Linda Cable, Terri Scott and Marilyn Ockwell.[8] This
was short-lived and they only played a few gigs in Melbourne and Sydney. Britt replaced the
three Victorians in July with Julie Hibberd, Carol Middlemiss, Val Falloon and Denise
Cooper. Falloon had recently arrived from England where she had written and produced a
single for Mike Hamilton issued on Decca Records.[9] The Vamps went on to tour Vietnam
between October 1967 and March 1968, with stopovers in Noumea and Singapore on the
way. Following their return to Australia in April 1968 Val Falloon left and was replaced by
Joy Carroll. The band then performed in venues along the east coast before heading off on a
Pacific Islands and South East Asian tour in September. They were away until February
1969, at which point they once again played in Sydney and Melbourne, before leaving for the
United States in May of that year. The Vamps toured as an all-female 4-piece with various
personnel through to March 1971 when Margaret Britt's husband Jon Kirk joined the band
and it was renamed Jon and the Vamps, or Jon and the Australian Vamps. They only ever
played in Australia again during a brief visit in 1972. Upon returning to the United States in
June 1972 the band was expanded to an 8-piece and performed around the country and in
Hawaii continuously until February 1975, with Margaret Britt the only non-American
member. Upon returning to Australia in 1975 Britt's new band adopted the name Peaches.
Vietnam
In September 1967 The Vamps left Australia for a proposed 12 month tour of US military
bases in Vietnam. Their Vietnam tour was at front line bases such as Landing Zone (LZ)
Ross, Danang, where, during a performance on an open air stage in November 1967, the base
was subject to a mortar attack by the Viet Cong, just 200 yards away. The band had to cut
short their performance and were dragged into bunkers by the soldiers until they could be
choppered out to safety. The Vamps performed at numerous bases in Vietnam for both
American and Australian troops, often driving themselves to gigs in a kombi van,
unescorted.[10] Whilst in Saigon Britt was subject to a roof-top sniper attack. In January 1968
the band was awarded a plaque by the US forces for their courage and performance on the
front line.[11] During the Viet Cong Tet Offensive of late January 1968 there was fear in
Australia as to the fate of the band, and a number of newspapers reported on the activities of
consular authorities in locating the Vamps and reporting on their well-being.[12][13] Band
members Carol Middlemiss, Denise Cooper and Julie Hibberd feature in Maria Wallis' 2003
documentary Entertaining Vietnam, which deals with some of the lesser known bands to
entertain the troops, including the Vamps.[14][15] As Carol Middlemiss notes in the interview,
"The audiences were fabulous... We'd finish with the anthem that everyone was playing - We
gotta get out of this place."
South East Asia and the Pacific
Whilst en route to Vietnam, in September 1967 the Vamps performed in Noumea, French
New Caledonia. Upon completion of their tour of US bases in April 1968 they returned home
to Australia via Singapore. In September of that year they undertook a 6 month tour of
Pacific islands and South East Asia which included gigs at Tahiti,[16] Noumea, Taiwan, Subic
Bay in the Phillipines, Bangkok in Thailand[17] and Singapore. They returned to Australia in
February 1969.
United States
The Vamps left Australia in May 1969 for a tour of the United States. The 4-piece initially
comprised Margaret Britt, Carol Middlemiss, Julie Hibberd and Joy Carol. Middlemiss
departed in September and was replaced by American Mary Kay Kuenzli. At the end of 1970
both Carroll and Kuenzli left and were replaced by the Petrak sister, Cheryl and Micky. They
was part of the line-up when the Vamps performed at Tehachapi Prison, California in
February 1971. Shortly thereafter the Petraks left and the band now became Jon and the
Australian Vamps, comprising Margaret Britt, her husband Jon Kirk, Julie Hibberd and
American Diane Smith. This 4-piece worked through to the end of 1971, joined at one stage
by vocalist Nancy Kay. This band recorded a 4-track 7 inch EP in 1971. Following a brief
visit to Australia in April 1972 both Smith and Hibberd left the Vamps. Upon returning to the
States, Britt and Kirk put together an 8-piece band and performed around the country and at
events such as the Kentucky Derby and the Indianapolis 500. They were based out of Green
Bay Wisconsin, but had gigs in Las Vegas, Birmingham, Nashville, St. Petersburg, Lake
Tahoe and Hawaii, to name a few.
Discography
In September 1971 Jon and the Australian Vamps recorded two 7" singles at Reflection
Sound Studios, Charlotte, North Carolina for Jollie Ollie Productions, Kansas. The first single
was Bobby McGee featuring Margaret Britt and Are You Ready featuring Jon Kirk. The
second single comprised It's Too Late featuring Julie Spangler and Feeling Alright featuring
Jon Kirk. Both were released in stereo by the Snyder Album Company.
Peaches
In 1975 Britt and her husband Jon Kirk returned to Australia and upon the recommendation
of a local publicist the name Vamps was dropped and replaced with Peaches. This all-female,
4 piece Australian band toured between 1975-80 and had a number 1 hit in Tasmania with the
single Substitute.[18]
Margaret Britt
Margaret Britt began playing the guitar professionally at hotels in her home town of Orange,
New South Wales, in 1962. She purchased a white Gibson SG from Dave Bridge, a famous
Australian guitarist of the early rock and roll era, and used it through her years with the
Vamps prior to going to the United States.[19] During 1963-4 Britt was a member of a band
which toured parts of Australia and New Zealand with the Showground Agency. Upon
returning to Australia in 1965 Britt decided to form an all-female rock group and put the
Vamps together. Britt played lead guitar, bass guitar, harmonica and organ with the Vamps
through to its demise in 1975. She also played saxaphone whilst with the 8 piece Jon and the
Australian Vamps between 1972-5. After playing with her all-female Peaches between 197580 Britt retired the band, though she continued to perform. She currently works with the band
Skyz the Limit.
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
Ian McFarlane, Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop, Allen & Unwin, 1999.
Wild Girls for hire, OZ magazine, Sydney, December 1965. Accessed 6 June 2014.
Skyz the Limit (website). Accessed 6 June 2014.
Janice Harris, When Orange was Stomp City, Central Western Mail, 9 June 2010.
Accessed 6 June 2014.
5. James Cockington, Mondo Weirdo: Australia During the Sixties, Mandarin Press,
Port Melbourne, 1992.
6. The Vamps on IN. TV Times, 28 September 1966.
7. The Vamps on IN. TV Week, 15 October 1966.
8. Ian D. Marks and Iain MacIntyre, Wild About You: The Sixties Beat Explosion in
Australia and New Zealand, Verse Chorus Press, 2011.
9. Mike Hamilton, The Time is Over / You Wont be Alone Anymore, 45Cat. Accessed 6
June 2014.
10. Marc Leepson, Mara Wallis's Documentary On Show Folk In Vietnam, The VVA
Veteran - The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, March / April 2003.
Accessed 6 June 2014.
11. Jacqueline Smith, The Vamps weren’t afraid of the Viet Cong. Australian Women’s
Weekly, 5 June 1968.
12. Vamps are safe in Saigon, Sun, Sydney, 5 February 1968.
13. Australian Girls Safe. Canberra Times, 6 February 1968.
14. Maria Wallis (dir.), Entertaining Vietnam, 2003, 53 minutes. Accessed 6 June 2014.
15. Entertaining Vietnam (online). Accessed 6 June 2014.
16. Un Orchestre de Femmes. Tahiti, Bonux, 15 October 1968.
17. The Vamps at the Café de Paris. Bangkok World – News of the World and
Community, Sunday 5 January 1969.
18. Peaches, Substitute, Laser Records, 1978. Accessed 6 June 2014.
19. Dave Bridge Quartet, Milesago (website). Accessed 6 June 2014.