Doug Ford | |
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Fête de la Musique, Brisbane, June 2010
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Background information | |
Birth name | Douglas John Ford |
Born |
Casino, New South Wales, Australia |
26 January 1945
Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
Years active | 1965–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts |
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Website | facebook |
Douglas John "Doug" Ford (born 26 January 1945, Casino) is an Australian rock guitarist and songwriter since the mid-1960s. He was lead guitarist of rock n roll group, the Missing Links (1965–66), then during 1968–72, he joined the pop-rock band, the Masters Apprentices. He established a writing partnership with that group's lead singer, Jim Keays. Ford participated in some of the reunions of the Masters Apprentices from 1988 to 1991 and 1997. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1998 the group were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
Douglas John Ford was born in Casino, New South Wales on 26 January 1945. In Sydney in late July 1965 Ford became the guitarist and vocalist of the second incarnation of rock n roll group, the Missing Links. Fellow members were Andy Anderson on lead vocals, John Jones on guitar, Dave Longmore on vocals and guitar, Frank Kennington on vocals and Col Risby on guitar. Ford wrote "Hobo Man" for the group.
When the Missing Links disbanded in August 1966 Ford and Anderson formed the Running, Jumping, Standing Still (a.k.a. RJSS) as an R&B group in Melbourne with Rick Dalton on bass guitar (ex-The Pink Finks) and Ian Robinson on drums. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, they "made a name for themselves as the feedback kings of the Melbourne scene, and alongside The Purple Hearts, the RJSS was one of the most exciting live acts of the day."
In March 1967 RJSS issued a cover version of Bo Diddley's "Diddy Wah Diddy" as a single on the Sunshine label. By that time the line-up was Ford with Doug Lavery on drums, Peter Newing on lead vocals and John Phillips on bass guitar. Their second single, "She's So Good to Me", appeared in August with the line-up of Ford, Burgess and Ian Ferguson on bass guitar and Mick Elliott on drums. By the end of that year the group had disbanded.
In February 1968 Ford, as lead guitarist, backing singer and songwriter, joined pop-rock band, the Masters Apprentices, which had formed in Adelaide in 1965; they relocated to Melbourne in February 1967. He established a writing partnership with the group's lead singer and founding mainstay, Jim Keays.