Finch (Australian band)
| Finch | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Stillwater, Contraband |
| Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | Hard rock, pub rock |
| Years active |
|
| Labels | Picture, Rainbow, Eagle, CBS/Epic, Portrait |
| Associated acts | AC/DC, Skyhooks, The Angels |
| Past members | see Members list below |
Finch were an Australian hard and pub rock band, initially forming as Stillwater in 1972. By 1973 they had changed their name with the line-up of Peter McFarlane on drums, Owen Orford on lead vocals, Bob Spencer on lead guitar, and Tony Strain on bass guitar. They won a 2SM/Pepsi Pop Poll, earning a contract with Picture Records to release their debut single, "And She Sings" in January 1974. Their first album, Thunderbird, appeared in May 1976. In March of the following year Spencer left to join Skyhooks and the group went through various line-ups to settle with McFarlane and Orford joined by Mark Evans (ex AC/DC) on bass guitar. Their second album, Nothing to Hide, was issued in March 1978. Upon attempting to enter the international market they changed their name to Contraband by October that year. They issued a self-titled album in May of the next year but disbanded later in 1979.
Stillwater formed in 1972 in Sydney as a hard rock band and by the following year had changed their name to Finch. The line-up of Finch was Peter McFarlane on drums, Owen Orford on lead vocals, Bob Spencer on lead guitar, and Tony Strain on bass guitar. They won a 2SM/Pepsi Pop Poll, earning a contract with Picture Records. The group released their first single, "And She Sings", in January 1974 while Spencer was still in high school. Finch contributed to the soundtrack album for the surfing film, Drouyn (August 1974), which featured world champion, Peter Drouyn. Finch's tracks, "Sail Away", "Lady of Truth" and "Roses" were used in contrast to "jazzy incidental material".The Canberra Times' Michael Foster noted the "sound is no less compelling, and perhaps is more evocative because it is less insistent on the one beat and theme".
The band worked in the pub rock circuit and released a self-financed album, Thunderbird, in May 1976 on Eagle Records. It was produced by John Zulaikha (Buffalo), Brian Todd (their manager) and the band. Tony Catterall of The Canberra Times felt it was "not without its merits" as the group "are always at least exuberant", however "[it] suffers sadly from a lack of originality (Free, Status Quo and Black Sabbath influences abound), naivety in the lyrics and poor production". Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, noted the group "had a good deal of English-flavoured blues and hard rock buzzing around in their systems". In December they released a single, "Short Changed Again", which peaked at number 29 on the Sydney chart. As the single gained notice their distribution company foundered.
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