Flake (band)
| Flake | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | Pop, rock |
| Years active | 1968–1974, 1989–1991 |
| Labels | Violet's Holiday/Festival |
| Associated acts | Mr Madness, Blackfeather |
| Past members | see Personnel |
Flake were an Australian pop and rock group which formed in 1968. They released an album, How's Your Mother!, in December 1971 on the Violet's Holiday label, distributed by Festival. The group appeared on the Go-Set National Top 60 singles chart with cover versions of Bob Dylan's "This Wheel's on Fire" (July 1970), Marmalade's "Reflections of My Life" (January 1971), Vanda and Young's "Life is Getting Better" (June 1971) and Honeybus' "Under the Silent Tree" (November 1971). The group disbanded in 1974 but reunited in 1989 to support a compilation album, Reflections: The Festival File Volume Thirteen, before breaking up again in 1991.
Flake formed in late 1968 in Sydney with the line-up of Lindsay Askew on guitar, Denise Gaines on lead vocals, Mick Gaul on bass guitar, Geoff Gray on lead vocals (ex-Eli), Sharon Sims on lead vocals, Wayne Thomas on drums (ex-Plastic Tears) and Rob Toth on keyboards. They were named for the Small Faces' album, Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake (May 1968) and performed their first gig at Shrublands Hall, Marrickville on 14 November of that year. Subsequently the group underwent regular changes to its line-up.
Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described their musical style "From swinging 1960s pop'n'soul to early 1970s progressive rock, Sydney band Flake tried its hand at just about every musical genre of the day. Flake was one of the first Sydney club bands to play note-for-note renditions of early Traffic, Spooky Tooth, Deep Purple and Vanilla Fudge material. Certainly possessed of a wealth of talent, the band mostly found success with a string of glossy pop singles."
During 1970 Flake signed with the Du Monde label's imprint, Violet's Holiday, which was distributed by Festival Records. Their first charting single, "Wheels on Fire" (July 1970), is a cover version of Bob Dylan's original. It peaked at No. 20 on the Go-Set National Top 60 and remained on the charts for 22 weeks. According to McFarlane "Flake's rise on the pop charts coincided with the 1970 radio ban on British and major-label Australian records which lasted for six months" (see 1970 radio ban). "Wheels on Fire" also appeared on Go-Set's end of year singles chart at No. 44.
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