MAGIC

NEW FACES TO WATCH
Cold Chisel
Conflict and controversy, it seems, has
dogged Australian rock group Cold
Chisel's path to the top of the charts "down
under" from day one. Starting out as a
cover band formed by physics student and
keyboardist Don Walker and guitarist Ian
Moss in Adelaide during the mid -'70s, the
quintet (which completed its current lineup
of vocalist Jimmy Barnes, drummer
Steve Prestwich and bassist Phil Small by
1976) took to life on the road in Oz out of
necessity. Adversity and constant touring,
however, shaped Cold Chisel into a hard,
lean and very popular band in its homeland
... with at least two top -selling LPs, last
year's "East" and the live "Swingshift" set,
to show for its efforts.
"We've been together about eight years,
and built a live following throughout
Australia and New Zealand before we sold a
single record," says Barnes, who serves as
one of the group's primary spokesmen.
"Playing live has always been our forte.
We're not a heavy rock band, but we're big
on energy."
The local Adelaide pub circuit, however,
was not enough to sustain the band and its
ambitions, and by 1977, Cold Chisel had
moved to Sydney and put together enough
original material (mostly written by Walker)
to be signed by WEA. The first hurdle
passed, the band immediately encountered
resistance from radio to its first
single, "Khe Sahn," a poignant and painful
look at the life of a returned Vietnamese vet.
Despite a lack of airplay, the single went
Top 20.
"Now, radio in Australia has come to expect
certain lyrical content from us," says
Don Walker with a satisfied grin. "They
know that they can't ban us anymore."
The band's self -titled debut LP was
released in April 1978, and its profile in the
media increased considerably, aided by
press reports of a hard -living lifestyle on
the road. But, according to the band,
stories of all-night groupie gropes and
vodka baths were greatly exaggerated,
although it didn't hurt the band's reputation
or album sales.
"It's been a bit overdone," notes Barnes,
who remains rather soft-spoken in interview.
"The whole image thing of being bad
boys really came about because we haven't
conformed with the music industry."
Be that as it may, "Cold Chisel" went gold
in Oz, and the 1979 follow-up, "Breakfast At
Sweetheart's," went platinum. The next
record, "East," though, was both Cold
Chisel's critical and commercial
breakthrough. The band's music began to
reflect a new maturity, with Small, Moss and
Prestwich contributing some excellent
compositions. The new diversity, in terms
of songwriting, plus Aussie producer Mark
Opitz' polished, but not too slick production,
made "East" the band's most successful
album. It also convinced
Elektra/Asylum to sign the unit, finally giving
Cold Chisel its meal ticket to America.
"From our first rehearsals in Australia,
our goal was to establish ourselves in
America," states Walker. "It's obvious to us
that it'll be a long haul. We're starting from
scratch again, essentially. But we feel that
makes you work harder. The fans back in
Australia pin so much hope on groups coming
over here that the pressure to succeed
can be a little intense. But we'll just go at it
with what we have to offer ... a good stage
show and a lot of determination."
Duran Duran
"This band is all about getting people to
enjoy themselves," says Simon Le Bon,
vocalist with Capitol recording group Duran
Duran. "The punk thing - standing on a
soapbox and shouting out social comments
- was really boring and kind of depressing.
We're saying, 'We're alive. 'We're going to go
out and dance and do something. Enjoy
ourselves while we can.' "
Although Duran Duran (the name comes
from a character in the film Barbarella and
has nothing whatsoever to do with a certain
Latin American boxer) has been
categorized as one of Britain's New Romantic
groups due to its high -chic look and
emphasis on the beat, Le Bon denies that
either he or the group are part of any movement.
"That whole scene definitely came out of
London," declares the Birmingham -based
Le Bon. "But since fashion is one of my hobbies
- I've always been surrounded by it,
always influenced by it - we got roped in
with it. Actually, we tend to want to stay
away from that scene because the whole
thing's like a big sausage machine. All the
ingredients get shoved in at one end and
something neatly wrapped comes out the
other end. That's what London is like at the
moment."
How, then, would Le Bon describe Duran
Duran? "We're a dance band. And we're
five individuals. Roger Taylor, the drummer,
is as steady as a metronome. John
Taylor, the bassist, plays in a really funky,
syncopated, black -feeling style. Andy
Taylor is a maniacal guitarist; he moves
around so much that sometimes we have to
nail him down to the stage. Nick Rhodes is
our keyboard player, but he doesn't like being
called that; he prefers 'noisemaker.' He
mainly uses his instruments to create atmosphere."
(The three Taylors, incidentally,
are not related.)
Duran Duran began in 1978 as an avant
garde trio and slowly evolved into its present
form. Le Bon, a Londonder who was
studying drama at Birmingham University,
completed the line-up just a year ago. "After
I had been with the band about a
month," Le Bon relates, "we felt it was a
good time to get a record deal."
Le Bon says the band sought only large
record companies, preferring them over
the many small labels that have proliferated
in England because "we thought we
needed a bit of money behind us." After
making "countless demos" and aggresively
seeking a deal, but receiving "pretty cool
reactions" from the labels, the group
altered its strategy. "We said, 'What are we
chasing them for? They should be chasing
us.' And after we took that attitude and held
back, they did start coming to us," Le Bon
says with satisfaction. "The longer we
waited to sign, the better the offers got. At
the end, we were able to choose between
three greal deals. We finally went with EMI."
With Duran Duran's first single, "Planet
Earth," a dance -rock smash worldwide,
and its self -titled debut album entering the
English charts at #9, the group was picked
up here by Capitol, with the album being
released in June. The group plans to tour
America in late August. "We'd love to
become popular," Le Bon says. "With popularity
comes credibility and a vehicle for
putting your own ideas over."
In a nutshell, Le Bon concludes, Duran
Duran's idea is, "Enjoy yourself. That's all
there is to it."
ARTIST PROFILE
Barbara Mandrell: Crossing
Over To Mass Appeal Via TV
by Tom Roland
NASHVILLE - Barbara Mandrell has long
been recongnized as a dominant figure in
country music - as evidenced by her five
consecutive nominations as Country Music
Assn. (CMA) Female Vocalist of the Year.
She captured that prize in 1979, yet it was
not until 1980, when she copped the honor
for Entertainer of the Year, that she finally
received the accolades due her abilities as
an overall performer.
After her family -oriented variety show,
Barbara Mandrel! and the Mandrell Sisters,
debuted in its Saturday night slot last
November on NBC, Barbara walked off with
the Entertainer of the Year award from the
Academy of Country Music (ACM), and,
along with her sisters, Louise and Irlene,
captured an astonishing five Music City
News Cover awards last month.
Mandrel) is quick to note the role television
can play in a career. "It has really
helped me reach more people," she says. "I
think about my concerts - I average at
least 100-200 a year, with about 10,000
people a concert, when you count all the little
theaters and big halls. That's a lot of people
in a year. But one night on television -
you're talking 30 or 40 million."
Warner Records
Reacquires Entire
Tucker Catalog
LOS ANGELES - Warner Bros. Records
has reacquired the entire Marshall Tucker
Band album catalog. The label, which formerly
administered six albums in the
catalog of the Spartanburg, S.C.-based
band under an earlier agreement with
Capricorn Records, will now be releasing
eight of the band's LPs during 1981.
The first release, scheduled for Sept. 23,
will include the group's debut, "Marshall
Tucker Band," as well as "Where We All
Belong," "Searchin' For A Rainbow,"
"Carolina Dreams" and "Greatest Hits" (not
previously distributed by Warner Bros.).
The second release, set for later this
year, will include three Marshall Tucker
Band albums to be Included In the Warner
Bros. $5.98 catalog. Titles are "A New Life,"
"Long Hard Ride" and "Together Forever,"
the latter title not previously in the Warner
Bros. catalog.
The potential of the television market
brought forth more energy than could be
expected from the slight 5'2" singer. While
learning the TV trade, Mandrell Involved
herself as much as possible in all aspects of
the industry - acting, writing and directing.
Working 14-16 hours a day, seven days
a week, her tendencies toward "workaholism"
put such a strain on her
prestigious voice that a doctor was placed
in charge of protecting her vocal chords
from the dreaded nodes associated with
over -engaged larynxes. Her efforts were
well -rewarded, however, by that vast unseen
inquisitor dubbed "viewing audience"
that hands out passing or failing grades
through the guise of the Nielson ratings.
Stitt Competition
"We, almost without exception, took #1 in
our time period," states Mandrell, who, with
good reason, is not ashamed to point out
the competition her show was able to stave
off. "We had our nerve-racking moments,
like when we first moved Into our regular
time slot," she recalls. "We had a new show
against us, and we had one of my favorite
shows against us - Tim Conway. The new
show I'm not going to mention because if
went off the air.
"The other networks kept throwing other
shows against us - they put Eight Is
Enough against us. Now I understand
they're going to move it. They put Charley's
Angels against us; they put Love Boal
against us. I think that says a lot for the
(continued on page 24)
LULU IS BACK - Alfa Records has signed recording artist Lulu. "I Could Never Miss You
(More Than I Do)" is her first single for the label, and it will be followed by an album next
month. Pictured standing at the signing are (!-r): Keven Keogh, Alfa vice president of
promotion; John Frieda, Lulu's husband; Lorne Sailer, Alfa vice president of A&R; Bot
Fead, Alfa president; Pete Jones, Alfa vice president of promotion; and Hide Katada, assistant
to Fead. Shown seated are (l -r): Marion London, Lulu's manager; and Lulu.
8 Cash Box/July 18, 19