The Allusions were one of the most stylish and inventive of Sydney’s 1960s beat groups.
The band issued six singles; Gypsy Woman (March 1966), The Dancer (July 1966), Looks Like Trouble (October 1966), Roundabout (February 1967), Seven Days Of Rain (July 1967) and Mr Love (January 1968), plus one excellent – and very rare – self-titled album through EMI/Parlophone (January 1967).
Bruce Davis replaced Terry Chapman on bass in July 1966, in time to appear on the album. Chapman went on to join one of America’s first psychedelic trios, The Knack (not the band of My Sharona fame).
Gypsy Woman and the Mike Morris/Bruce Davis-penned The Dancer were both Top 10 hits in Sydney and are rightly regarded as Australian 1960s classics. The Dancer owed a debt to The Beatles‘ arrangement of I’m Happy Just To Dance With You but is a superb stand-out track all the same.
The Allusions also included a tough cover of The Kinks‘ R&B stomper I Gotta Move on their album.
Morris left the band in late 1967 to be replaced briefly by John Spence. The band then continued on as a four-piece until October 1968 when Terry Hearne joined Digger Revell’s backing band. Morris returned but, having failed to adapt to the prevailing winds of psychedelia, the band finally called it a day in 1969.
Chris Bailey (ex-The Saints) recorded a version of Gypsy Woman in 1981.
Michael Morris
Guitar, vocals
Terry Hearne
Guitar, vocals
John Shaw
Organ, vocals
Terry Chapman
Bass
Kevin Hughes
Drums
Bruce Davis
Bass
John Spence
Guitar, vocals
Video
Related Posts
Montanas, The Formed in Wolverhampton (England) in 1964, The Montanas never found significant success in their home country but had one moderate…
Royal Guardsmen, The Formed in Ocala, Florida and originally known as The Posmen, the band adopted their new anglophile moniker during the British…
Bachelors From Prague Melbourne-based Bachelors From Prague formed in 1985 and played an infectious blend of 1940s jazz, 1950s R&B, 1970s funk and…
Black Diamonds, The/Tymepiece The Black Diamonds hailed from Lithgow (NSW, Australia), evolving out of rockabilly band Johnny Kett's Black Diamonds in 1965. Managed…
M.P.D. Limited M.P.D. Limited had one of the most meteoric rises in the history of Australian rock and pop. Formed from the…
Love Love emerged from Los Angeles early in 1966 - one of the first groups to show what was to come…
Throb, The Drummer Pete Figures and guitarist Marty Van Wynk had been playing together in various groups around Sydney (Australia) for some…
Little Pattie During the early years of Australian Rock & Roll, the scene was almost entirely male-dominated. As the beat softened and…
