The Coloured Balls' Lobby Loyde R.I.P.

Only months after the passing of Billy Thorpe, Australia has lost the other major cornerstone in its early hard rock scene; guitarist Lobby Loyde of the great Coloured Balls died Saturday in Melbourne after a long battle with lung cancer. We've already waxed plenty on the boogie guitar destruction that is the recent reissue of Ball Power, but once again you could do a lot worse that picking up that, his Heavy Metal Kid reissue, and the Lobby Loyde Plays With George Guitar discs. Starting off in 1963 with various combos including the Stilletos, Purple Hearts, Wild Cherries, and Thorpe's early Aztecs, Lobby took his amazing guitar playing through many phases from straightforward R&B through acid psych and spacerock soundtracks and schooled countless countrymen for years to come. "G.O.D.", aka "Guitar Overdose" (Real Audio) was recorded in a giant outdoor festival in Australia and perfectly sums up the live power at this man's disposal. And the epic "That's What Mama Said" (Real Audio) got some props in this hemisphere when Stephen Malkmus encored with it live. R.I.P. Lobby.

Comments

[chris galea]

Rock In Peace..lobby..first saw them memorial hall sunbury ,johnny miglans ,bass was a local, so they did a warm up gig in town ..i was twelve ,there was a huge sharpie following, youth subculture mainly melb suburbs gangs,dangerous ,exiting for a kid.. on come the balls, crowd goes off, loud power...ballpower..survived the night my introduction to rock n roll ...make it home.... mum! i dont wanna play trumpet anymore...life changed....last saw lob and thorpy,oct 2006. doncaster with my son... god bless the coloured balls ...oz rock is grouse.. chris galea jacksons creek boogie band...sunbury..

[chris galea]

...b t w if u can get a copy of "summer JAM album ,live lobby thorpie leo de castro and friends,giving it shit.. great boogie blues rocking ...thorpie the vox...circa 73..get it....

[alan]

Here is a cool video clip circa '74 of the scene built around the Sharpies in australia, their look is a pre-punk style very much like the Jook, amazed to see kids with mohawks this far back too, the song playing sounds like Jook's 'Rumble', check out the - 70s invasion - for info on related music of the 1970s, specifically pre-punk -

http://crazeekids-music.blogspot.com/search?q=sharpies

http://www.angelfire.com/vt2/70sinvasion/