Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons latest to aid Support Act’s Roadies Fund

More acts are coming to the aid of Support Act’s Roadies Fund.

This Sunday (May 31) at 3pm AEST, James Reyne’s Red Hot Sundays livestream from Melbourne’s Corner Hotel donates all proceeds to help crews doing it tough during COVID-19.

Less than 24 hours later, Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons drop their Live At San Remo, NYE 1976.

It’s the fourth instalment of the Australian Road Crew Association’s (ARCA) Desk Tape Series, recorded from the mixing desk.

The Roadies Fund provides financial, health, counselling and well-being services for crews.

Live At San Remo, NYE 1976 was recorded by crew member Dave Ridoutt, on the Victorian surf coast, and captures the original lineup’s blend of soul, R&B, reggae jazz, swamp, blues and rock.

The band consisted of Wayne Burt (guitar, vocals) from Rock Granite and latter-day Daddy Cool, Jeff Burstin (guitar, vocals) from Co. Caine, John Power (bass, vocals) from Foreday Riders and Gary Young (drums, keyboards, vocals) who was an original part of the Daddy Cool phenomenon.

Recalls Camilleri, “They originally invited Stephen Cummings and I, both of us were in a band called The Pelaco Brothers. The deal was Stephen would sing and I would play sax.

“Stephen decided, in the end, to go off and form The Sports but I was in awe of these guys, great musicians who’d been in legendary bands.”

The nickname Giuseppe, the Maltese name for Joseph gave the band its name.

Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons burst out of the box, packing out clubs in weeks, and eventually playing 300 shows a year.

Their appeal was a mix of originals as ‘Beating Around The Bush’, ’King of Fools’ and ‘Dancing Shoes’ and obscure covers like Joe Liggins’ ‘The Honeydripper” and Louis Jordan’s ‘Barnyard Boogie (Boogie In The Barnyard)’ and ‘Saturday Night At The Fish Fry’.

They were wild onstage, with Camilleri in an assortment of zoot suits, scarves and turbans.

The period on the tape, Camilleri says, marked an end of innocence, before a new lineup went on to have hits like ‘Hit and Run’ and ‘Shape I’m In’ and global success.

Live At San Remo, NYE 1976 follows releases from Redgum, TISM and Captain Matchbox with half a dozen more in the pipeline in the next six months.