Good time tonight: reissues, tribute tour, set up The Easybeats teleseries

Easybeats fans have plenty to look forward to this year, with a two-part series, reissues and tribute show all on their way.

In December, ABC TV’s teleseries The Easybeats is expected to draw the huge ratings – plus increased record and DVD sales – enjoyed by similar series around INXS, Peter Allen and “Molly” Meldrum in recent years.

Written byChristopher Lee(Howzat, Paper Giants)and directed byMatthew Saville(Please Like Me, The Slap),The Easybeats has been filming around Sydney, with a concert recreated at the Hordern Pavilion and an empty house in Mosely Street in Strathfield serving as George Young’s family home.

The ABC described The Easybeats as “a story of identity, re-invention and belonging, touching on themes of celebrity and redemption, with a powerful contemporary relevance and a killer soundtrack”.

“While the members of the band each confronted their own sense of self and the loss of identity in pursuit of their success, they came to understand that though they were all from different countries, the sum of the musical parts was quintessentially Australian,” the station said in a statement.

As part of the build-up to the teleseries, Empire Touring has put together theEasyfever tribute show featured Chris Cheney (The Living End), Phil Jamieson (Grinspoon), Kram (Spiderbait), Tex Perkins (The Cruel Sea) and Tim Rogers (You Am I).

The Easyfever band will consist of Jak Housden (The Whitlams), Ashley Naylor (Even), Dario Bortolin (Baby Animals), Dave Hibbard (Joe Bonamassa) and Clayton Doley (Divinyls).

The dates are:

Thursday Dec 14 – Anita’s Theatre, Thirroul

Friday Dec 15 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney

Saturday Dec 16 – Eaton’s Hill Hotel, Brisbane

Tuesday Dec 19 – Forum Theatre, Melbourne

“The Easybeats were not only the best band to ever come out of this country, they are by far the most influential band to ever come out of this country,” Tex Perkinscommented.

Alberts/BMG are also working on a number of Easybeats projects, with more information to be unveiled over the next few months. However, details of a reissue ofthe 43-track Absolute Anthology 1965–1969have been unveiled.

Due for release on October 1, the reissue comes 37 years after theinitial release, with the tracks were remastered by long-time Alberts collaborator Don Bartley from Benchmark Mastering.

Previouslyonly available on vinyl as a 2-LP set, the anthology will be released for the first time on CD (a collection of four discs) and available on digital and streaming. It will also be re-released on vinyl formatat a later date.

The set includes a booklet with facts, discography, bios and trivia on the band, and originally compiled by the late Ted Albert (who signed the band), from their five years together.

The band is best known for their high-selling Friday On My Mind, whichwent to #1 in Australia and the Netherlands, #13 in Canada, #16 in the US, and Top 10 in Germany and France.

In 2001, it was voted Best Australian Song Of All Time by a panel of 100 music industry identities chosen by the Australasian Performing Right Association.