Glenn Shorrock | Long Play Series

Born in Kent, England in 1944, Glenn Shorrock and his family migrated to Australia during the 1950s as part of the ‘Ten Pound Pom’ program. He would go on to become an influential figure in the Australian music industry as a singer and songwriter, performing with some of the country’s most influential bands including The Twilights, Axiom, Little River Band and Birtles Shorrock Goble.

As a member of The Twilights, Shorrock experienced early success with a string of hits including with a cover version of ‘Needle In a Haystack’ in 1966. When the group disbanded in 1969, Shorrock formed ‘supergroup’ Axiom with Brian Cadd and Don Mudie of The Groop, Doug Lavery of The Valentines and Chris Stockley of Cam-Pact. The band released two highly acclaimed local albums, “Fool’s Gold” and “If Only…”, however success in the United Kingdom eluded them.

Upon his return to Melbourne in 1974, Shorrock joined Mississippi, who changed their name to Little River Band and became one of Australia’s most successful international bands of all time. During the 1970s, the band scored hits with the Shorrock-penned ‘Help Is On Its Way’ and ‘Cool Change’ and in 1978 became the first Australian band to earn a certified Gold Record in the United States.

Glenn Shorrock is one the few artists to be represented twice in the ARIA Hall of Fame having been inducted in 1991 as a solo artist, and in 2004 as a member of Little River Band.

In this interview with Brian Nankervis, Glenn Shorrock discusses his first band, The Checkmates, his experiences with ‘supergroup,’ Axiom, and the international success of Little River Band.

Interviewer: Brian Nankervis
Location: Melbourne Room, Arts Centre Melbourne, 2017

For more Australian Music Vault stories and information visit https://www.australianmusicvault.com.au/

As part of our commitment to capturing and sharing great Australian music stories, the Australian Music Vault asked some of the country’s most influential trailblazers and unsung heroes to open up about their lives in music.