Birtles Shorrock Goble

History

Birtles, Shorrock and Goble were vital members of popular Australian bands prior to forming Little River Band.

Birtles (born 28 November 1948 in The Netherlands) was part of Zoot and Mississippi. Shorrock (born 30 June 1944 in England) provided lead vocals for The Twilights and Axiom. Goble (born 15 May 1947 in Australia) was a member of several bands including Allison Gros, Drummond and Mississippi.

The concept of Little River Band was formulated in London in late 1974. The band was constituted in Melbourne and performed for the first time in Ballarat in March 1975.

Little River Band became one of Australia's first supergroups, achieving gold and platinum awards for multi-million international record sales, Top 10 hits in the US for five consecutive years (1978–1982), and headlining concerts worldwide. Songs written and sung by Birtles, Shorrock and Goble continue to be played around the world more than 42 years after they were recorded:

Departure from Little River Band

Each of these three original members of Little River Band left the band at different times and for different reasons. Shorrock left first in 1982 to pursue a solo career and as a consequence of increasing tensions between band members. He was replaced as lead vocalist by John Farnham.

"Basically I was told that my commitment to the group was not 100% and they wanted more commitment from their lead singer. I said I wanted to do some other things and that the songs were running down. I thought we needed to broaden our horizons a bit but that wasn't to be at that time. I was technically sacked. Beeb, Graeham, and Derek [Pellicci] wanted John Farnham in. [I] was thinking about doing solo albums and some other things with my mates." Glenn Shorrock (2003)

Birtles departed in 1983; his commitment as a born-again Christian had estranged him from some of the other band members and he was unhappy with the direction and management of the band.

"Being a Christian I couldn't lie to them: I had to honestly say, 'My heart isn't here anymore and for that reason I have to leave'. The moment I said that I felt the load lift." Beeb Birtles (1989)

Goble retired from the band, first as a touring member (in 1989) and subsequently altogether by 1992.

"Little River Band no longer had a recording contract and there was no immediate possibility of recording. I always preferred recording to 'live work' and when the future of the band appeared to be just playing the greatest hits for the rest of its life, then I knew it was time for me to leave." Graeham Goble (1997)

In 1986, Farnham left the band and LRB effectively split-up. Glenn Shorrock returned to a re-formed Little River Band in 1987. Shorrock left a second time in early 1996 over a dispute about touring.

"My fellow directors of Little River Band at the time wanted to do a five-month tour. I felt that a three-month commitment was sufficient. They had another agenda and I was informed by fax that they would be employing a substitute vocalist in my place. I attempted to stop them, I sought advice, stepped down, and accepted a financial settlement in lieu of earnings." Glenn Shorrock (2005)

Following their departures from the band, Birtles, Shorrock and Goble continued to maintain careers in the music industry.

Birtles settled in the United States and continued to write songs. Along with Bill Cuomo, he formed a production company, Sonic Sorbet, and released a solo album Driven by Dreams in 2000.

Shorrock returned to his solo career, including stage shows, corporate gigs, and a career retrospective concert program. He released two solo albums, Spin Me 'Round and Meanwhile ... Acoustically.

Goble moved back to his passion: recording. Using some of the best session musicians available, he meticulously crafted four albums: Broken Voices, Nautilus, Stop and The Days Ahead, albums which reflected his thorough and fastidious recording technique.

Reformation

On 28 May 2001, Shorrock and Goble were seated at the same table at the Australian APRA Awards. Old animosities were forgotten as they realised that their respective careers were inextricably linked. A reunion was first discussed after record producer Paul Rodger approached Graeham Goble and Derek Pellicci with interest from Warner Music to produce a video concert like the Eagles' Hell Freezes Over. Subsequent telephone calls to Birtles and Shorrock confirmed that they, too, were not averse to a reunion.

The initial plans provided for Birtles, Shorrock, Goble, Pellicci, David Briggs, and George McArdle to re-form under the band name The Original Little River Band. Those plans were quickly frustrated when former Little River Band manager Glenn Wheatley told Birtles, Shorrock, and Goble that things would be a lot easier if they reformed on their own. It was determined that the name Little River Band and associated logos had been transferred by Wheatley and Goble to a company owned by LRB lead guitarist Stephen Housden without the permission of the other members of the band. (See Legal battles.)

Wheatley decided that the three singer/songwriters would henceforth appear as Birtles Shorrock Goble: The Founding Members of Little River Band. ("Not BSG," said Shorrock, "it sounds like something you get at a Chinese restaurant.")

After 7373 days apart, the first public performance of the reformed group occurred on 1 March 2002 at the Australian Grand Prix Ball. The hour-long set of twelve songs reprised many of their international hits.

In March 2003 Birtles Shorrock Goble appointed Paul Rodger as their manager and signed a recording contract with Universal Music Australia.

Legal battles

The seeds of future legal conflict were sown in 1987: with a new line-up and new recording company, the members of Little River Band formed a "clean slate" company known as We Two Pty Ltd. The five band members at that time were made equal shareholders. Band assets, including the name and logo, were transferred into this company. Goble acknowledges that mistakes were made:

"The LRB name was never 'for sale'. It was lost to Stephen Housden because of a legal document that transferred the name to We Two Pty. Ltd. The name should have been licensed, not transferred. We were ill-advised and totally unaware of what we were leaving behind." Graeham Goble (2005)

As the other members left over time, by 1997 Stephen Housden was the sole remaining member and ownership of We Two Pty Ltd (including rights to the name Little River Band) passed to him. He formed a new band which, with various personnel changes, is called the Little River Band and continues to tour North America.

When Birtles, Shorrock and Goble initially proposed to re-form as The Original Little River Band, Housden asserted his rights to the name and took the matter to the Federal Court of Australia. In an out-of-court settlement, it was agreed that Birtles, Shorrock and Goble would not use the trade mark (name) or logo as the name of their band, or in the name of their band, but "shall be entitled to refer prominently but always only in a descriptive way in promotional and advertising material, to the fact that they were members of the original line up of the Little River Band".

Loss of access to the LRB name for Birtles, Shorrock and Goble came as a shock to many fans and received considerable attention in the Australian media.

The settlement would be tested repeatedly, including the blocking of a Little River Band retrospective DVD put together by Birtles, Shorrock and Goble. Housden also challenged the manner in which BSG described their link to LRB in promotional material and recordings. Further legal action ensued in Australia and in the United States.

When the Full Circle DVD was released in the United States, a marquee reference to Little River Band on the cover was digitally altered to "?????? ????? ????".

Touring

With Birtles residing in the United States and members having solo commitments, opportunities for touring have been limited. Birtles Shorrock Goble have presented more than 70 live performances since 2002 including seven Australian tours, corporate events, and television shows.

In August–September 2007 Birtles Shorrock Goble toured Australia with the Countdown Spectacular 2, which reacquainted Australian fans with many of the outstanding performers who appeared on the iconic television program Countdown. Birtles Shorrock Goble were given penultimate billing before Rick Springfield, Birtles' former bandmate in Zoot. BSG performed a medley consisting of eight of their most famous hits.

Birtles Shorrock Goble's most recent performance was on 27 September 2007 as part of the 2007 AFL Grand Final.

Hiatus

Since 2007, there have been no further Birtles Shorrock Goble shows. While there has never been an official announcement of Birtles Shorrock Goble disbanding, when asked in 2010 if they would perform again, Shorrock replied "No... The door is locked, but I have the key... I don't feel the need to go back and be married to those guys again. We had a stormy marriage [but] a great marriage."

Full Circle

Since reforming, Birtles Shorrock Goble have released a major live DVD and CD. Recorded over two nights at The Forum in Melbourne, Australia, before packed houses, Full Circle showcased all of the hits made famous by the singers and songwriters of Little River Band, together with album tracks performed during a mid-concert acoustic set. New songs written by each of the members were also introduced.

Full Circle was produced by Birtles Shorrock Goble manager Paul Rodger and mixed by longtime supporter and friend Michael Costa at Stream AV Studios in Melbourne.

Credits:

Awards

Birtles Shorrock Goble have achieved awards for songwriting, live performance, and recording sales since they reformed:

Musicians

Since forming in 2002, Birtles Shorrock Goble have used a small nucleus of support musicians who have mastered the original LRB sound.