The Missing Links

Origins

The Missing Links formed in early 1964 in Sydney, Australia with the line-up of Peter Anson on guitar, Dave Boyne on guitar, Bob Brady on vocals, Danny Cox on drums and Ron Peel on bass guitar (ex-Mystics). With their long hair, according to one venue owner, "they looked like a cross between man and ape" and so were named, the Missing Links (see transitional fossil). In November, the group played a benefit concert to support Oz founders, Richard Neville, Richard Walsh and Martin Sharp. The trio had been charged with obscenity and were awaiting trial.

The first version of the band recorded a single, "We 2 Should Live" which was released in March 1965 on the Parlophone label. By that time, Boyne was replaced on guitar by John Jones (Mystics) and Cox left soon after with New Zealand-born Andy Anderson (as Andy James aka Neville Anderson) joining, initially on drums. The band briefly broke up in July. Peter Anson formed a band, the Syndicate. Bob Brady joined Python Lee Jackson, and Ron Peel joined Brisbane-based group, The Pleazers.

Second lineup

The Missing Links reformed before the end of July with Anderson and Jones joined temporarily by Dave Longmore on vocals and guitar, Frank Kennington on vocals and Col Risby on guitar. Longmore was soon replaced by Doug Ford with Chris Gray joining on keyboards and harmonica, Baden Hutchens on drums and Ian Thomas on bass guitar (both ex-Showmen) completed the line-up of the second version, which was "even more fierce version than the first". During live performances, Anderson would climb walls to hang from rafters, then drive his head into the drums, other band members smashed guitars into speakers and all wore the latest Carnaby Street clothes.

With this totally new lineup, the group signed with Philips Records and released "You're Drivin' Me Insane" in August 1965 followed in September by "Wild About You". Veteran rock 'n' roller, Johnny O'Keefe was not a fan – he banned them from appearing on his television show, Sing Sing Sing. They issued another single in October, "H'tuom Tuhs," which was their version of "Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut," but with the tape reel played on backwards on both sides of the record (as parts 1 and 2). It was followed by their debut album, The Missing Links, in December. According to Allmusic's, Richie Unterberger, "This aggregation cut the rawest Australian garage/punk of the era, and indeed some of the best from anywhere, sounding at their best like a fusion of the Troggs and the early Who, letting loose at times with wild feedback that was quite ahead of its time". In 1966 Baden Hutchins and Ian Thomas would depart. Hutchins, tired of the rock & roll lifestyle, was engaged to be married. Thomas returned to the Showmen, while the remaining members – Anderson, Gray, Ford and Jones – continued with an extended play, The Links Unchained in April 1966. The group disbanded in August.

Later developments

After The Missing Links had disbanded, Anderson and Ford formed Running Jumping Standing Still in Melbourne in August 1966. Anderson later became an actor on Australian and New Zealand television. Ford was lead guitarist in The Masters Apprentices from 1968.

Legacy

Their self-titled 1965 LP was re-issued by Raven Records on vinyl in 1986 and (with a number of bonus tracks) by the Half A Cow label on CD in 2001. The original LP has sold to collectors for as much as A$2000 in August 2004.

The Missing Links have influenced many later Australian punk and hard rock groups, including The Saints who covered "Wild About You" on their first album, (I'm) Stranded (1977). In October 2010, The Missing Links' debut album, The Missing Links was listed in the top 50 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums. In 1965 they released records under two completely different lineups within the space of one year. They were one of the first rock groups to experiment with backward tapes and would do so in 1965, on both sides of their single, "H'tuom Tuhs," almost a year before the Beatles' experiments during the Revolver sessions.

Members