Ted Mulry (2 September 1947 – 1 September 2001) was a singer, songwriter, bass player and guitarist. He was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England but achieved his success in Australia, firstly as a solo performer, and then leading his own band Ted Mulry Gang, sometimes officially credited as just TMG.
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Solo
Ted Mulry first came to the attention of the music industry when he sent a demo of some of his own compositions to Albert Productions in Sydney. He was persuaded to be recorded himself and soon rose to fame as a solo singer/songwriter with his own composition, the pop ballad "Julia", which made the Australian charts in 1970. He then went on to score a major hit with The Easybeats songwriting team, Harry Vanda & George Young song, "Falling In Love Again" in 1971. He was a prolific songwriter and a number of bands and artists, such as John Farnham and Alison MacCallum, recorded his songs, the most notable being rock band Sherbet, who had a hit with his song, "You're All Woman". He travelled to England briefly in 1972 and recorded one single there under the name Steve Ryder but returned to Australia soon after. During his time as a solo artist he released two albums, Falling In Love Again and I Won't Look Back.
Ted Mulry Gang
After getting tired of being backed by different backing bands, in 1972 he switched from acoustic guitar to bass and formed his own band, Ted Mulry Gang, with guitarist Les Hall & drummer Herman Kovacs. The band signed a recording deal with Albert Productions in 1974 and released their first album Here We Are. Guitarist Gary Dixon joined around this time to complete the foursome. With his own band behind him he adopted a more hard rockin' style.
Their first major hit, and the biggest of their career was the 1975 single "Jump in My Car" which spent 6 weeks at number one on the Australian singles charts in 1976. It was the second single released from the Here We Are album produced by John L Sayers at Trafalgar Studios. Over the next few years they achieved a string of hit singles including a rocked up version of the old jazz song, "Darktown Strutters' Ball", "Crazy", "Jamaica Rum" and "My Little Girl". Many of TMG's songs, including "Jump In My Car", were co-written with guitarist Les Hall. By late 1980 their chart success had ended but they remained popular performers on the Australian pub circuit. In 1989, after some time apart, the Ted Mulry gang reformed, releasing the album "Re-Union" for Albert, on Sony. This release also marked the first release of the Ted Mulry Gang on compact disc. Other CD reissues would follow in the early 90's.
In 1998 Ted released a solo CD called This Time featuring songs co-written by himself and his brother Steve Mulry. In early 2001 Ted Mulry announced that he had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Gimme Ted, a series of tribute concerts organized shortly before his death, brought together an assortment of Australian rock acts of his era to pay tribute to him. These included a reunion of his band Ted Mulry Gang with his brother Steve Mulry standing in for him as lead vocalist. Steve now fronts the rock band Black Label [1] and performs at many venues, around New South Wales and Victoria, often supporting bands such as The Angels.
In January 2006, David Hasselhoff recorded a version of Ted's classic "Jump In My Car' whilst in Australia. Hasselhoff's version was subsequently released in the UK and went to #3 in the charts there in October 2006.
Discography of Australian Singles and Albums
Vinyl Singles
As Ted Mulry Solo:
- Julia / So much in love Feb 1970 Parlophone A9097
- Falling in love again / Louisa Feb 1971 Albert AP9338
- Marcia / Love you Aug 1971 Albert AP9605
- Memories / Remember me Feb 1972 Albert AP9723
- Ain’t it nice / If you should change my mind May 1972 Albert AP9911
- I won’t look back / Just another day Oct 1972 Albert AP10023
As Ted Mulry Gang:
- Sunday Evenings / Here we are Mar 1975 Albert AP10689
- Jump in my car / I’m on fire Sep 1975 Albert AP10830
- Darktown Strutters Ball / She’s for me Feb 1976 Albert AP11004
- Crazy / Help me out Jun 1976 Albert AP11118
- Stepping out / It’s all over now Oct 1976 Albert AP11241
- Jamaica Rum / Wanted man Jan 1977 Albert AP11305
- My little girl / You’ve got it May 1977 Mushroom K6811
- Sha La La Lee / Naturally Sep 1977 Mushroom K6898
- Lazy Eyes / Set me free Mar 1978 Mushroom K7070
- Heart of stone / I miss you Jul 1978 Mushroom K7180
- You’ve got the devil in you / Disturbing the peace Nov 1978 Mushroom K7315
- Save me / How long Feb 1980 Mushroom K7805
- Can’t take it all / Home to you May 1980 Mushroom K7925
- Captured / I'm down Sep 1980 Mushroom K
As Ted Mulry and friends:
- Take a look inside / Children Aug 1981 Albert AP528
As Ted Mulry Gang:
- Old Habits / Rock and Roll 1990 Sony Albert
Vinyl Extended Play Singles
- Julia ( As Ted Mulry Solo) with picture sleeve 1970 Albert APEP1001
- Live on tour ( As Ted Mulry Gang) with picture sleeve 1976 Albert APEP1002
Albums
As Ted Mulry Solo:
- Falling in love again Sep 1971 Albert APLP001
- I wont look back Feb 1973 Albert APLP003
As Ted Mulry Gang:
- Here we are Nov 1974 Albert APLP007
- Struttin’ Jan 1976 Albert APLP018
- Stepping out Nov 1976 Albert APLP021
- The TMG Album 1977 Mushroom L36273
- Disturbing the peace Apr 1978 Mushroom L36619
- TMG Live 1979 Mushroom L37079
- Locked In 1980 Mushroom L37178
As Ted Mulry Solo:
- This time (CD only) Apr 1999 Southland SLM733
Compilation Albums
- TMG Greatest Hits Mar 1978 Albert APLP028
- Backtracks 1982
- Re-Union 1990 Sony Albert 465268-2/4
During the vinyl era, Albert releases were through EMI , while the Mushroom releases were through Festival Records. All Ted Mulry Gang albums, 1974 through 1982, were also issued on cassette tape.
Compact Disc releases
- Re-Union 1990 Sony Albert 465268-2/4
- Here we are (reissue) 1990 Sony Albert 475603-2
- Struttin’ (reissue) 1990 Sony Albert 475604-2
- TMG Album (reissue) 1993 Mushroom
- TMG Live (reissue) 1993 Mushroom D19780
- This Time 1999 Southland SLM733
Notes
- ^ http://www.blacklabelaustralia.com.au Black Label
References
- The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop - Ian McFarlane - Allen & Unwin, Sydney - 1999
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Ted Mulry.
