The Twilights
Inducted 2 November 2018
Growing up as a teenager in Elizabeth, a young Glenn Shorrock began taking a fervent interest in rock and roll. By early 1963 he, Paddy McCartney and Mike Sykes were performing as the Twilights at the Oxford Club and Salisbury Youth Centre. Besotted by the new sound of The Beatles, The Twilights began building a reputation for their ability to perform their hits. In April, 1964, the Twilights won a £100 ‘Best Beatle Group’ competition. The trio acquired a new backing band, the Hurricanes, consisting of Frank Barnard (drums), Kevin Peek (lead guitar), Peter Brideoake (rhythm guitar & harmonica) and John Bywaters (bass guitar). In October, Peek departed and was replaced by Terry Britten.
In February, 1965 The Hurricanes merged with Shorrock and McCartney to form a new six-piece Twilights. In May, the Twilights emerged as victors in an Adelaide Battle of the Bands, beating other top local groups. Local EMI General Manager Alan Munn signed them to a recording contract and ‘I’ll Be Where You Are’ and ‘I Don’t Know Where The Wind Will Blow Me’ were recorded at Visound Studios in Hindley Street. The result was a Top Twenty double-sided local hit reaching #12 on the 5AD Top Forty. Their second single, ‘Come On Home’ also charted.
The Oxford Club had become synonymous with the Twilights, attracting up to 1800 teenagers per week. Melbourne manager Gary Spry was impressed, offering to manage them and guaranteeing work in Melbourne at Pinocchio’s, his discotheque. In mid-December, the Twilights began undertaking regular forays east before permanently basing themselves in Melbourne in February, 1966.
Written shortly before they left Adelaide, ‘If She Finds Out’ opened up the Melbourne Top 40 for the Twilights and also charted in Sydney. In Adelaide, ‘If She Finds Out’ reached #2. Laurie Pryor replaced Frank Barnard on drums, solidifying the band’s line-up for the remainder of its existence. Released in June,1966, ‘Bad Boy’ reached a high point of #4 on the Go-Set National Top 40. In July, the Twilights triumphed at the National Final of the inaugural Hoadleys Battle of the Sounds, the prize for winning being tickets to London.
While waiting to depart, the Twilights recorded and released their self-titled debut album. On 26 September, 1966 the Twilights set sail for England. While the band were at sea, ‘Needle in a Haystack’ reached Number One on the Go-Set National Top 40. In the UK, the band played the Cavern Club in Liverpool and undertook a recording session at Abbey Road Studios. Released as a single from that session, ‘What’s Wrong with the Way I Live’ made the top three on the Go-Set National Top Forty. ‘Young Girl’, released in May 1967, reached #4 nationally. In July, 1967 they commenced a national tour. ‘Cathy Come Home’, featuring sitar and tabla, made #4 nationally (#1 in Adelaide). The band filmed the pilot for a television series entitled ‘Once Upon A Twilight’ and achieved further hits with ‘Always’ and ‘Tell Me Goodbye’ / Comin’ On Down’.
In October, 1968 Go-Set reviewer Ed Nimmervoll announced the new Twilights album ‘Once Upon A Twilight as “…the most Important Pop Record Ever Made in Australia.“ However, by December, Ian Meldrum was prompted to write that “Once Upon a Twilight proves that the Twilights have gone about as far as they can in this country. Shortly thereafter, they decided to disband in lieu of venturing overseas again. The Twilights are hailed as the first South Australian group to achieve national success and, at their peak, being the most popular group in the country.