Long Way 'Til You Drop
As the rhythm guitarist in Billy Thorpe's original AZTECS, Tony has certainly seen all there is to see in that corner of Australia's music industry! Using this knowledge of the scene of the mid 60's and those in it, he decided to record many of the incidents that happened behind the stage of the very successful, 'Long Way to the top' show. He has a very talented unique humorous and sometimes quirky way of writing which keeps the reader enthralled all the way through every page of the book. For the hundreds of thousands who saw the show, it is a great companion to the program and will enhance all your memories of the show. It's also an insight into many of the stars who are or who are not featured in the book. Make sure you've got plenty of time when you pick the book up, cause you want want to put it down!
About Tony Barber: Taken from Milesago.
Tony was one of the many music-crazy young migrants who arrived in Australia in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and he had played in a minor band called The Electrons before leaving the UK. Within weeks of his arrival in Australia in 1964 he met a cocky young singer called Billy Thorpe in Kings Cross and he was immediately drafted in as the fifth member of Billy's backing band, The Aztecs. Tony was already developing into a competent pop writer and he composed both sides of the Aztec's first single "Blue Day" / You don't love me", released on the Linda Lee label in April 1964. Two days before The Aztecs' next recording session, Tony received a 'care package' from his brother in the UK that contained the Rolling Stones' first EP. Afer hearing The Stones' version of Lieber & Stoller's "Poison Ivy", Tthe Aztecs decided to record the song on their next single. It's now a matter of history that their version (widely regarded as being superior to The Stones') shot to #1, became one of the biggest Australian pop hits of the year, kept The Beatles out of the top spot in the Sydney charts in the very midst of their tour, and made Billy and The Aztecs into national stars. Tony featured on the next three Aztecs singles, "Mashed Potato" "Sick and Tired" and "Over The rainbow" -- all of which were major hits -- but in late 1965 Tony and the rest of The Aztecs quit en masse, mainly because of ongoing financial wrangles with manager John Harrigan.
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