Billy Thorpe: the Aztecs, Most People I Know and Sunbury | Ultimate Aussie Pub Rock Reunion

Why fans still care

BILLY THORPE was the kid who sang Poison Ivy and the man who made the Aztecs the loudest band in the country. Most People I Know (Think That I’m Crazy) was first played at Sunbury in January 1972, and the National Film and Sound Archive later put it into Sounds of Australia. Sarah McLeod called his playing “soulful yet dangerous”.

Early life

Billy Thorpe was born William Richard Thorpe in Manchester, England, in 1946, and the family emigrated to Brisbane in the 1950s. As a boy he performed as Little Rock Allen, because as a minor he could not play licensed venues after 9pm. He supported Johnny O’Keefe, Who’s Who number 1, on bills in those years.

Career chapters

1. early 1960sLittle Rock Allen on Brisbane TV
2. 1964Poison Ivy with the Aztecs
3. 1968 to 1970moves to Melbourne, takes up lead guitar
4. 1972Sunbury; Most People I Know
5. 1974More Arse Than Class
6. 1975Aztecs split
7. 1979Children of the Sun
8. 1991ARIA Hall of Fame
9. 2002Long Way to the Top tour
10. 2007Queen’s Birthday honours list announces AM, effective from 2006

Beat-boom star 1963 to 1966

Backed by the Sydney band The Aztecs, he found success as a clean-cut pop singer. Poison Ivy was a cover of a song by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the NFSA records.

Melbourne and the loud years 1968 to 1975

He moved to Melbourne and took on lead guitar, mentored by Lobby Loyde. The Aztecs became known as the loudest band in Australia. At Sunbury in January 1972 he first played Most People I Know (Think That I’m Crazy), the NFSA records. More Arse Than Class came out in 1974, and the Aztecs split in 1975.

America and the return late 1970s to 2007

He moved to the US around 1976, the NFSA says, and made Children of the Sun in 1979. He composed for television, including Star Trek: The Next Generation. Back in Australia he co-organised the Long Way to the Top tour with Michael Chugg, which Mushroom Music says played to more than 250,000 fans in 2002 and early 2003.

Craft, sound and style

From crooner to guitarist

He went from clean-cut pop singer to hard rock frontman. John Wren, the former Festival Hall owner, recalled a sound that was very loud but clear.

Taking the door

Pollstar credits him with introducing “taking the door”, where acts shared the night’s takings, into Australian rock business.

Stories people still tell

1. Little Rock Allen.

   As a boy in Brisbane he performed under that name, including bills with Johnny O’Keefe.

2. Sunbury, 1972.

   He and the Aztecs played the Sunbury festival, and the set was released as a double live album. They were back on the bill the next year.

3. The loudest band in the land.

   They were known as the loudest band in Australia.

Legacy

Billy Thorpe died in 2007. He went into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1991. Tangier, completed by producer Daniel Denholm and his collaborators, won the 2011 ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. The 2007 Queen’s Birthday honours list announced his Member of the Order of Australia (AM) award, effective from September 2006.