Sparmac
Sparmac (Sparmac Productions) was an Australian independent record production company and recording label of the early 1970s, best known for its association with the successful Australian rock band Daddy Cool.
The company was established ca. 1969 by radio DJ (and former Kommotion host) Ken Sparkes, and John McDonald, who was then the owner of popular Melbourne record store The Disc Shop, in Bourke Street, Melbourne. The company name was taken from the combination of their surnames.
Ca. 1970 Sparkes subsequently sold his share to the label's first recording artist, Robie Porter. Porter, a former teenage guitar prodigy, had enjoyed a very successful recording career under the stage name "Rob EG" in the early Sixties. He then spent several years in the U.S., where he also worked as an actor on US television. It was there that Porter met his future business partner Steve Binder, with whom he went on to establish Wizard Records (who re-issued the Sparmac albums). John McDonald also continued in the recording industry and later started both the Image Records and Avenue Records labels.
Sparmac's biggest success was Daddy Cool, whose debut single "Eagle Rock" became a national #1 hit in mid-1971. Their debut LP Daddy Who? Daddy Cool became the biggest-selling Australian pop LP ever released up to that time. Sparmac released all the group's out until their initial dissolution in late 1972.
Sparmac also played a significant role in launching the solo career of Rick Springfield (former lead guitarist of Zoot), releasing his debut solo single "Speak to the Sky". The song which was a major hit in Australia, reaching #5 on the Go-Set national chart in January 1972[1] and it became his first hit in the USA, reaching #14 on the Billboard Hot 100[2]
AS well as acting as the label's producer, Robie Porter himself released three solo singles on Sparmac: "Gemini" / "He Is Not Me" (Aug. 1970), "Santa Claus" / "Funky Version" (Dec. 1970) and a cover of the Joe Cocker-Chris Stainton song "Try to Find More Love (There Must be a Reason)" / "Empty" (March 1971). Another notable Sparmac singles include:
- "Golden Miles" / "The Gully" (1971) by noted progressive rock band Healing Force, rated by Australian rock historian Ian McFarlane as the greatest Australian progressive rock recording of the early 1970s[3]
- "Ongo Bongo Man" (1972) by local super-group Gerry & The Joy Band, fronted by former Loved Ones singer Gerry Humphrys, with an all-star backing group that included most of Daddy Cool
- "Feelings" / "Young Man's Lament" (1971) the debut single by the short-lived soft rock duo Frieze, consisting of Daryl Cotton and Beeb Birtles, both of whom were also former members of Zoot.[4]
References
- ↑ Poparchives - Go-Set Australian Charts, 15 January 1972. Retrieved 8 March 2013
- ↑ McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Rick Springfield'", Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (Allen & Unwin, Sydney, ISBN 1-86508-072-1)
- ↑ Ian McFarlane, "Healing Force", Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop, (Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1999, ISBN 1-86508-072-1)
- ↑ Hank B. Facer, "Sparmac Records Discography", Museum of Independent Record Labels