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The Ferrets (band)

(Redirected from Billy Miller (Australian musician))

The Ferrets were an Australian pop band. They are best known for their song "Don't Fall in Love" and album, Dreams of a Love which were both released in 1977.

The Ferrets
OriginAustralia
GenresPop music
Years active1975-1979
LabelsMushroom, Charisma
Past memberssee Members list below

History

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1975: Formation

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Ken Firth, Phil Eizenberg and William "Billy" Miller had been involved with the Australian stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar (1972–1974) which also included singer-actors Jon English, John Paul Young and Rory O'Donoghue.[1]

Firth (bass guitar, backing vocals), Miller (vocals, guitar) and Dave Springfield (guitar, backing vocals) were all members of hard rockers Buster Brown (which also featured vocalist Angry Anderson later of Rose Tattoo).[2] In November 1975 the trio left Buster Brown to join guitarist Eizenberg and formed The Ferrets. Drummer Rick Brewer (ex-Zoot) joined in April 1976 followed by Miller's sisters Jane Miller (backing vocals, keyboard) and Pam Miller (backing vocals) in July—they were now a seven-piece band.[3][4]

1976-1977: "Don't Fall in Love" and Dreams of a Love

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After favourable reactions from audiences in Melbourne and Sydney, The Ferrets produced a demo tape that caught the attention of Ian "Molly" Meldrum talent coordinator for Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) TV series Countdown. Meldrum got them signed to Mushroom Records and started producing their debut album, Dreams of a Love, in July 1976.[3]

In April 1977 they released their debut single, "Robin Hood", which did not chart.[5] After nearly a year, production of the album was still incomplete, so The Ferrets took over—assisted by recording engineers Tony Cohen and Ian MacKenzie—Meldrum was attributed as "Willie Everfinish".[6]

In June 1977, The Ferrets released the single "Don't Fall in Love". It was recorded in three hours.[6][7] The Ferrets premiered on Countdown in an episode compered by Jon English performing "Don't Fall in Love", which peaked at No. 2 Nationally.[5] They were awarded with 'Best Australian TV Performer' at the 1977 King of Pop Awards for their Countdown appearances.[8]

In October 1977, The Ferrets released "Janie May" which reached No. 25 nationally and was televised on Countdown on 13 November 1977, an episode which also featured an interview between Meldrum and Prince Charles which would go on to become infamous.[9] Their debut album Dreams of a Love was released in October 1977 and achieved Gold record status. The album cover depicted a model (Wendy Bannister) holding a snarling ferret on her shoulder.[3]

1978-1979: Fame at Any Price and disbandment

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By the end of 1977, guitarist Eizenberg and backing vocalist Pam Miller had left. After another single, "Are You Looking at Me?" was released in April 1978. Jane Miller also left.[3] The Ferrets continued to tour and recorded their second studio album Fame at Any Price which was produced by Cohen and released in October 1978.[4] There were disappointing sales for the related singles "This Night" (written by Frank Howson, Firth, Miller) and "Tripsville" and for the album itself.[3][7] Firth also left to be replaced successively by George Cross (previously in Jim Keays Southern Cross with Brewer) and Ric Petropolis.[4] The Ferrets had no further chart success and disbanded in March 1979.[3]

Subsequent careers

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  • Philip Eizenberg: Played bass guitar in Mighty Guys (1980s) with Mick Hamilton and Leon Isackson.[10] He studied martial arts from 1984 (at age 34) and was registered with the Australian Hapkido Association as a 4th Degree instructor.[11] He played bass on Night of the Gale with Phill Raymond in 2006.[12]
  • Kenneth "Ken" David Firth:[7] Rejoined Miller in Billy Miller and the Great Blokes (1979–1982), then temporarily with Divinyls (1982) while they replaced out-going bassist Jeremy Paul with Rick Grossman. Firth was in Interchange Bench (1993–1998) with Miller again. He was a session musician on Miller's CDs Victoria (1998) and Elsternwick '69 (2000).[13]
  • William "Billy/Bill" Harris Miller:[7] Produced Frank Howson's cover version of The Ferrets' song "Killing Ourselves"[4] (co-written by Howson and Springfield).[7] Wrote the song "Moon and Stars" for the ABC TV series Sweet and Sour in 1984. Session musician on Howson's The Boy Who Dared To Dream LP, member of various bands including: Billy Miller and The Great Blokes (1979–1982), The Spaniards (1983–1986), Interchange Bench (1993–1998), The Dave Graney Show (1998–2004) and Dave Graney ‘n’ The Lurid Yellow Mist (2004–?).[4] Some of these have included Firth or Springfield.[14]

In 2018 Miller started working on a project with former Sports vocalist, Stephen Cummings

  • Rick Brewer: Later joined The Motivators (1980–1982) and Greg Baker's Blues Party.[17]
  • George Cross: Performed in Jim Keays Band during 1999.[18]
  • Rick Petropolis: Also in the Motivators (with Brewer) and later in Rattlesnake (1991).[19]

2006: Countdown Spectacular

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Billy Miller performed "Don't Fall in Love" for the first Countdown Spectacular Tour of Australia from June to August 2006 and can be seen on the associated DVD (disc 1 track 16).[20] Also on this tour were Jon English and John Paul Young from his Jesus Christ Superstar days.

Members

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  • Philip Eizenberg – guitar (1975–1977)
  • Kenneth Firth – bass guitar (1975–1978)
  • William Miller – vocals, guitar (1975–1979)
  • David Springfield – guitar (1975–1979)
  • Rick Brewer – drums (1976–1979)
  • Jane Miller – backing vocals, keyboards (1976–1978)
  • Pam Miller – backing vocals (1976–1977)
  • George Cross – bass guitar (1978)
  • Ric Petropolis – bass guitar (1978–1979)

Discography

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Studio albums

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List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart
positions 		Certifications
AUS
[21]
Dreams of a Love 20 AUS: Gold
Fame at Any Price -

Singles

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List of singles, with selected chart positions
Year Title Peak chart
positions 		Album
AUS
[21]
1977 "Robin Hood" - non-album single
"Don't Fall in Love" 2 Dreams of a Love
"Janie May" 25
1978 "Are You Looking At Me?" - non-album single
"This Night" - Fame at Any Price
1979 "Tripsville" -

Awards and nominations

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King of Pop Awards

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The King of Pop Awards were voted by the readers of TV Week. The King of Pop award started in 1967 and ran through to 1978.[22]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1977 themselves (on Countdown) Best Australian TV Performer Won

References

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General
  • McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Whammo Homepage". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 5 April 2004. Retrieved 7 March 2010. Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
  • Spencer, Chris; Zbig Nowara, Paul McHenry with notes by Ed Nimmervoll (2002) [1987]. The Who's Who of Australian Rock. Noble Park, Vic.: Five Mile Press. ISBN 1-86503-891-1.[23]
Specific
  1. ^ Kimball, Duncan; Paul Culnane. Duncan Kimball (ed.). "JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Original Australian Production, 1972–74". MILESAGO: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. ICE Productions. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  2. ^ Spencer et al, (2007) BUSTER BROWN entry. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f McFarlane 'The Ferrets' entry. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "The Ferrets". Australian Rock Database. Magnus Holmgren. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  5. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
  6. ^ a b "The quirks that made it work". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 5 August 2006. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Australasian Performing Right Association". APRA. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  8. ^ "Top 40 Plus". Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  9. ^ "Countdown Archives episode 132". Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  10. ^ Spencer et al, (2007) Eizenberg, Phil entry. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  11. ^ "Australian Hapkido Association page on Phil Eizenberg". Phil Eizenberg. 11 May 2006. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  12. ^ "Phill Raymond's MySpace". Phill Raymond. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  13. ^ Spencer et al, (2007) Firth, Ken entry. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  14. ^ Spencer et al, (2007) Miller, Billy entry. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  15. ^ "Rev J D Love". CD Baby. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  16. ^ Spencer et al, (2007) Springfield, Dave entry. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  17. ^ Spencer et al, (2007) Brewer, Rick entry. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  18. ^ Spencer et al, (2007) Cross, George entry. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  19. ^ Spencer et al, (2007) Petropolis, Rich entry. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  20. ^ "Countdown Spectacular – Live (2006)". ABC Shop. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  21. ^ a b Australian chart peaks:
    • Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to 19 June 1988: Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 139. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 19 June 1988.
  22. ^ "Australian Music Awards". Ron Jeff. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  23. ^ "Who's who of Australian rock / compiled by Chris Spencer, Zbig Nowara & Paul McHenry". catalogue. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
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