"Undecided" is the debut single by Australian rock group, the Masters Apprentices, which was issued in October 1966 on Astor Records. It peaked at No. 13 on the Go-Set national singles charts. It was included on The Masters Apprentices debut EP and The Masters Apprentices debut studio album, both released in 1967.
| "Undecided" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Masters Apprentices | ||||
| from the album The Masters Apprentices (EP) & The Masters Apprentices | ||||
| B-side | "Wars or Hands of Time" | |||
| Released | October 1966 | |||
| Recorded | 1966 | |||
| Studio | Adelaide | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 2:22 | |||
| Label | Astor | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Michael Bower, Richard Morrison | |||
| Producer(s) | Max Pepper | |||
| The Masters Apprentices singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editIn mid-1966 Adelaide-based rock group, the Masters Apprentices, shared a gig with pop star, Bobby Bright (of Melbourne duo, Bobby & Laurie), who was impressed and recommended them to his label, Astor Records. A few weeks later, they were contacted by Astor's Max Pepper, who requested a four-track demo.[1][2] The band went to a local two-track studio to record it, but realised that they had only three suitable songs: "Hot Gully Wind", "Buried and Dead" and "She's My Girl".[1][3] The demo became their debut extend play, The Masters Apprentices (February 1967).[3][4]
Needing a fourth track, the group's guitarists Mick Bower and Rick Morrison wrote a new song, "Undecided",[1][5] in about 15 minutes;[1] the instrumental backing was cut in about the same time.[1][2] The title came from the fact that they were undecided about a name for the song when quizzed by studio owner and producer, Pepper.[1][3] The biting fuzz-tone of Bower's guitar on the track was a fortunate accident; it was caused by a malfunctioning valve in his amplifier, but the group liked the sound and kept the faulty valve in until after the session.[2][3]
Their debut single, "Undecided" backed by "Wars or Hands of Time", was released in October 1966 and gradually climbed the Adelaide charts, due to support from local DJs,[3] peaking at No. 4.[6] The B-side, "Wars or Hands of Time", written solely by Bower,[7] is the first Australian pop song to directly address the issue of the Vietnam War,[8] which was then affecting the lives of many young Australians because of the controversial introduction of conscription in 1965.[3] Teen pop newspaper, Go-Set, started publishing their national singles charts in October 1966. By February of the following year the group had relocated to Melbourne and issued their four-track EP on Astor.[4] "Undecided" peaked at No. 13 on the Go-Set National Top 40 in June 1967,[9] spending sixteen weeks in the charts.[10]
ABC-TV series, Long Way to the Top, was broadcast in August 2001.[11] Lead singer Jim Keays featured in "Episode 2: Ten Pound Rocker 1963–1968" where he discussed the UK migrant influence on the Masters Apprentices early work and how "Undecided" was issued.[11] He recalled "I was at the drive-in with my girlfriend and in between the two movies I switched off the drive-in speaker and put on the car radio and 'Undecided' came on, one of the songs we'd recorded as a demo. And I couldn't believe it, it was just a shock. There it was and sure enough we were the last ones to know that it was released."[11]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Undecided" | Michael Bower, Richard Morrison | 2:22 |
| 2. | "Wars or Hands of Time" | Bower | 2:50 |
Personnel
edit- The Masters Apprentices
- Mick Bower – rhythm guitar
- Jim Keays – lead vocals
- Rick Morrison – lead guitar
- Brian Vaughton – drums
- Gavin Webb – bass guitar
- Recording and artwork
- Graphic artist, art director – Darrin Crosgrove
- Producer – Max Pepper
Cover versions
edit"Undecided" (December 1975) was re-recorded and issued as a single by Jim Keays as lead singer of Jim Keays' Southern Cross with Peter Laffy (ex-Fox) on guitar, Ron Robinson on bass guitar and John Swan (ex-Fraternity) on drums.[12][13] From 2000, he performed "Undecided" as a member of Cotton Keays & Morris alongside other former 1960s artists, Darryl Cotton and Russell Morris.[5]
References
edit- General
- Keays, Jim (1999). His Master's Voice: The Masters Apprentices: The bad boys of sixties rock 'n' roll. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-185-X. Retrieved 29 May 2017. Note: limited preview for on-line version.
- Kimball, Duncan (2002). "The Masters Apprentices". Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
- 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 29 May 2017. Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
- Spencer, Chris; Nowara, Zbig; McHenry, Paul (2002) [1987]. The Who's Who of Australian Rock. Noble Park, Vic.: Five Mile Press. ISBN 1-86503-891-1.[14] Note: [on-line] version was established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition. As from September 2010 the [on-line] version is no longer available.
- Specific
- ^ a b c d e f Keays, pp. 41, 45, 50, 52, 54–55
- ^ a b c Creswell, Toby (2007) [2005]. 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets Behind Them (RocKwiz ed.). Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant. p. 443. ISBN 978-1-74066-458-5.
- ^ a b c d e f Kimball
- ^ a b McFarlane, "'The Master's Apprentices' entry". Archived from the original on 18 June 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2004..
- ^ a b "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'Undecided'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ McIntyre, Iain, ed. (2006). Tomorrow is Today: Australia in the Psychedelic Era, 1966-1970. Wakefield Press. p. 53. ISBN 9781862546974.
- ^ "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'Wars or Hands of Time'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ Keays, p. 41
- ^ Nimmervoll, Ed. "Go-Set National Top 40". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
- ^ McGrath, Noel (198). Noel McGrath's Australian Encyclopaedia of Rock. Outlaw Press. p. 197.
- ^ a b c "Episode 2: Ten Pound Rocker 1963–1968". Long Way to the Top. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Archived from the original on 15 October 2002. Retrieved 29 May 2017. Note: source incorrectly has singer's name as "Jim Keyes" and not "Jim Keays".
- ^ Australian Rock Database entries:
- Jim Keays: Holmgren, Magnus. "Jim Keays". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
- The Masters Apprentices: Holmgren, Magnus. "The Masters Apprentices". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
- ^ McFarlane, 'Jim Keays' entry at the Wayback Machine (archived 30 September 2004). Archived from the original. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
- ^ "Who's who of Australian rock / compiled by Chris Spencer, Zbig Nowara & Paul McHenry". Catalogue. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 January 2010.