The Groop - "Mad Over You"

The Groop sprang out of Melbourne during the sixties, had a bunch of hits and then disappeared into various other entities. Ronnie Charles and Brian Cadd were two of the success stories which arose from the ashes of the band and they were also the two main vocalists for the band during their run of success. Brian was also the keyboard player for the band. The other band members were Don Mudie (guitar), Max Ross (bass) and Richard Wright (drums).

In 1967, The Groop won, what was at the time, a huge annual band competition, the Hoadleys Battle Of The Sounds. The competition was seen as a real prize for the bands taking part in it, because the winners received a trip to England, a couple of concert appearances and a cash sum. You have to remember that these were the days when it was hard for Aussie bands to crack the overseas market and to be provided with the opportunity to have that chance was no small thing.

During the band's trip to England, they played a few gigs and recorded a number of singles but nothing really seemed to be catapulting them forward and out of nowhere, the band just split up. Cadd and Mudie went on to form one of my favourite bands at the time, Axiom, whom I have previously featured, while Ronnie Charles kicked off his solo career.

On to today's music - the wonderful little piece of pop, "Mad Over You," appeared on the flip side of the band's huge 1967 hit, "Woman You're Breaking Me," and the second song, "Sorry," was the band's previous release in 1966. Neither song is all that readily available these days, so I thought they'd be perfect tracks to play here today.