The Zorros Explained

The Zorros
Background:group_or_band
Origin:Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genre:Alternative rock
punk rock
Years Active:1979–1994
Label:Au Go Go
Funnel Web/Dreamtime Software and Fantastic Mess Records
Past Members:see members list below

The Zorros were an Australian rock band, formed in 1979,[1] comprising Nic Chancellor on lead vocals, Darren Smith on lead guitar, Alex Zammit on bass guitar and Greg Pedley on drums.

Biography

The Zorros were formed in Brunswick as a punk rock band by Nic Chancellor on lead vocals, Greg Pedley on drums, Darren Smith on lead guitar and Alex Zammit on bass guitar. They played their first gig at the Champion Hotel, Fitzroy in January 1980. Nic Chancellor was previously a roadie for 1970s punk band, the News, and a doorman at Bernhardt's Nite Club. Darren Smith played in the Proles.[2] Andrea Jones of Rolling Stone felt that the group members were "very cynical about the softening of the new music. They are adamant that it will be rapidly followed by a resurgence in aggression and when that happens, The Zorros will be the front runners."[3] Chancellor told her that "We get more of a kick out of playing. Hopefully we'll be round long enough to make a record. But it's a big thrill to play for an audience. It'd be an even bigger thrill to play and make money"[3]

The Zorros were popular in the Melbourne music scene of the early 1980s, playing at numerous local venues such as the Crystal Ballroom, Bombay Rock, Brunswick and The Esplanade, St Kilda. In October 1981 released a 7" single on Au Go Go Records, "Too Young",[2] [4] written by Chancellor.[5] It was mixed and produced by Tony Cohen (The Birthday Party),[6] [7] which went to number 3 on the Melbourne 3RRR charts.[8] In 1988 they released a self-titled, eight-track, EP via Funnel Web Records and Dreamtime Software on a music cassette.[9]

They played at the final live performances at the Crystal Ballroom on 31 October 1987 and played at inner city venues such as Prince of Wales and the Esplanade until 1994. Evolving from Melbourne's indie rock scene, The Zorros played with other bands such as INXS, Rose Tattoo, 21 Faces, Z Cars, Marching Girls and La Femme. They played original independent music for 16 years with over 500 performances and over 500 songs written by Darren and Nic.

Members

Discography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Spencer, Chris. The Who's Who of Australian Rock. Zbig Nowara . Paul McHenry . 1987. 2002. Five Mile Press. Noble Park, Vic.. 1-86503-891-1.
  2. Spencer et al, (2007) Zorros entry. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  3. Web site: Melbourne: Post Punk Revival . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20130822225200/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/135546/20130823-0852/www.humanfrailty.com.au/old/media/post_punk.htm . dead . 22 August 2013 . Jones . Andrea . True Believers – Hunters & Collectors Online . . 21 August 1980 . 16 November 2016 .
  4. Web site: AuGoGo Records Discography. NKVD Records. 7 April 2010.
  5. Web site: Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) . "Too Young" at APRA search engine . 7 April 2010 .
  6. Web site: Holmgren . Magnus . Cohen . Tony . Regner . Volker . https://web.archive.org/web/20131031054434/http://hem2.passagen.se/honga/database/c/cohentony.html . Tony Cohen . Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren) . Passagen.se . 31 October 2013 . 4 June 2015 .
  7. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20031107150223/http://members.ol.com.au/rgriffin/postpunk/Z.html . Discography: Z: Z-Cars to Zorros . 7 November 2003 . Australian Post-Punk 1976 to 1981 . Inner City Sound . 17 November 2016 . dead . dmy-all .
  8. Book: Kent, David. Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book Ltd. St Ives, NSW. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
  9. Book: De Looper, Michael . http://australianrecordlabels.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Indie-labels-1955-1990.pdf . Independent Australian Labels 1955 to 1980 . Dreamtime Software/Funnel Web Records . Big Tree Publications . May 2016 . 49 . 17 November 2016 .
  10. http://www.fantasticmessrecords.com/

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