Vale - Gerry Humphries And Big Kev.

The last day or so has seen the early deaths of two well know Australian personalities.

Gerry Humphries was the lead singer for the unique, but short lived sixties band "The Loved Ones".

"Of all the Australian rock groups of the 60s there’s none that lives on as brightly in the memories of those who saw them or heard them, as The Loved Ones. They had “it”, that unquantifiable quality that transcends the fashions of the day, that “something” that’s more than a great record or two, or frequent memorable live performances that grow larger than reality in people’s memories. You can still hear “it” in some of their earliest records, still see “it” on the little video evidence left behind. The Loved Ones were exciting.

The Loved Ones was formed in 1965 by three members of the Red Onions Jazz Band (Gerry Humphries, Ian Clyne and Kim Lynch) and two members of the Wild Cherries (Rob Lovett and Gavin Anderson), a jazz group at that time which later also turned to rock. Singer Gerry Humphries seems to have been the instigator, already an agitator for change and adventure, ruffling feathers inside the Red Onions. A Red Onions session was turned into the first recording by The Loved Ones, named after Evelyn Waugh’s darkly comic book of the day. Their first single carried the same name.

Two things marked that landmark recording - the unique double rhythm, a complex musical achievement made accessible by a clever use of handclapping; and Gerry Humphries’ sometimes bluesy, sometimes soaring voice. ‘The Loved One’ was like nothing we’d ever heard before, from Australia or from anywhere else in the world. It says volumes about the song that when INXS recorded a version early in their career fifteen years later they resorted to a faithful copy, and then, when at the height of their powers, INXS recorded it AGAIN seven more years later they still couldn’t dare a dramatic overhaul.

The Loved Ones’ own version had an immediate impact. Attracted by the song, audiences found an enigmatic singer with sunken cheeks and outstretched arms, as exciting as any singer they’d ever seen or heard before, surrounded by an obviously more than competent band of not just pretty faces, but pretty enough to attract fans of their own. They followed ‘The Loved One’ with ‘Ever Loving Man’ showing off Gerry’s voice more than the first single, and another interesting but less complicated arrangement. Third came the compelling ‘Sad Dark Eyes’.

"Blueberry Hill" was also also a massive hit in Australia. Humphries was 63 yo.

"Big Kev" McQuade was well know on Australian television for his ebullient personality and, over the top, colourful shirts as he endeavoured to sell his Australian made cleaning products. He died in hospital of a heart attack aged 56.