Axiom (band)
Axiom were an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1969 that included former Twilights frontman Glenn Shorrock, and Brian Cadd formerly of the Groop. Biography. Axiom's formation was a by-product of the annual Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds, in which the top Australian bands of the day performed in front of judges for the prize of a paid return trip to London. In 1967, the Twilights were the first winners, followed the next year by the Groop. After their time in London, both groups were finding it difficult to return to the Australian  pop scene. Neither of the bands had had much monetary success in London, but the time had captivated both groups enough to leave them wondering about the possibilities. The Groop broke up in late 1969, by which time the Twilights had already split-up, and singer Glenn Shorrock had moved into management. A plan was made to form a new group out of the two groups' frontline remnants; there was some controversy surrounding the break-up of the Groop, with "Go-Set" magazine hinting that Cadd and Mudie had split the band to join Axiom without telling the other members  about the new group. Twilights' songwriter and guitarist Terry Britten was supposed to join Shorrock and the Groop's piano player and chief songwriter Brian Cadd in the new band, but when Britten chose to go to England instead, his place was taken by the Groop's Don Mudie, who in the latter stages of the Groop had formed a strong songwriting partnership with Cadd. The group was completed by Cam-Pact guitarist Chris Stockley, and Valentines drummer Doug Lavery. Immediately dubbed a supergroup, the band asked fans to suggest a name and settled on Axiom. After signing with EMI 's Parlophone label, Axiom buried themselves in the recording studio. In December 1969, the group released their first single, "Arkansas Grass", heavily influenced by the Band's album "Music from Big Pink". Though the title of the single superficially appealed to international markets, and its Civil War theme reflected Cadd's current obsession with the music of the Band, it was in fact a coded anti-Vietnam war song – and in that respect addressing a very Australian concern, since Australian men were at the time being drafted to fight in the Vietnam war. "Arkansas Grass" reached No. 7 in December  1969. Midway through the recording of the LP, which was released under the title "Fool's Gold", drummer Don Lebler (the Avengers) replaced Doug Lavery. Axiom left Australia for the UK in April 1970 after signing a publishing deal from Leeds Music, with the local music press reporting that they had received record deal offers from both Apple Records and the Decca label. As a parting gift they left their second single, "A Little Ray of Sunshine", inspired by the birth of the child of a couple that the group knew – not by the birth of Cadd or Mudie's  child, as has often been incorrectly reported. The single reached No. 5 in April 1970. "A Little Ray of Sunshine" has become one of the Australian songs most often still played on radio and was even celebrated with its own stamp in Australia Post's 1998 Australian Rock stamp series. In their absence the band's debut album "Fool's Gold" was released. Apart from the "Arkansas Grass" single it was also one of the first attempts in Australian pop to write songs about the Australian landscape, and using Australian place names. It is also notable as one of the  first Australian albums on a major label to be self-produced by the recording artist and also featured one of the first uses of the didgeridoo in Australian popular music. "Fool's Gold" reached No. 18 in June, though it was held back from reaching further commercial potential with Axiom not around to promote it. A third single failed to chart. In Australia, Axiom were signed to Ron Tudor's independent production company. They left Australia with Tudor's approval to try to secure a worldwide recording contract. Although many of the songs on "Fool's Gold" featured Australian references , Brian Cadd revealed years later that the track "Ford's Bridge" had a very different origin: In England, Axiom signed a three-year recording contract with Warners, cemented by a single "My Baby's Gone" produced by Shel Talmy of early Who, Kinks and Easybeats' "Friday on My Mind" fame. The band completed a second album, "If Only", recorded at the iconic Olympic Studios in London. Although some former members were later critical of what they felt was Talmy's overproduction of the record, in a 2000 interview with Richie Unterberger, Talmy still spoke highly of both group and LP : By the time the album was released, the band had already broken up and as Talmy indicated, it effectively vanished without trace. Glenn Shorrock remained in England where he performed as lead vocalist of the band Esperanto, eventually returning to Australia in 1974 to join the nascent Little River Band. Brian Cadd returned to Australia and launched a successful solo career. Don Lebler remained in the UK to become a member of the Mixtures. A couple of years later, Chris Stockley became part of the Dingoes. In October 2010, "Fool's Gold" (1970) was listed in the book "100 Best  Australian Albums". Awards and nominations. Section::::"Go-Set" Pop Poll. was coordinated by teen-oriented pop music newspaper "Go-Set", and was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll during 1966 to 1972 of its readers to determine the most popular personalities.