caption website associated_acts death_date death_place years_active alias label article_title name background birth_date genre image origin birth_name occupation
thorpe abc-tv 's '' gtk '' , 1972 performing `` most people i know '' on -lsb- http://www.thorpie.com official site -rsb- billy thorpe & the aztecs 28 february 2007 sydney , new south wales , australia 1956 & ndash ; 2007 little rock allen puff 'n billy atlantic , festival , mushroom , liberation billy thorpe
 billy thorpe solo_singer 29 march 1946 rock , pop billythorpe1972.jpg manchester , greater manchester , england william richard thorpe musician producer writer
billy thorpe

william richard `` billy '' thorpe , am -lrb- 29 march 1946 -- 28 february 2007 -rrb- was a renowned english-born australian pop / rock singer-songwriter and producer , musician .
as lead singer of his band billy thorpe & the aztecs , he had success in the 1960s with `` blue day '' , `` poison ivy '' , `` over the rainbow '' , `` sick and tired '' , and `` mashed potato '' ; and in the 1970s with `` most people i know think that i 'm crazy '' .
featuring in concerts at sunbury pop festivals and myer music bowl in the early 1970s , the aztecs also developed the pub rock scene and were one of the loudest groups in australia .
thorpe also performed as a solo artist ; he relocated to the united states from 1976 to 1996 where he released the space opera `` children of the sun '' , which peaked in the top 40 of the `` billboard '' pop album chart in 1979 .
he worked with ex-aztec tony barber to form a soft toy company in 1987 and co-wrote stories for `` the puggle tales '' and `` tales from the lost forests '' .
thorpe also worked as a producer and composed music scores for tv series including `` war of the worlds '' , '' '' , `` columbo '' , `` eight is enough '' and `` hard time on planet earth '' .
thorpe returned to australia in 1996 and continued as a performer and producer , additionally he authored two autobiographies , `` sex and thugs and rock 'n' roll '' -lrb- 1996 -rrb- and `` most people i know -lrb- think that i 'm crazy -rrb- '' -lrb- 1998 -rrb- .
according to australian rock music historian ian mcfarlane , `` thorpie evolved from child star , beat pop sensation and cuddly pop crooner to finally emerge as the country 's wildest and heaviest blues rocker -lsb- ... -rsb- thorpie was the unassailable monarch of australian rock music '' .
thorpe was inducted into the australian recording industry association -lrb- aria -rrb- hall of fame in 1991 .
he died of a myocardial infarction in february 2007 and was posthumously appointed a member of the order of australia in june for his contribution to music as a musician , songwriter and producer .
