Zoot

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Zoot was an Australian pop / rock band from Adelaide and formed in 1965. Even if it was quite difficult for them to get started in their home country, a small following slowly gathered around the band, and in 1968 the national breakthrough was achieved. In the same year the band moved to Melbourne and started a small tour. Two of the better known members of the formation were Beeb Birtles , who formed the Little River Band in 1975 , and Rick Springfield , who achieved great success in the United States as a solo artist, songwriter and actor.

Influences

In its early days, Zoot's influences were mainly mod and Merseybeat music, which spilled over from England in the mid-1960s. At the end of the 60s, the band also increasingly recorded heavier songs, following the example of Deep Purple , Ten Years After or Led Zeppelin .

The first appearance (1965-1967)

Even if Zoot were one of the most popular Australian groups of the 1960s, their music is often dismissed as "teen" or "bubblegum" music. They are assigned a rather delicate and even homosexual appearance. This is primarily because the band's management came up with a “Think-Pink-Think-Zoot” campaign. The plan was to put all the members of the band in pink clothes, have them drive around in a pink vehicle, and even carry a dog whose fur was dyed pink with them at all times. Although the press got attention because of this appearance and also many young girls became fans, this change had a rather bad effect on the band. She hardly had any male fans left, and her credibility as a serious rock musician was also in the crossfire of criticism.

The new look (1968–1971)

Tired of being ridiculed by the press and male audiences and abused as "fagots", Zoot decided in 1968 to get a new look. In 1968, in a live performance that was broadcast on television, they lit their pink things on the stage. Their first single with the new image was Hey Pinky . The song is played very hard and reminds of Led Zeppelin. The song was written by Rick Springfield , but could not book a successful placement in the Australian charts. Even a cover of the Beatle piece Eleanor Rigby did not have the expected success and so the band split in 1971.

Discography (albums)

  • 1969: Just Zoot
  • 1971: Zoot Out
  • 1980: Best Of The Zoot Locker 1969–1971

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