Break-up rock disco, Octagon Theatre, Elizabeth, Friday 14 December; with top local bands Flight & Fairdinkum and Buffalo Drive
Ariel formed in mid-1973 and combined the talents of Mike Rudd, Bill Putt and John Mills from Melbourne's Spectrum and Tim Gaze and Nigel Macara from Sydney band Tamam Shud. As with Spectrum Ariel was primarily a outlet for the talents of lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Mike Rudd, and his longtime bass-player and musical partner, Bill Putt.
The band began well, but changes in personnel and problems with recording companies as well as the modification of musical styles in the mid-1970s meant that Ariel never achieved the highest level of success. The band's single Jamaican Farewell won FACB 'Single of the year'. Their LP A Strange Fantastic Dream released in December 1973, with writing credits shared between Gaze and Rudd, was a commercial success reaching number 12 on the charts by February 1974. The album is also considered to be the first Australian rock record to use a Moog synthesizer. Ariel's second LP, Rock 'n Roll Scars, was recorded at the Abbey Road Studios in England.
Mike Rudd remains one of the most respected figures in the Australian music scene.
The Octagon Theatre Elizabeth was a multi-use auditorium specially designed for a wide range of activities. Built by the City of Elizabeth, it was completed in August 1965 and was a centre for live entertainment for the central and northern suburbs of Adelaide until it was closed in January 2003. The floorboards from the theatre were refurbished and used in the Great Hall of the City of Playford's new Civic Centre which opened in March 2004.
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