1984 - COOL BANANAS
Venues Performed (50 performances)
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Telford Hotel (Bathurst) / Telford Hotel (Alice Springs) / The Resort (Surfers Paradise)
In January 1984, the remaining members of "The Prohibition" (i.e. Robbo and me - the frontmen), needed a band, because we had a couple of months’ worth of gigs booked with Telford Hotels through well-known agent, Harry Widmer.
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We were to play two warm-ups in Bathurst, then fly to Alice Springs for 4 weeks, and on to Surfers Paradise for 4 more.
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Like the "Blues Brothers", we were on a mission from God! Well, not exactly, but He must've been on our side, because somehow we recruited Geoff Rosenberg, former bass player for the Eurogliders, who recruited his great mate and incredible drummer, Paul Westlake. Likewise, ex-Ayres Rock guitarist, Phil Stone, was in, along with his keyboard player and friend, "The Fish".
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Bathurst is a vague memory, but Cool Bananas performed its first gigs there on 18 and 19 January 1984. We then flew to Alice as scheduled, played 6 nights a week for 4 weeks, the first of which was on 24 January. ​​​
L-R: Phil, Paul, Robbo, Geoff B, The Fish, Geoff R
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Like clockwork, off we went to Surfers Paradise for another 4 weeks at 6 nights a week, starting on 12 March.
And that's all folks! I remember having a pretty great time playing with this highly talented group, but the ride was over.
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I think Geoff R and Paul had already arranged to join another band upon fulfilling their commitments to our tour.
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Interesting that the newspaper photo still had us as "The Prohibition". I'm really not sure why, but perhaps the original contract had the old band name and it somehow found its way into the marketing?
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Story:
Phil rang me up one day and asked if he could borrow a microphone. I said "Sure", so he came straight over to pick it up. I asked him why he needed the mic, and he said Daryl Braithwaite was doing some 4-track recording at Phil's. I asked where Daryl was now, and Phil said, "He's sitting on my bed, waiting for me to come back to record." This was prior to Daryl's comeback - he'd really hit the skids. But still, I couldn't believe a legendary singer like Dazza didn't even own a microphone - wtf?