Buffalo -

Buffalo was an Australian hard-rock band from Sydney that released five albums between 1972 and 1977 on Vertigo. Their first two, Dead Forever… and Volcanic Rock, have since gained classic status among international hard-rock circles.

Members: Dave Tice (vocals), John Baxter (guitar, 1971-75), Pete Wells (bass, 1971-76), Paul Balbi (drums, 1971-72), Alan Milano (vocals, 1971-72), Jimmy Economou (drums, 1972-77), Norm Roue (guitar, 1975), Colin Stead (guitar, 1975), Karl Taylor (guitar, 1975-76), Chris Turner (guitar, 1976-77), Ross Sims (bass, 1976-77)

Background

Buffalo formed in Sydney in August 1971 when singer Dave Tice reorganized Head with singer Alan Milano, drummer Paul Balbi, guitarist John Baxter, and bassist Peter Wells.

Tice was born in London and reached Queensland with his family after a 1964 migration. He met Wells after early garage practice in Queensland; the pair played in The Odd Colours and Strange Brew before Head.

Head worked the Brisbane circuit before a Sydney move during 1970, when the group sought wider agency access and record-company attention. Milano came from Mandala. Baxter joined after an advertisement in a music paper.

An agent rejected the Head name over sexual and drug connotations. Tice chose Buffalo after a map-pin search for a B-name. Buffalo made their Philips debut in May 1972 with “Suzie Sunshine” and “No Particular Place to Go.” The group then entered Sydney studios for a Vertigo album.

Dead Forever…

Buffalo released their debut album, Dead Forever…, in June 1972 on Vertigo.

Dead Forever… contains six group originals plus covers of Blues Image (“Pay My Dues”) and Free (“I’m a Mover”). The opening lineup matches Tice and Milano at the microphone with Baxter, Wells, and Balbi. Milano left after the album. Drummer Jimmy Economou replaced Balbi before Buffalo returned with the second single.

“Leader” broods from a forlorn acoustic figure into a thick riff march, with rough paired voices over the first surge. “Suzie Sunshine” bounds through a clear, laid-back gait, then yields to Baxter’s slide break. “Pay My Dues” veers from feedback haze into a two-singer handoff. “I’m a Mover” sprawls beyond its source with rhythm changes and an extended freak-out.

“Ballad of Irving Fink” shuffles through barroom phrasing and a screwdriver slide break. “Bean Stew” charges through blunt riff cycles and a fleet, road-worn stride. “Forest Rain” lingers in rain, wind, and gull effects around a dazed ballad drift. “Dead Forever” clenches dense riffing, barroom overtones, and multi-tracked leads around a morbid title chant.

A1. “Leader” (6:07) – Tice, Baxter, Wells
A2. “Suzie Sunshine” (3:00) – Baxter, Brett
A3. “Pay My Dues” (5:36) – Lala, Pinera
A4. “I’m a Mover” (10:57) – Rodgers, Fraser

B1. “Ballad of Irving Fink” (4:37) – Baxter, Milano
B2. “Bean Stew” (7:11) – Tice, Baxter
B3. “Forest Rain” (6:28) – Tice, Baxter
B4. “Dead Forever” (5:32) – Tice, Baxter

Sessions occurred in 1972 at United Sound and Copperfield Sound Productions in Sydney with producer-engineer Spencer Lee and executive producer Dermot Hoy. Dead Forever… appeared in an Ian Brown sleeve with photography by Nicolas J. Van Der Ley. The front cover shows a blood-marked face inside a skull socket, while the inner gatefold uses a Rookwood Cemetery group photograph.

Philips issued “Suzie Sunshine” as a May 1972 single (b/w “No Particular Place to Go”). “Just a Little Rock and Roll (A Shot of Rhythm and Blues)” followed as a December 1972 single (b/w “Barbershop Rock”). Dead Forever… reached No. 47 on the Kent Music Report.

Volcanic Rock

Buffalo released their second album, Volcanic Rock, in August 1973 on Vertigo.

Buffalo recorded Volcanic Rock as a four-piece after Milano and Balbi left the lineup. Tice and Baxter wrote four titles. Baxter and Wells co-wrote “Intro: Pound of Flesh,” the first half of the closing two-part track.

“Sunrise (Come My Way)” erupts from a frenzied intro into a pounding beat, with Tice’s gnawed delivery riding the riff. “Freedom” lumbers through a slow trudge and stretches its jam into a steamrolling middle. “’Til My Death” slams through rough riff layers while Tice stays above the churn.

“The Prophet” slows into a thunderous mid-tempo rhythm while Baxter’s guitar lead answers Tice’s howls. “Intro: Pound of Flesh” stalks through a two-step instrumental with ornate solo turns before the handoff. “Shylock” races through fast riff cycles, near rupture, then locks into the final title calls.

A1. “Sunrise (Come My Way)” (4:58) – Tice, Baxter
A2. “Freedom” (9:02) – Tice, Baxter
A3. “Till My Death” (5:37) – Tice, Baxter

B1. “The Prophet” (7:25) – Tice, Baxter
B2. “Intro: Pound of Flesh” (4:35) / “Shylock” (5:58) – Baxter, Wells / Tice, Baxter

Sessions occurred in 1973 at United Sound with Spencer Lee as producer and Wahanui “Wyn” Wynyard as engineer. Dermot Hoy served as executive producer. Volcanic Rock appeared in an Ian Brown art-directed sleeve with illustration by J. Phillip Thomas and photography by Van Der Ley and Taylor. The cover depicts a nude figure above an orange volcanic field.

Philips lifted “Sunrise (Come My Way)” as a November 1973 single (b/w “Pound of Flesh”). The mono single edit trims the album introduction. Volcanic Rock reached No. 33 on the Kent Music Report.

Only Want You for Your Body

Buffalo released their third album, Only Want You for Your Body, in June 1974 on Vertigo.

Buffalo retained the four-piece lineup for Only Want You for Your Body and cut six Tice–Baxter originals plus “I’m Coming On,” a Ten Years After cover by Alvin Lee. The album preceded the mid-1974 arrival of touring slide guitarist Norm Roue.

“I’m a Skirt Lifter, Not a Shirt Raiser” barrels through a driving rhythm and Tice’s gravel-throated bawl. “I’m Coming On” churns at mid pace with a heavy, cover-derived advance. “Dune Messiah” lumbers through a dazed crawl under sci-fi text. “Stay with Me” tightens the riff pattern into a direct, compact cut.

“What’s Going On” hammers a head-nodding riff with compact single force. “Kings Cross Ladies” stretches the groupie chronicle across a hard-driving riff parade. “United Nations” expands the political-apocalyptic text through Baxter’s distorted lead runs and a broad stage-ready sprawl.

A1. “I’m a Skirt Lifter, Not a Shirt Raiser” (4:52)
A2. “I’m Coming On” (3:39) – Lee
A3. “Dune Messiah” (4:32)
A4. “Stay with Me” (3:37)

B1. “What’s Going On” (3:57)
B2. “Kings Cross Ladies” (7:27)
B3. “United Nations” (6:17)

Sessions occurred in 1974 at United Sound in Sydney with producer-engineer Spencer Lee and executive producer Dermot Hoy. Only Want You for Your Body appeared in a sleeve with photography credited to Anthony Green and Nicolas J. Van Der Ley. The front cover shows a screaming semi-nude woman chained to a torture rack. The back cover shows Buffalo in leather, platform boots, and stage gear with a bullwhip.

Philips issued “What’s Going On” as a May 1974 single (b/w “I’m Coming On”). Only Want You for Your Body reached No. 61 on the Kent Music Report.

Mother’s Choice

Buffalo released their fourth album, Mother’s Choice, in March 1976 on Vertigo.

Mother’s Choice introduces guitarist Karl Taylor after Baxter’s dismissal and credits slide guitarist Norm Roue on six tracks. Mark Simmonds adds saxophone to “Sweet Little Sixteen.” Tice and Taylor wrote four originals. The remaining program pairs the Roue title “Lucky” with two Chuck Berry covers and group-credited “Essukay.”

“Long Time Gone” jumps with a short, barroom charge. “Honey Babe” surges with a firm shove and a looser slide edge. “Little Queenie” plods through a meandering Berry recast, with horns crossing the middle stretch. “Lucky” swaggers around Roue’s sharp slide over a plain bar-band base. “Essukay” settles into a slower, heavier plod.

A1. “Long Time Gone” (2:32) – Tice, Taylor
A2. “Honey Babe” (5:52) – Tice, Taylor
A3. “Taste It Don’t Waste It” (4:48) – Tice, Taylor
A4. “Little Queenie” (4:08) – Berry

B1. “Lucky” (3:29) – Roue
B2. “Essukay” (6:10) – Economou, Taylor, Tice, Wells
B3. “Sweet Little Sixteen” (3:55) – Berry
B4. “Be Alright” (5:11) – Tice, Taylor

Sessions occurred during 1975 and 1976 at E.M.J. Studios and Trafalgar Studios in Sydney with Buffalo and John Zulaikha as producers. Zulaikha engineered the album. Mother’s Choice appeared in a gatefold sleeve that shows an elderly woman in a rocking chair against rose-and-butterfly wallpaper. The cassette cover isolates the rose and butterfly image from the wallpaper field.

Vertigo issued “Little Queenie” as a mid-1975 single (b/w “The Girl Can’t Help It”), followed in November by “Lucky” (b/w “On My Way”). “Sweet Little Sixteen” became an April 1976 single (b/w “Essukay”). Mother’s Choice reached No. 96 on the Kent Music Report.

Average Rock ’n’ Roller

Buffalo released their fifth album, Average Rock ’n’ Roller, in June 1977 on Vertigo.

Buffalo made Average Rock ’n’ Roller with guitarist Chris Turner and bassist Ross Sims after the departures of Taylor and Wells. Turner wrote or co-wrote six of the eight album titles, including the three-part “Hero Suite.” Peter Wells returns on selected tracks; saxophonist Mark Simmonds and backing singers Shirley Reed and Penny Dyer appear on track-specific credits.

“Rollin’” saunters on acoustic strum with a mellow, firm gait. “Average Rock ’n’ Roller” kicks through horn-stabbed pub-room motion. “Hotel Ladies” swells from acoustic guitar figures into a broad late-section rise. “Sailor” drifts on the same acoustic grain with an earnest singerly arc. “Hero Suite” chains three blue-collar parts through plainspoken section turns.

A1. “You Say” (4:58) – Tice, Turner, Sims, Economou
A2. “Rollin’” (3:20) – Stead
A3. “Average Rock ’n’ Roller” (3:25) – Turner
A4. “Hotel Ladies” (5:27) – Turner, Tice, Stead

B1. “Bad News” (3:18) – Turner
B2. “Sailor” (4:53) – Tice, Economou
B3. “Rhythm Madness” (3:34) – Turner, Tice, Economou
B4. “Hero Suite: Lend Me Your Ears / Crying Out for Help / Between the Line” (8:14) – Turner / Turner / Turner, Sims

Sessions occurred in 1976 at Armstrong Studios and Trafalgar Studios in Sydney, where Buffalo produced the album with Armstrong engineer Ross Cockle and Trafalgar engineers John Zulaikha and Peter Walker. Average Rock ’n’ Roller appeared in an Ian Brown cover design with layout by Dave Macken. Grenville Turner photographed the front cover, and Colin Stead photographed the back cover.

Vertigo issued “Rollin’” as a 1976 single (b/w “Hotel Ladies”). “Sailor” followed as a 1977 single (b/w “Average Rock ’n’ Roller”). Average Rock ’n’ Roller reached No. 92 on the Kent Music Report.

Postlude

Dave Tice made one solo single during Buffalo’s final phase: “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” (b/w “Sweet Little Rock ’n’ Roller”). After Buffalo folded, he moved to London and replaced Mike Spenser in the Count Bishops, where ex-Buffalo drummer Paul Balbi had worked from the Chiswick debut EP period. The Tice–Balbi lineup recorded the 1977 album The Count Bishops, the 1978 live album Live!, and the 1979 album Cross Cuts before the 1980 split. Tice returned to Australia during 1984 and worked Sydney rooms such as the Bridge Hotel and the Sandringham.

Peter Wells left Buffalo during 1976 and formed Rose Tattoo, first as bassist and then as slide guitarist after Ian Rilen joined on bass. Wells co-wrote Rose Tattoo material across the 1978 album Rose Tattoo, the 1981 album Assault & Battery, and the 1982 album Scarred for Life before his early-1983 exit. From 1985, Wells worked with Lucy De Soto on band and co-composition projects.

Karl Taylor issued the 1976 album Taylor Maid on Polydor and paired it with “You Won’t Come Around” backed with “Prove You Wrong.” He formed Karl Taylor & Huntress for the related touring work.

Discography: