Jeff St. John’s Copperwine -

Jeff St. John’s Copperwine was an Australian psych-rock/soul band that released the 1970 Spin album Joint Effort.

Copperwine members: Jeff St. John (vocals), Harry Brus (bass), Ross East (guitar, vocals), Johnny Green (guitar), Barry Kelly (piano, clarinet), Wendy Saddington (vocals), Peter Figures (drums), Alan Ingham (bass), Phil Wooding (guitar)

Background

Jeff St John’s Copperwine formed in Perth in October 1968 when singer Jeff St John assembled guitarist John Green, keyboardist Barry Kelly, bassist Alan Ingham, and drummer Peter Figures. Green and Kelly came from Marty Rhone and the Soul Agents; Figures played in the Throb and Yama, the preceding band led by St John. Green left after the first Perth phase, and former In-Sect guitarist Phil Wooding took his place. Wooding soon departed, and St John recruited Yama guitarist Ross East.

St John was born Jeffrey Leo Newton on April 22, 1946, in Newtown, Sydney. His baritone father and contralto mother sang musical comedy and light operetta in the family home. St John attended Cleveland Street Boys High School in Surry Hills and entered children’s talent quests on Sydney radio station 2GB from his eighth year. He joined Channel Nine’s Opportunity Knocks as a featured vocalist at age 15 under host Desmond Tester and appeared regularly through the early-sixties run.

Bassist John Helman recruited St John into the Syndicate in 1965 after police removed original singer Shane Duckman from a York Club performance. The group became the Wild Oats and then the Id after it won the opening residency at Rhubarbs in Neutral Bay. Newton adopted the stage name Jeff St John at the Rhubarbs residency. The Id recorded “Lindy Lou” for Spin in February 1966 and reached national charts the next January with “Big Time Operator.” The band supported the Roy Orbison/Walker Brothers/Yardbirds Australian tour. St John left the Id in July 1967 after bandmates chose to drop the horn section.

Yama reunited St John with drummer Peter Figures and paired him with guitarist Ross East. The seven-piece band recorded “Nothing Comes Easy” for Spin but dissolved after ten months. St John ended Yama in mid-1968 after his leg calliper caused a severe pressure wound, then returned to Sydney for several months of hospital treatment. St John accepted low-paid Perth engagements after the hospital stay and used those dates to return to live performance.

Copperwine played low-key Perth dates in early 1969, then relocated to the Sydney circuit. Copperwine joined the developing Sydney concert scene alongside Tully and Tamam Shud. The band opened 1970 with a January 24–25 appearance at the Pilgrimage for Pop festival in Ourimbah. Copperwine entered Festival Studios in Sydney after Ourimbah with producer Spencer Lee to record the Spin debut Joint Effort.

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