Melissa

Melissa was an Australian hard-rock/folk band behind the 1971 album Midnight Trampoline on Banner, a division of Festival.

Members: Robert Gunn (flute, vocals), Rick Barrett (guitar), Ken Frazier (bass, vocals, 1969-?), Warren “Wal” Spark (drums), Joe Creighton (vocals, ?-1972)

Background

Melissa emerged in Sydney in early 1970 when singer-flutist Robert Gunn, guitarist Richard Barrett, bassist Ken Frazer, and drummer Warren Sparke renamed their quartet after a stint as Molten Hue.

Barrett grew up in St Marys, west of Sydney, where he took up guitar at ten and studied music theory with a local violin teacher. In 1963, schoolmate Frazer recruited him for a beat group that performed under the name The Senate. Around 1968, they regrouped as Molten Hue with Gunn and Sparke.

Gunn grew up in Lancing, Sussex, and emigrated to Australia in 1962. He played rhythm guitar in Rick and the Bad Boys on the 1966 Downunder single “Bad Boy” (b/w “Listen”), produced by Nat Kipner. Gunn joined Molten Hue as singer and subsequently added flute to the repertoire.

Molten Hue played suburban dances and Sydney clubs, including Chequers, the Arts Factory, and Here in North Sydney, where the quartet performed with a sixteen-piece orchestra.

Early Activity

In early 1970, manager Dal Myles arranged the first Melissa single, a remake of “Mississippi Mama” by the American group Owen-B, backed with the Bob Dylan song “Too Much of Nothing.” Rory Thomas produced the March Festival release at United Sound Studios with engineer Spencer Lee. Thomas added piano to the lead side, with chorus vocals by Billy Thorpe, Lobby Loyde, and Jeff St John drummer Peter Figures.

Frazer departed in September 1970, prompting Melissa to recruit Irish bassist-singer Joe Creighton through a newspaper advertisement. Creighton grew up in Belfast, where he took up guitar at eleven and played R&B with The Aside. He moved to Australia in 1967 and joined The Sands before a brief return to Northern Ireland. After settling in Sydney, Creighton and Barrett became roomies at a terrace house in McMahons Point, where the two developed a songwriting partnership. They signed their songs to Mountain Music, the publishing arm of the Dal Myles organization.

Melissa financed an album at United Sound with Lee as producer and engineer. The quartet cut rhythm tracks during ten sessions between December 1970 and May 1971, with additional overdubs and mixing through June. Creighton left after a March concert with Tully at Paddington Town Hall, prompting the recruitment of bassist Ken Hanley and keyboardist Glen Farley, who added Fender Rhodes overdubs to several tracks. Singer Ted Mulry added vocal harmonies to “Out in the Country,” credited as Martin. Gunn departed in September, leaving Barrett and Sparke to continue the group with new personnel. Myles issued the completed album that October on his Banner label through Festival as Midnight Trampoline.

Discography:

• Midnight Trampoline (1971)

References and notes

• Melissa — Klemen Breznikar interview, February 2, 2022. Extensive firsthand accounts from Richard Barrett, Robert Gunn, and Joe Creighton. Establishes the school-band origins, Molten Hue, early venues, single production, personnel changes, Mountain Music, studio invoices, guest credits, and October 1971 album release. (It’s Psychedelic Baby Magazine)
• Joe Creighton — autobiographical memoir. Belfast upbringing, the Aside, return to Sydney, Melissa recruitment, album sessions, and departure for overseas travel. (1970: Back in Sydney)
• Rick and the Bad Boys — original Downunder single, UK-1398. Confirms Robert Gunn on rhythm guitar for the 1966 release “Bad Boy” (b/w “Listen”), with Nat Kipner and Ossie Byrne involved in the label operation. (Original single documentation)
• Rick and the Bad Boys — Australian music history, June 23, 2019. Loose Ends origins, Gunn personnel credit, Nat Kipner production arrangement, and 1966 Downunder release. (Group history)
• Melissa — Australian music history, September 10, 2013. Molten Hue chronology, Sydney venues, original lineup, 1970 Festival single, Banner album, and subsequent personnel changes. (Band history and discography)
• Melissa — Joe Creighton official discography. Original album, 1970 single, first lineup, and 1999 Vicious Sloth reissue documentation. (Midnight Trampoline)
• Australian Popular Music Catalogue — National Film and Sound Archive. Catalog numbers FK-3590 for the Festival single and SBNL-93435 for the Banner LP. The LP year conflicts with the documented 1971 sessions. (Vinyl catalogue, Part 2)