Biography
Billy Thorpe stands among the more puzzling figures in Australian music, having pursued an array of distinct paths. His story opened in Brisbane after a television producer heard the youngster playing guitar and singing behind his parents’ shop. At ten he began making frequent appearances on Queensland television and sharing bills with many leading performers of the era.
At seventeen he relocated to Sydney to work as a solo country and pop vocalist precisely when the Beatles emerged. Quick to seize an opening, Thorpe joined forces with the instrumental group the Aztecs, and the partnership placed them among the earliest Australian acts to shape the fresh pop sound of the 1960s; in June 1964 they scored a major nationwide success with their reading of the Rolling Stones’ take on “Poison Ivy.” Following several additional period-flavored singles, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs shifted toward material that highlighted Thorpe’s vocal strengths, achieving another substantial hit with a straightforward ballad treatment of “Over the Rainbow” from the film The Wizard of Oz and, in July 1965, a version of the Platters’ “Twilight Time.” By then the original Aztecs had given way to a new lineup. Thorpe also hosted his own national program, It’s All Happening, and within two years amassed nine major chart entries.
Once the television series ended, Thorpe moved into middle-of-the-road cabaret work and largely faded from his pop audience’s view. In December 1968 he planned a move to England, accepting several Melbourne engagements to raise funds beforehand, yet he never departed for Britain. Instead he immersed himself in the vibrant rock and blues community then thriving in Melbourne, becoming a central participant. The “General Custer” lookalike delivered lengthy electric guitar solos and fronted the loudest band in the country; the boogie rock approach they developed directly shaped the later sound of AC/DC. With this incarnation of the Aztecs, Billy Thorpe returned to prominence via the Australian rock staple “Most People I Know (Think That I’m Crazy).” In November 1973 the group became the first rock act to perform at the Sydney Opera House.
After an unsuccessful British release of “Most People I Know,” Thorpe turned toward the United States, dissolving the Aztecs and adopting a more adult-oriented rock approach. In 1979 he secured an American contract with producer Spencer Proffer and recorded the ambitious science-fiction rock-opera album Children of the Sun, which reached the U.S. Top 20 and sold 500,000 copies. The follow-up, 21st Century Man, also earned gold certification stateside. Subsequent years found Thorpe engaged in varied non-music ventures, including electronics and toys, until he formed Zoo with Mick Fleetwood in 1990. Each return visit to Australia drew the loyal “Most People I Know”–era fans to any concert he staged. A built-in audience awaited “Thorpie” whenever he chose to perform.
In July 1996 Thorpe moved back to Australia and published two popular memoirs, Sex Thugs and Rock’n’Roll and Most People I Know, that touched only the surface of his experiences. Over the following decade he toured and appeared at benefit concerts, among them a 2005 event whose proceeds supported survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. On February 28, 2007, at age sixty, he suffered a fatal heart attack.
At seventeen he relocated to Sydney to work as a solo country and pop vocalist precisely when the Beatles emerged. Quick to seize an opening, Thorpe joined forces with the instrumental group the Aztecs, and the partnership placed them among the earliest Australian acts to shape the fresh pop sound of the 1960s; in June 1964 they scored a major nationwide success with their reading of the Rolling Stones’ take on “Poison Ivy.” Following several additional period-flavored singles, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs shifted toward material that highlighted Thorpe’s vocal strengths, achieving another substantial hit with a straightforward ballad treatment of “Over the Rainbow” from the film The Wizard of Oz and, in July 1965, a version of the Platters’ “Twilight Time.” By then the original Aztecs had given way to a new lineup. Thorpe also hosted his own national program, It’s All Happening, and within two years amassed nine major chart entries.
Once the television series ended, Thorpe moved into middle-of-the-road cabaret work and largely faded from his pop audience’s view. In December 1968 he planned a move to England, accepting several Melbourne engagements to raise funds beforehand, yet he never departed for Britain. Instead he immersed himself in the vibrant rock and blues community then thriving in Melbourne, becoming a central participant. The “General Custer” lookalike delivered lengthy electric guitar solos and fronted the loudest band in the country; the boogie rock approach they developed directly shaped the later sound of AC/DC. With this incarnation of the Aztecs, Billy Thorpe returned to prominence via the Australian rock staple “Most People I Know (Think That I’m Crazy).” In November 1973 the group became the first rock act to perform at the Sydney Opera House.
After an unsuccessful British release of “Most People I Know,” Thorpe turned toward the United States, dissolving the Aztecs and adopting a more adult-oriented rock approach. In 1979 he secured an American contract with producer Spencer Proffer and recorded the ambitious science-fiction rock-opera album Children of the Sun, which reached the U.S. Top 20 and sold 500,000 copies. The follow-up, 21st Century Man, also earned gold certification stateside. Subsequent years found Thorpe engaged in varied non-music ventures, including electronics and toys, until he formed Zoo with Mick Fleetwood in 1990. Each return visit to Australia drew the loyal “Most People I Know”–era fans to any concert he staged. A built-in audience awaited “Thorpie” whenever he chose to perform.
In July 1996 Thorpe moved back to Australia and published two popular memoirs, Sex Thugs and Rock’n’Roll and Most People I Know, that touched only the surface of his experiences. Over the following decade he toured and appeared at benefit concerts, among them a 2005 event whose proceeds supported survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. On February 28, 2007, at age sixty, he suffered a fatal heart attack.
Albums
Singles
