Brian Cadd

Born on 29 November 1949 in Perth, Australia, Brian Cadd first gained notice as an organist through stints with the Groop from 1966 to 1969 and then Axiom until 1971, a group widely regarded at the time as the country’s inaugural supergroup. After an unsuccessful bid to crack the English scene, he returned in 1972 and launched a solo career, briefly teaming with Don Mudie to score the domestic hit “Show Me The Way.” Steady releases of keyboard-driven singles and well-received LPs gradually expanded his audience, allowing him to establish the Bootleg imprint, where he produced and developed additional artists while assembling the Bootleg Band as his regular studio, stage, and touring unit. Although his own records kept reaching the charts—his opening pair ranked as Australia’s top-selling albums of 1973—his songwriting proved the most durable asset, supplying material to numerous local performers. During the 1980s he moved to Los Angeles and placed compositions with major names including the Pointer Sisters and Gene Pitney. He joined Max Merritt and the Meteors for a 1990 tour, then entered the Flying Burrito Brothers lineup the following year, contributing vocals to Eye of the Hurricane in 1993 and Sons of the Golden West in 1999 while maintaining an extensive road schedule with the group. That same year he reunited in the studio with former Axiom colleague Glenn Shorrock. Cadd continues to teach and lecture across Australia and serves as co-owner of Streetwise Music Group; in 2005 he issued his first studio album in more than two decades.