Flash And The Pan

Emerging as the foremost side project from the songwriting partnership of Harry Vanda and George Young—the driving force behind the Easybeats—Flash and the Pan started life in 1976 merely as a way to occupy time between other studio commitments. The year 1979 brought a novelty success in the form of the single "Hey St. Peter." Follow-up release "Down Among the Dead" also found favor across Australia and Europe, prompting the issuance of the self-titled album Flash and the Pan. Import pressings began receiving airplay on American stations, which in turn secured a contract with Epic Records. Without any live dates to promote it, the album still climbed into the U.S. Top 100. Two further albums appeared and registered modest gains in the U.K., yet broader recognition remained elusive because the endeavor was always treated as a part-time pursuit.