Glenn Shorrock

Having spent more than three decades building a career across Australia and the United Kingdom, singer-songwriter Glenn Shorrock arrived from England with his family in the mid-1950s. He soon embraced rock & roll and assembled the vocal quartet the Checkmates. Once the Beatles gained traction in Australia, the Checkmates evolved into the Twilights, scoring several hit singles between 1964 and 1969. After the group disbanded, Shorrock spent three months managing the Avengers before joining the supergroup Axiom in the U.K. in May 1969. The band dissolved in 1971, prompting him to sign a solo contract with the MAM label and issue three singles.

In 1972 he entered the twelve-piece international rock orchestra Esperanto. Their first album, Esperanto Rock Orchestra, appeared in 1973. Shorrock contributed only sparingly to the follow-up, Danse Macabre, and assumed a management position by the time of the third release, Last Tango, in 1974. Limited commercial impact led him to depart and provide backing vocals for Cliff Richard. Returning to Australia in October 1975, he founded the Little River Band. The group’s extended success concluded when Shorrock exited in February 1982 and John Farnham took his place.

Shorrock had already reached the Top Ten in 1979 with his version of Bobby Darin’s “Dream Lover.” He cut his debut solo album, Villian of the Peace, in Los Angeles. Late in 1982 he toured Australia and added vocals to Renee Geyer’s single “Going Back.” A subsequent collaboration with the Bushwackers, “We’re Coming to Get You,” climbed to number six on the national charts in October 1983. His next release, “Restless,” featured on the soundtrack for the documentary World Safari II. In 1986 he compèred ABC-TV’s Rock Arena and issued the single “American Flyer,” while also appearing in the stage production One for the Money. He rejoined the Little River Band in 1988 for three further years. Induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame followed in 1991. In 1993 he formed Blazing Salads alongside Brian Cadd, and the pair released a self-titled album that same year.