Biography
Scottish-born vocalist Barrie McAskill steered soul and R&B into Australian audiences throughout the 1960s while leading the fluid membership of Levi Smith's Clefs between 1967 and 1975. Organist Tweed Harris had launched the group in Adelaide during 1963 under the simpler name the Clefs, quickly building a loyal regional following. McAskill entered the ranks in 1965, at which point the personnel stabilized around Tweed Harris, Bruce Howe on bass, Les Tanner on guitar, Bob Jeffrey on saxophone, and Vince Jones on drums.
Three 45s appeared in 1966: “I Can Only Give You Everything” backed with “Roberta,” “Last Night” paired with “March of the Siamese Twins,” and “A Boy Like Me” coupled with “Bring It to Jerome.” After Harris departed for the Groove in 1967, McAskill assumed leadership; at the manager’s urging the ensemble adopted the expanded title Levi Smith's Clefs. The musicians relocated to Sydney and secured a steady engagement at the Whisky a Go Go. Personnel continued to shift, yielding a 1968 configuration that comprised McAskill, Inez Amaya on vocals, Michael Carlos on organ, John Blake on drums, Mick Jurd on guitar, Richard Lockwood on flute and saxophone, and Robert Taylor on drums.
Carlos, Lockwood, Blake, and Taylor exited at the close of 1968 to establish Tully, which supplied the pit band for the Australian staging of Hair; Amaya soon followed them into the same production. The remaining musicians—McAskill, Jurd, John Bissett on organ, Bruce Howe on bass, and Tony Buettel on drums—tracked the 1970 album Empty Monkey. Two singles emerged from those sessions: “Lisa” backed with “Roadrunner” in January and a reading of Junior Walker’s “Shotgun” backed with “Who Is It That Shall Come?” in April.
Further personnel adjustments produced a fresh unit billed as Barrie McAskill’s Levi Smith's Clefs, which issued the singles “Live Like a Man” paired with “Piece of My Heart” in September 1970 and “Gonna Get a Seizure” paired with “Dancing and Drinking” in April 1971, along with the shared EP Best of Whisky A Go Go alongside the band Autumn. The group maintained a regular presence at Sydney’s Chequers throughout 1971.
Additional changes brought a late-1971 roster of McAskill, Carlos, Stirling, Henson, and Jeffrey, who performed under the alternate banners Barrie McAskill’s Bear Brigade and McAskill’s Marauders. By mid-1972 McAskill was once more fronting yet another iteration of Levi Smith's Clefs; the original enterprise was winding down, and by 1976 he was appearing simply under his own name. In subsequent years he assembled and performed with multiple Adelaide ensembles, occasionally reviving the Levi Smith's Clefs appellation.
Three 45s appeared in 1966: “I Can Only Give You Everything” backed with “Roberta,” “Last Night” paired with “March of the Siamese Twins,” and “A Boy Like Me” coupled with “Bring It to Jerome.” After Harris departed for the Groove in 1967, McAskill assumed leadership; at the manager’s urging the ensemble adopted the expanded title Levi Smith's Clefs. The musicians relocated to Sydney and secured a steady engagement at the Whisky a Go Go. Personnel continued to shift, yielding a 1968 configuration that comprised McAskill, Inez Amaya on vocals, Michael Carlos on organ, John Blake on drums, Mick Jurd on guitar, Richard Lockwood on flute and saxophone, and Robert Taylor on drums.
Carlos, Lockwood, Blake, and Taylor exited at the close of 1968 to establish Tully, which supplied the pit band for the Australian staging of Hair; Amaya soon followed them into the same production. The remaining musicians—McAskill, Jurd, John Bissett on organ, Bruce Howe on bass, and Tony Buettel on drums—tracked the 1970 album Empty Monkey. Two singles emerged from those sessions: “Lisa” backed with “Roadrunner” in January and a reading of Junior Walker’s “Shotgun” backed with “Who Is It That Shall Come?” in April.
Further personnel adjustments produced a fresh unit billed as Barrie McAskill’s Levi Smith's Clefs, which issued the singles “Live Like a Man” paired with “Piece of My Heart” in September 1970 and “Gonna Get a Seizure” paired with “Dancing and Drinking” in April 1971, along with the shared EP Best of Whisky A Go Go alongside the band Autumn. The group maintained a regular presence at Sydney’s Chequers throughout 1971.
Additional changes brought a late-1971 roster of McAskill, Carlos, Stirling, Henson, and Jeffrey, who performed under the alternate banners Barrie McAskill’s Bear Brigade and McAskill’s Marauders. By mid-1972 McAskill was once more fronting yet another iteration of Levi Smith's Clefs; the original enterprise was winding down, and by 1976 he was appearing simply under his own name. In subsequent years he assembled and performed with multiple Adelaide ensembles, occasionally reviving the Levi Smith's Clefs appellation.
Albums
