The Reels

Dubbo stands out as a sizable regional hub in New South Wales, Australia, defying the pattern that nearly all Australian groups emerge from major state capitals. That setting may account for the erratic yet striking musical path taken by the Reels. Centered on Dave Mason handling vocals alongside Colin ‘Polly’ Newman on keyboards and saxophone, and completed by Paul Abrahams on bass, John Bliss on drums, and Craig Hooper on guitar, the group pioneered the use of backing tapes, arranged the first national rail tour, and staged an entire performance drawn only from audience requests collected in advance. They launched as an offbeat post-new-wave act that drew attention through the single and album Quasimodo’s Dream, still regarded as their finest track. Broader recognition arrived via the MOR-covers collection Beautiful, promoted on television by the K-Tel label, yet by 1978 the lineup had shrunk to a duo that relied on sequencers and a computer for live shows. The 1988 album contained nothing but renditions of songs by prominent Australian bands. Domestically, their two charting singles were a direct reading of Burt Bacharach’s This Guy’s In Love With You in 1982 and a measured, playful take on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bad Moon Rising in 1986.