Derek Pellicci | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Derek Allan Pellicci |
| Born | 18 February 1953 London, England |
| Genres | Soft rock, pop |
| Instrument(s) | Drums, percussion |
| Years active | 1968–1997 |
| Labels | Bootleg, EMI, Capitol, MCA, |
| Formerly of | Little River Band, Mississippi |
Derek Allan Pellicci (born 18 February 1953) is an English-born Australian drummer. He is best known as a founding member of Little River Band. Pellicci lives in Melbourne with his wife, Anne and a son.
In 1960, Pellicci's family, his father Arthur, mother Jessie and older brother John, emigrated to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia as "Ten Pound Poms".
In 1964, his older brother John took the then 11-year-old Pellicci to see The Beatles greet their "sea" of fans from the balcony of Melbourne's Southern Cross Hotel. Pellicci said he was spellbound by the experience and it moulded his career path. Shortly after, John bought him a Trixon drum kit which had been traded in at a local car dealer. With his passion for music now fully determined, Pellicci's school attendance took second billing to his beloved drum practice (which entailed playing along with every pop record he could get his hands on!)
After the family moved to King Island, Tasmania in 1966, Pellicci attended the local high school while John and Arthur took jobs at the King Island Scheelite mine. This rural culture shock was magnified by the fact that Pellicci was passionate about music but had to wait up to a month for the latest pop 45s to be freighted over from mainland Victoria.
In 1968 Pellicci returned to Melbourne to pursue his music career in earnest, first with the semi-pro band Recital, then his first professional group Plum.
The break-up of Plum led to stints with various groups: Ash (initially under the name Derek Allen), [1] Arthur & The Argonauts, Island, Blackfeather and New Zealand Highway.
In 1972 Pellicci joined a new band, Mississippi (featuring future Little River Band members, Graeham Goble and Beeb Birtles). [2] Mississippi not only served to develop his studio skills, but also was an orientation into the gruelling road tours that lay ahead. This led to more studio experience, both in recordings with Mississippi and session work in radio jingles and recordings with other artists.
In 1974 Mississippi sailed for England (coincidentally on the same ship that had brought Pellicci to Australia, the Fairsky ).
Whilst in the UK, Pellicci was stunned to learn he had been adopted as a baby. In 2003, he learnt that his birth mother, Gladys Sylvia Hadley had died in Jerusalem on 29 May 1990. Pellicci never met either of his biological parents.
In 1975 Mississippi returned to Australia and commenced rehearsals with new lead singer Glenn Shorrock, subsequently changing their name to Little River Band. Three years later, in 1978, two significant events occurred in Pellicci's life. In May he suffered a serious burns accident which hospitalised him for two months. [3] In December of that year, he married his longtime girlfriend, Anne Deacon.
Pellicci played drums on John Farnham's adult contemporary album Uncovered with guitarists Tommy Emmanuel, David Briggs, Barry Sullivan, Mal Logan and Peter Jones in 1980.
In April 1981, Pellicci and the other band members flew out to the Caribbean island of Montserrat to record the album Time Exposure with legendary Beatles producer George Martin. [4]
After the departure of Beeb Birtles from Little River Band, in 1984, Pellicci also quit the band and he and his wife Anne moved to Los Angeles to focus on his songwriting. Cold Chisel's Stephen Prestwich replaced Pellicci. Pellicci played on all 13 of Little River Band's Top 40 US hits.
Pellicci and Anne moved back to Australia for the birth of their son Joel in 1985. Over the next few years Pellicci worked on projects with well-known artists including Colin Hay, Daryl Braithwaite, Stevie Wright, Shirley Strachan, Ross Wilson, Marc Hunter, Stephen Cummings, Joe Camilleri, Renee Geyer, Eddie Rayner and Goanna, amongst others. He also composed lyrics for Japanese pop star, Yōsui Inoue's 'English language' album.
In 1988 Pellicci reunited with Little River Band (Birtles, David Briggs and George McArdle did not participate) for a triumphant show at the opening of the Brisbane World Expo 88 with a special guest, Eagles member Glenn Frey. [5] Little River Band performed with Warren Zevon and Christopher Cross as special guest members and continued to tour internationally for at least three months every year after the Brisbane Expo. At this time he co-wrote three songs for Little River Band's album Monsoon , and in a joint acknowledgement of their emigration experience, co-wrote "I Dream Alone" with Glenn Shorrock for the Get Lucky album.
After the completion of a successful US tour in 1997, Pellicci played his last show with Little River Band in Biloxi, Mississippi and subsequently retired from the music business.
The classic line-up of Goble, Birtles, Pellicci, Shorrock, Briggs and McArdle reunited for a live performance of "Help Is on Its Way" at Little River Band's induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2004. [6]
Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums reached the top 10 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart including Diamantina Cocktail and First Under the Wire, which both peaked at No. 2. Nine singles appeared in the top 20 on the related singles chart, with "Help Is on Its Way" (1977) as their only number-one hit. Ten singles reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Reminiscing" their highest, peaking at No. 3.
Glenn Barrie Shorrock is an English-born Australian singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of rock bands the Twilights, Axiom, Little River Band and post LRB spin-off trio Birtles Shorrock Goble, as well as being a solo performer.
Beeb Birtles is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has been a member of various Australian groups including Zoot (1967–71), Mississippi (1972–74), Little River Band (1975–83) and Birtles Shorrock Goble (2002–07). He has also worked as a solo artist, including releasing an album, Driven by Dreams (2000). In 2004, Birtles and other members of the classic line-up of Little River Band were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
Graeham George Goble, is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as a founding member of Australian rock group Little River Band and Birtles Shorrock Goble.
Birtles Shorrock Goble are an Australian pop/rock group composed of the three original singers and songwriters of Little River Band, namely Beeb Birtles, Glenn Shorrock and Graeham Goble. The members are known for their extensive writing and performance of hit songs and distinctive vocal harmonies. They are sometimes referred to by the initials BSG.
Monsoon is the tenth studio album by Australian group, Little River Band, with Glenn Shorrock returning as lead singer after John Farnham left the group to release his solo album Whispering Jack. The album was released in May 1988 and peaked at number nine on the Kent Music Report albums chart.
Sleeper Catcher is the fourth studio album by the Little River Band, released in April 1978. It peaked at No. 4 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and No. 16 on the Billboard 200. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in May 1979.
Time Exposure is the sixth studio album by Little River Band (LRB), which was recorded with producer George Martin at Associated Independent Recording (AIR) in Montserrat and released in September 1981. It peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. In the United States, it reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200.
First Under the Wire is the fifth studio album by Australian group Little River Band, released in July 1979 by Capitol Records. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, becoming the group's highest-charting album in that territory. The album included two top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits in "Lonesome Loser" and "Cool Change".
Uncovered is a solo studio album by British-born Australian singer John Farnham, produced by Little River Band's Graeham Goble, and released on 3 July 1980, which peaked at No. 20 on the Australian Kent Music Report album chart and was certified gold in 1981.
Backstage Pass is a first live album by Australian group Little River Band. The album was recorded by the Australian Broadcasting Commission at the Adelaide Festival Theatre in November 1978 and released in October 1979. It peaked at No. 18 on the Australian Kent Music Report
Birtles & Goble were an Australian pop music duo composed of Beeb Birtles and Graeham Goble. Although they were both full-time members of Little River Band during the late 1970s and early 80s, they also released an album and three singles as a duo between 1978 and 1980.
Live Exposure is a video by Little River Band, filmed at a live concert at The Summit in Houston, Texas on 7 October 1981.
Travis Wellington Hedge was an Australian pop rock band, based in Adelaide, that existed from 1968 to 1969. It was an early band of noted musician and composer Graeham Goble, who subsequently achieved success with Mississippi, Little River Band and Birtles Shorrock Goble.
"Happy Anniversary" is a pop music song by Australian group Little River Band, released in territories outside of Australia in December 1977 as the fourth and final single from the group's third studio album, Diamantina Cocktail. It was co-written by Beeb Birtles and David Briggs. The song became the band's second top twenty single in the United States, peaking at number 16 in March 1978 on the Billboard Hot 100.
We Two Pty Ltd v Shorrock (2002) was presided by Justice Raymond Finkelstein of the Federal Court of Australia, Melbourne to determine the ownership of the name, Little River Band, its trademarks, logos and associated assets. We Two Pty Ltd, the applicant, was established in 1987 and had been solely owned by Stephen Housden of the music group, Little River Band since 1998. The respondents, Glenn Shorrock, Gerard Bertelkamp and Graeham Goble, were all founding members of the same group, in 1975. Housden had joined them in 1981.
It's a Long Way There (Greatest Hits) is the first compilation album by the Australian group Little River Band, released in Australia and New Zealand in September 1978. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart and No. 12 in New Zealand. The album sold over 200,000 copies in Australia. Retitled It's a Long Way There (1975–1979) it was re-issued in Germany for the European market in 1979.
George McArdle is an Australian bass guitarist. He came from a violent, abusive background and was drawn to alcohol, fighting, theft and rock music.
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| Singles |
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| Related articles | |
| Authority control: Artists |
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