"Heaven and Hell" | ||||
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Single by The Easybeats | ||||
B-side | "Pretty Girl" | |||
Released | 22 June 1967 | |||
Recorded | Olympic Studios, London, 1967 | |||
Genre | Rock, psychedelic pop | |||
Length | 2:38 | |||
Label | Parlophone (Australia), United Artists Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Harry Vanda and George Young | |||
Producer(s) | Glyn Johns | |||
Easybeats Australian / UKsingles chronology | ||||
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Easybeats USsingles chronology | ||||
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"Heaven and Hell" is a 1967 song and single by Australian rock group The Easybeats, which was written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda. The song marked a changed in style for the group, influenced by the psychedelic and baroque pop of the time.
When the song was released worldwide in June 1967, it ran into censorship problems in some regions. In the U.K. it was banned by the BBC because of references to "discovering someone else in your bed". [1] In the U.S., United Artists feared record stations would also object to the line "discovering someone else in your bed". To play it safe, a censored version was recorded with a replacement line "discovering that your love has gone dead". The song appeared in Australia, briefly, in censored form but was soon released uncensored. [2]
The song performed disappointingly in the U.S and U.K. It charted in the U.S. on the Cashbox and Record World charts at #92 and #96 retrospectively. In the U.K. it reached #55 on Record Retailer's charts. In their home country of Australia it did much better, reaching #14 in Go-Set.
Australia - Parlophone A-8224, U.K. - United Artists UP 1183, U.S. - United Artists UA 50187
Chart (1967) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia Go-Set Charts | 14 |
UK Record Retailer | 55 |
US Cashbox | 92 |
US Record World | 96 |
The Easybeats were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney in late 1964. Considered one of the most important rock acts in Australia during the 1960s, they enjoyed a level of success that in Australia rivalled The Beatles. They became the first Australian rock act to score an international hit, with the 1966 single "Friday on My Mind", as well as one of the few in Australia to exclusively write and record original material.
John Inglis Young, OAM, known professionally as John Paul Young, is a Scottish-born Australian pop singer who had his 1978 worldwide hit with "Love Is in the Air". His career was boosted by regular appearances as a performer and guest host on national broadcaster, ABC's 1974–1987 TV series, Countdown. Besides "Love Is in the Air", Young had top ten chart success in Germany and the Netherlands with "Standing in the Rain" and four other top ten hits in South Africa, including No. 1 hits with "I Hate the Music" in 1976 and "Yesterday's Hero" in 1975.
George Redburn Young was an Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands the Easybeats and Flash and the Pan, and was one-half of the songwriting and production duo Vanda & Young with his long-time musical collaborator Harry Vanda.
Flash and the Pan were an Australian new wave musical group formed in 1976 by Harry Vanda and George Young, both former members of the Easybeats; they were a production and songwriting team known as Vanda & Young. The group's first chart success was their 1976 debut single, "Hey, St. Peter", which reached number five in the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. The next single, "Down Among the Dead Men", peaked at number four in Australia in 1978; it was re-titled as "And the Band Played On" for international release.
"Friday on My Mind" is a 1966 song by Australian rock group the Easybeats. Written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda, the track became a worldwide hit, reaching no. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, no. 1 on the Dutch Top 40 chart, no. 1 in Australia and no. 6 in the UK, as well as charting in several other countries. In 2001, it was voted "Best Australian Song" of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) as determined by a panel of 100 music industry personalities. In 2007, "Friday on My Mind" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry.
"Evie" is a rock song performed by Australian singer and former frontman of the Easybeats, Stevie Wright. It was written by Harry Vanda and George Young and released as a single in 1974. It has been suggested that it is the first 11-minute song to chart at #1 anywhere in the world.
The Best of The Easybeats + Pretty Girl is the first compilation album by The Easybeats featuring a selection of songs recorded by the group between 1965 and 1966. The album was originally released in Australia and New Zealand under the Parlophone label under the then current licensing arrangement by the band's production company Albert Productions.
Vigil is the fifth studio album by Australian rock band The Easybeats, released in May 1968. This would be the second and final album by the band released on the United Artists Records label.
Friends is the sixth and final studio album by Australian rock band the Easybeats. It was released in early 1970 as part of the group's new recording contract with Polydor Records. It would be the only album Polydor released of the band as they broke up before its release.
Vanda & Young were an Australian songwriting and producing duo composed of Harry Vanda and George Young. They performed as members of 1960s Australian rock group the Easybeats where Vanda was their lead guitarist and backing singer and Young was their rhythm guitarist and backing singer. Vanda & Young co-wrote most of the Easybeats' later hits including their international hit "Friday on My Mind" and they were the record producers for the group from 1967. Young was the older brother of Malcolm and Angus Young of the hard rock band AC/DC and also the record producer behind several of the band's biggest albums. The "Guitar George" and "Harry" who are mentioned in the Dire Straits hit song "Sultans of Swing" are George Young and Harry Vanda.
Hard Road is the debut solo album from Australian singer Stevie Wright. The album's first single "Evie " was hugely successful and the title track was later covered on Rod Stewart's 1974 album Smiler. The album itself reach #2 on the Australian albums charts in 1974 was the 16th highest selling album in Australia that year. The compact disc is currently out-of-print and has become quite rare. A digital edition was available on iTunes as of June, 2014.
Good Friday is the fourth studio album by The Easybeats, released in May 1967. It was the first album released after the band signed an international recording deal with United Artists Records. The original UK album was released in May 1967. Although "Friday on My Mind" was a big single in the UK, the album failed to make the top 40.
Friday On My Mind is the first North American album from The Easybeats. The album was released as Good Friday in Europe, in the same month. This version omitted "Hound Dog" and replaced it with "Women" from the Australian It's 2 Easy album.
"Who'll Be the One" is a song written by Harry Vanda and George Young. It was originally recorded by the Australian rock group the Easybeats in 1967. The song was a follow up to their successful single "Friday On My Mind". The single was a flop in the U.K., but it reached #12 on the Go-Set charts in Australia
"Falling Off the Edge of the World" is a 1967 song and single by Australian rock group The Easybeats, which was written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda.
"The Music Goes 'Round My Head" is a 1967 song and single by Australian rock group The Easybeats, which was written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda.
"Standing in the Rain" is a disco song recorded by Australian pop singer John Paul Young. It was released in Europe in February 1977 and in Australia in December 1977 as the third and final single from Young's third studio album, J.P.Y. (1976). The song was written by George Young and Harry Vanda.
Black Eyed Bruiser is the second studio album from Australian singer Stevie Wright. The album was not as commercially successful as its predecessor Hard Road and would be the Wright's final album released with production team Vanda and Young and record label Albert Productions.
"Peculiar Hole in the Sky" is a song written by Harry Vanda and George Young. It was originally recorded by the Australian rock group the Easybeats in 1967, but left unreleased until 1969. The song would later be given to Australian rock group, The Valentines, which included singer Bon Scott, who would later join George Young's brothers Malcolm Young and Angus Young in AC/DC. The Valentines version would be released in August 1968.
"Hello, How Are You" is a 1968 song and single by Australian rock group the Easybeats, which was written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda.