Tony Mitchell (musician)

Last updated
Tony Mitchell
Born (1951-09-05) 5 September 1951 (age 71)
Sydney, Australia
GenresRock, pop
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Bass, vocals
Years active1960s-present
Formerly of Sherbet

Tony Mitchell (born 5 September 1951) is a songwriter and bass guitarist who rose to fame in the 1970s with Australian rock band Sherbet. Mitchell co-wrote (with Garth Porter) some of Sherbet's biggest hits, including "Howzat" and "Magazine Madonna".

Contents

Early life

Born in Sydney, Australia, his first band was called Wheelbarrow. After recording and releasing one single for the band, he left them in order to play with Harry Young And Sabbath, whom he played with from 1969 to c. 1973. [1] [2]

Sherbet

Mitchell joined the band Sherbet in 1972. During his time in the band in the 1970s, they would go on to have hits such as Summer Love (1975) and Howzat (1976), both reaching number one in Australia. Tony co-wrote (with Garth Porter) some of Sherbet's biggest hits, including Howzat and Magazine Madonna . [3]

Howzat

In 1976, someone suggested to Tony Mitchell and keyboardist Garth Porter that Howzat might make a good title for a song because some of the members of Sherbet loved cricket. Despite Mitchell not being a good cricketer, he sat down with Porter at his Watsons Bay home to work on the idea. Mitchell soon came up with the "doo-doo, doo-doo" bass riff, after which the first thing that came into Porter's mind was the phrase "I caught you out." [4]

The song became Sherbet's biggest hit, rising to #1 on the Australian charts, and #4 in the United Kingdom.

Later Career

Mitchell would play in a few more band during the late 1970s and 1980s, such as; Autumn, John Paul Young and The All Stars, and The Foster Brothers. [5] Mitchell still continues to perform live on stage.

Discography

Related Research Articles

Sherbet was one of the most successful Australian rock bands of the 1970s. The 'classic line-up' of Daryl Braithwaite on vocals, Tony Mitchell on bass guitar, Garth Porter on keyboards, Alan Sandow on drums, and Clive Shakespeare on guitar provided their teen-oriented pop style. In 1976 Shakespeare left and was soon replaced by Harvey James. Sherbet's biggest singles were "Summer Love" (1975) and "Howzat" (1976), both reaching number one in Australia. "Howzat" was also a top 5 hit in the United Kingdom. The band was less successful in the United States, where "Howzat" peaked at No. 61. As The Sherbs they also reached No. 61 in 1981 with "I Have the Skill". The group disbanded in 1984. Subsequent re-unions have occurred since 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daryl Braithwaite</span> Australian singer

Daryl Braithwaite is an Australian singer. He was the lead vocalist of Sherbet. Braithwaite also has a solo career, placing 15 singles in the Australian top 40, including two number-one hits: "You're My World" and "The Horses". His second studio album, Edge, peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, No. 14 in Norway and No. 24 in Sweden.

Garth Ivan Richard Porter is a New Zealand-born Australian multi-instrumental musician, songwriter and record producer. He was a member, on keyboards and backing vocals, of the pop group, Sherbet (1970–84), and co-wrote both of their number-one singles, "Summer Love" and "Howzat". Porter is a co-writer and producer for country music singer Lee Kernaghan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clive Shakespeare</span> Musical artist

Clive Richard Shakespeare was an English-born Australian pop guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was a co-founder of pop rock group Sherbet, which had commercial success in the 1970s including their number-one single, "Summer Love" in 1975. The majority of Sherbet's original songs were co-written by Shakespeare with fellow band member Garth Porter. Other Sherbet singles co-written by Shakespeare include "Cassandra", "Slipstream" and "Silvery Moon". In January 1976 Shakespeare left the band citing dissatisfaction with touring, pressures of writing and concerns over the group's finances. Shakespeare produced albums for other artists including Post by Paul Kelly in 1985. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2002 and died of the disease in 2012, aged 64.

Alan Sandow is an Australian drummer and was a member of the rock band Sherbet.

<i>Howzat!</i> (album) 1976 studio album by Sherbet

Howzat! is the fifth studio album by Australian rock band, Sherbet. released in June 1976. It spent two weeks at number one on the Australian albums chart in 1976.

<i>Sherbets Greatest Hits</i> 1975 greatest hits album by Sherbet

Sherbet's Greatest Hits (1970–1975) was a compilation album released on Infinity Records in Australia in July 1975, at the height of Sherbet's popularity in Australia. It spent one week at the top of the Australian album chart in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summer Love (Sherbet song)</span> 1975 single by Sherbet

"Summer Love" is a song by Australian pop group, Sherbet and was released in March 1975. It became their first number-one hit on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. The song was promoted on the newly aired ABC TV pop series, Countdown, which gave it wide exposure. From early 1975 the group made more appearances on the show than any other band in the programme's history. In October, at the King of Pop Awards, "Summer Love" won the Most Popular Australian Single, the band won Most Popular Australian Group and their lead singer, Daryl Braithwaite, won the King of Pop award.

<i>Time Change... A Natural Progression</i> 1972 studio album by Sherbet

Time Change... A Natural Progression is the debut studio album by Sherbet released in December 1972. The album includes the bands hit singles "Can You Feel It, Baby?", "Free the People", "You're All Woman" and "You've Got the Gun". The album peaked at number 66 on the Kent Music Report.

<i>Life... Is for Living</i> 1975 studio album by Sherbet

Life... Is for Living is the fourth studio album by Sherbet released in November 1975. The album reached at number 3 on the Kent Music Report.

<i>Photoplay</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Sherbet

Photoplay the sixth studio album by Australian rock band, Sherbet released in June 1977. The album peaked at number 4 on the Kent Music Report.

<i>Sherbet</i> (Sherbet album) 1978 studio album by Sherbet

Sherbet is the seventh studio album by Australian band, Sherbet released in August 1978. The album peaked at number 6 on the Kent Music Report.

<i>In Concert</i> (Sherbet album) 1975 live album by Sherbet

In Concert is the first live album by Sherbet, released in March 1975. It reached number 11 on the Kent Music Report in Australia.

"So Glad You're Mine" is a song by Australian band Sherbet. It was released in January 1974 as the lead single from the band's third studio album, Slipstream. It reached number 44 on the Kent Music Report.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howzat (song)</span> 1976 single by Sherbet

"Howzat" is a song by Australian band Sherbet, released in May 1976. The song reached number 1 in Australia on the Kent Music Report and it also reached number 1 in New Zealand on the Recorded Music NZ. It was released from Sherbet's album of the same name, Howzat. The song was written by band members Garth Porter and Tony Mitchell. The title track was also a number one hit and remains the group's biggest hit, especially outside of Australia, reaching the top 5 of the UK charts and also entering the lower end of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">We Ride Tonight</span> 1982 single by The Sherbs

"We Ride Tonight" is a song by Australian band The Sherbs, released in May 1982. It was released from the band's ninth studio album Defying Gravity. The song reached at number 26 on the US Mainstream Rock in June 1982. The song was written by the Sherbet band members Garth Porter, Tony Mitchell and Daryl Braithwaite. The B-side is "Some People".

"Cassandra" is a song by Australian band Sherbet, released in September 1973 as the first and only single from Sherbet's second studio album, On with the Show. The song was written by Sherbet members Garth Porter and Clive Shakespeare. Cassandra peaked at number 5 on Go-Set and it also peaked at number 9 on the Kent Music Report.

Slipstream is a song by Australian band Sherbet, released in May 1974 as the second single from Sherbet's third studio album, Slipstream. The song peaked at number 5 on the Kent Music Report.

Silvery Moon is a song by Australian rock band Sherbet, released in August 1974 as the third and final single from the band's third studio album, Slipstream. The song reached number 5 on the Kent Music Report

Freedom is a song by Australian rock band, Sherbet. It was released in March 1975 as the first and only single from the band's live album, In Concert, recorded live on Sherbet's Slipstream Tour. The song was written by Garth Porter and Clive Shakespeare.

References

  1. ↑ Kimbo (10 September 2013). "HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN MUSIC FROM 1960 UNTIL 2000: HARRY YOUNG AND SABBATH". HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN MUSIC FROM 1960 UNTIL 2000. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Tony Mitchell, b. -1". National Portrait Gallery people. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  3. ↑ Metason. "Tony Mitchell". ArtistInfo. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  4. ↑ "I write the songs". Sydney Morning Herald . 28 January 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
  5. ↑ "Tony Mitchell | Australian Music Database". www.australianmusicdatabase.com. Retrieved 28 April 2023.


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