HARRY VANDA & GEORGE YOUNG

The story of Harry Vanda and George Young is the story of the most successful song writing and production team in Australian music history.
 
Harry and George met in 1964 in a Sydney migrant hostel where they created Australia’s biggest rock / pop band of the 1960s, The Easybeats. The band signed with visionary music publisher Ted Albert and within two years became the biggest act in the country. In a career that spanned seven years they recorded five albums and produced a dozen top 20 hits. The Easybeats pioneered Australian rock & roll. They were the first Australian band to write and record all original material, the first band to relocate overseas and the first to score a top 20 hit in both the UK and USA. They achieved this with the working class anthem ‘Friday On My Mind’. After four years in London The Easybeats called it a day at the end of 1969.

Harry Vanda and George Young remained in London and embarked on a production & writing partnership. In 1972 Ted Albert again approached the duo. He now offered to set up a production company should they consider coming back to Australia. Albert Productions turned out to be a fortuitous move for everyone and a historic decision for Australian rock music.

The new label launched in 1974 with an 11-minute trilogy ‘Evie’ Pt 1, 2 & 3. Fronted by Stevie Wright of The Easybeats. It was a bold move that paid off. The song hit No1 and remained in the charts for 26 weeks. This was followed by the release of his debut solo album ‘Hard Road’. Stevie Wright became the biggest male solo artist in 1974, with ‘Evie’ awarded  ‘song of the year’ at the Australian Music Awards. John Paul Young followed with numerous Vanda & Young hits and proved to be Australia’s top male pop artist of the 1970s. JPY also had several international hits, most notably ‘Love Is In The Air’, which later became the musical centerpiece of the ‘Strictly Ballroom’ soundtrack. In the years since, ‘Love Is In The Air’ has twice won the APRA award for the ‘most played’ Australian song internationally.

Harry & George have written several pop hits for solo artists and their alter ego Flash & The Pan landed two top 10 hits in Australia and developed a huge cult following in Europe with multiple gold album sales. Grace Jones had a worldwide No.1 with the Flash & The Pan song ‘Walking in the Rain’. Vanda & Young songs have been covered by many artists worldwide, such as David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Meatloaf, Tom Jones and Gary Moore just to name a few.

It would not however be pop music that Vanda & Young would become most celebrated for. In the mid 70s three acts released on the Albert label emerged with striking production similarities. AC/DC, Rose Tattoo and The Angels, Vanda & Young had produced an exciting new OZ rock sound. Albert’s became recognized as the rock Mecca of Australia. Harry & George would eventually produce eight AC/DC albums in total. The majority later became known as the ‘Bon Scott’ years. AC/DC proved to be their greatest achievement as rock producers. Featuring George’s brothers, Angus and Malcolm Young, AC/DC would change the face of rock globally and go on to become one of the greatest rock acts of all time. Moving into the 21st century they have sold over 200 million albums worldwide, their popularity continuing to grow with new generations discovering them.

Hit records continued at Albert’s, however toward the end of the 1980s production began to wind down. Harry & George would write and produce another Australian top five hit in 1990 ‘Show No Mercy’ for Mark Williams but the passing of Ted Albert and George Young’s move to England resulted in an unannounced retirement of the team.Harry remained at Alberts for several years. and spent time overseas. George Young has since spent his time on mostly non musical projects.

In 2005 Harry Vanda set up Flashpoint Music along with his son Daniel Vandenberg. Flashpoint launched with The Wrights.  A supergroup formed by Jet singer Nic Cester, The Wrights put their unique stamp on the ‘Evie’ trilogy which entered the charts at No. 2 and achieved Gold status.

Vanda & Young were the original inductees into the Australian 'Hall Of Fame' in 1988. The contribution of Harry Vanda and George Young to the Australian music industry as songwriters, recording artists and producers has spanned four decades, produced countless hits and earned them the coveted 'Ted Albert Memorial Award' for the 'Most Outstanding Contribution to Australian Music', presented by the Australasian Performing Rights Association. 'Friday On My Mind' was voted the ‘Best Australian song of all time’ at the 2001 APRA Music Awards and in 2006 The Easybeats were finally honored and inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.