In the United States, they continued to score No.1 hits in the country genre over the ensuing decades.
This year, the duo embark on a 50th anniversary tour of the US.
The brothers have been regular visitors to our shores too, having last toured Australia in 2016.
“Australia is one of our favourite places to tour,” Howard Bellamy said.
“It’s just an amazing land.
“We’ve been to Australia, I think four or five times now.
“On those tours we did casino dates, theatre dates and even a cruise.”
I asked Howard if there were any plans to include Australia on this latest trek.
“We'd love to come back,” he said.
“We have talked about doing some things there, but we will see.”
The duo have toured extensively across the world during their career, and say their audiences tend to be a mixed bag wherever they go.
“It’s anyone from eight to 80, so the demographic’s usually pretty broad,” David Bellamy said.
“In the States, we can get three generations of people at our shows: the kids, the parents and the grandparents.
“The music breaks a barrier that you feel like you know each other already.”
The brothers have experienced the ever-changing music industry from the front line.
“We started out on vinyl and we ended back up on vinyl,” David said.
“We went through eight tracks, vinyl and cassettes, and CDs and digital downloads.
“Recently, Let Your Love Flow went gold again on the digital platform.
“It is the first digital gold record we’ve ever had in our career, which is pretty wild.”
The brothers believe that they’ve been able to navigate successfully the tough music business and all its pitfalls by having a strong connection with family.
“We had a great childhood growing up,” Howard said.
“The farm we live on has been in our family for 150 years.
“We’ve had bumps in the road, no doubt about it with record labels and that sort of thing, but it’s been an incredible ride.
“And even the bad things that happened, we’ve never remained bitter.
“We just get over it and keep on going.”
For more on the Bellamy Brothers visit: bellamybrothers.com
Music news
Foo Fighters’ new studio album, their 12th, is titled Your Favorite Toy, and is set for release on April 24.
The group have also announced an Australian tour in support of it that kicks off in November.
Thirsty Merc’s Rai Thistlethwayte announced last week that he had been recruited by Toto as the band’s new keyboard player and backing vocalist.
Disney star Hillary Duff released her new album Luck ... or Something recently. It follows her last album, which was 2015’s Breathe In. Breathe Out.
Marty Wilde, one of the original architects of British rock ’n’ roll, whose career began back in the 1950s, continues to be active.
He has a new studio album, Let’s Rock This Place, set for release in April. Wilde is the father of ’80s pop star Kim Wilde.
And speaking of Kim Wilde, she has also announced an Australian tour, which will see her perform shows here in November as part of her ‘The Closer Tour’.
The view from here
In 2002 I was privileged to interview a true legend of the music industry, the late Sir George Martin, the famed producer of The Beatles.
When I asked at the time where the music industry was heading, he responded with, “It’s heading towards perdition at the moment.”
His words were prescient, as with the music industry facing a crisis point with AI infiltrating the creative process, and the loss of royalties to artists in recent years due to streaming platforms such as Spotify, it’s alarming to read his words almost 25 years later and how they accurately describe today’s music climate.
Here’s his full response:
“It’s no longer the one we used to have 10 or 20 years ago. The audience now is indoctrinated by computer screens and by television screens and by even hand-held screens.
“Everything is visual and kids now listen with their eyes not with their ears anymore. So, the artists they pick are those that are good-looking chicks or guys who move well.
“It does not matter about the voice or song, but as long as they look good. The other thing is, with the prevalence of technology, which I do welcome and think it’s great, it does mean that there is widespread ability for people to use music without having to pay for it.
“Which is lovely, except that it then becomes a point where young people now expect to have music for nothing. So, if that is so, then you might as well say, ‘well, I expect my bread and my wine, my milk and my house for nothing!’
“Why not, it’s the same logical principle? And if that continues to go on, then the guys who actually contribute and make the stuff go broke and nothing happens and everything just goes down.”
What do you think of Martin’s assessment of the industry then, and what are your views on this ever-changing musical landscape? Share your thoughts to this column by emailing Musical Musings at musicalmusings@mmg.com.au
This week’s global music charts
Australia: No.1 Man I Need — Olivia Dean
US: No.1 DtMF — Bad Bunny
UK: No.1 Rein Me In — Sam Fender and Olivia Dean
Fun fact
This coming weekend will be exactly 50 years since Aussie ’70s music legends Hush, Little River Band and Stylus all performed a concert in Kyabram at the town’s Recreation Reserve.
The host of popular TV show Countdown, Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum, was the host for the night’s entertainment. The concert was held as part of the Kyabram Centenary Celebrations.
