Still Rockin' It - Cheryl Lee
Still Rockin' It - Cheryl Lee
What's Rockin' Rob Riley been up to lately? OR Will he kiss and make up with Rose Tattoo?
Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians.
Today we are a fly on the wall during the filming of an interview I held recently with legendary Australian guitarist Rockin’ Rob Riley for the tele.
A self-confessed Trekkie tragic, Rockin’ Rob has led a truly rock 'n' roll life, and at age 70 still loves guitars, amps, playing music, motor bikes, restoring cars and trucks, and partner Robyn.
From winning Hoadley’s Battle of the Bands in the early 70s, a 93 date tour supporting Sherbet, 30 turbulent years with Rose Tattoo, playing the Working Class Man tour with Jimmy Barnes and touring with The Party Boys with Richard Clapton and Shirley Strachan, Rob also played with Kevin Borich, Matt Finish and Dallimore.
Includes Songs:
Lionel Rose - I Thank You
Sherbet - Howzat
Rose Tattoo - Scarred for Life
The Party Boys - Immigrant Song
Dallimore - We Are The Kids
Rose Tattoo - We Can't Be Beaten
What’s Mr Robin Riley been up to lately … let’s find out
Get out when you can, support local music and I'll see you down the front!!
Visit: ThatRadioChick.com.au
that radio chick, cheryl lee, here with you. Welcome to the still rocking a podcast where we'll have news, music reviews and interviews with some of our favorite australian musicians and artists. Today we are a fly on the wall during the filming of an interview I held recently with legendary australian guitarist rock and' Rob Riley for the telly. A self-confessed, tricky, tragic Rockin' Rob has led a truly rock and roll life and, at the age of 70, still loves guitars, amps, playing music, motorbikes, restoring cars and trucks, and partner Robin From winning Hoadley's Battle of the Bands in the early 70s, a 93-date tour supporting Sherbet, 30 turbulent years with Rose Tattoo, playing the Working Class man tour with Jimmy Barnes and touring with the Party Boys with Richard Clapton and Shirley Strawn. Rob also played with Kevin Boric, matt Finish and Dallymore, certainly earning the legend status.
Speaker 1:What's Mr Robin Riley been up to lately? Let's find out. You're with Shirley, that radio chick, here for Mega Music TV in the immense man cave that belongs to Rock and Rog Riley, which includes his studio where he makes music and rehearses and the garage, the workshop where he restores his cars. Thank you so much, rob, for having us here today. Nanu Nanu.
Speaker 2:I know you're a.
Speaker 1:Trekkie from way back, and that's from Walkin' Mindy, isn't it?
Speaker 3:That's correct, that's correct.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for inviting us here. You're originally a Victorian, but we won't hold that against you. Born in the mountains with two brothers.
Speaker 3:Two brothers, yeah, and are they musical too, rob. Yes, they are. They are musical. My youngest brother's a bass player. He lives in Launceston and he's doing quite well for himself. He's a part-time chippy and part-time muso and my other brother has mostly retired and I have been trying to get them together, as they're both musically they're very, very good, but you've got to get some people to pull their heads out of their asses sometimes and it just gets very difficult. Family, just anyone, anyone, anyone.
Speaker 1:So is that a scoop? You heard at first here that the Riley brothers might be getting together.
Speaker 3:That's a scoop. Stay tuned, that's if we can get it going, you know.
Speaker 1:You guys are obviously from a pretty musical family and you knew pretty early on that music was in your DNA. Tell us about Lionel Rose, how he influenced you and got you into music at the age of seven.
Speaker 3:Seven, yeah, seven, I think it was seven, because he was fighting for the Bantamweight World Championship and I remember my father taught me how to build crystal sets like a little radio, and I was just a kid and I was loving the electronic side of things and so we listened to the fight and he won the championship and to cut forward really quickly, he was a country and western lover and he was my hero and still is to this very day. He's fantastic and he just he had this single out called Let Me Thank you and it just absolutely killed me. That's when the bug bit.
Speaker 1:So that set you off on your trajectory.
Speaker 3:That absolutely did. His backing band was called the Hawking Brothers Country Five and they had a pedal steel player by the name of George Zanthos, who I met, who used to travel over here a lot some years back. But yeah, that was certainly what put me on the.
Speaker 1:You're another heavy rock and roller who is actually a closet country music fan.
Speaker 3:No, I am a real country fan. You don't even hide it, I'm no closet anything. It's all there for any arsehole to see Good on you.
Speaker 1:Do you know who else loves country music? Dave Gleeson, yeah, yeah, he loves it too.
Speaker 3:I think he picked it up off me one time. I think he did. He got crook. He really suffered after that, but then he came good and all of a sudden he just loved country music. It happens to everybody. It's a beautiful thing. Country music's the best thing in the world.
Speaker 1:I've got a soft spot for it too.
Speaker 2:You are listening to Still Rocking it. The podcast with Cheryl Lee.
Speaker 1:Without any further ado. I think we should hear that Lionel Rose song now.
Speaker 2:I. I think we should hear that Lionel Rose song now. I thank you. We'll be back shortly to be a fly on the wall at the interview with Rockin' Rob Riley for Mega Music.
Speaker 1:You had about three years of formal training.
Speaker 3:Yes, I was taught formally for three years, two years actually. His name was Alan Prebble and I was about seven, just coming eight. I learned until I was about ten. He had me at a point where he said well, I can't teach you anything now. He said, you're just going to have to make sense of it yourself. That's what we all have to do. You know the knowledge, so just work on it and we'll see how we go with your problem.
Speaker 1:And the problem just became this so David Wicks and Paul Hitchens, you meet them. Is that how you formed your first band?
Speaker 3:I was going to school with Dave Wicks tech school and I was knocking around with Paul Hitchens because we used to ride motorbikes and we used to go down to Dave Wicks' joint because he lived on a market garden down in Buddy Heavitton at the time and we used to go down there fanging around on the motorbikes and he'd drive cars and motorbikes. Dave said I remember being at school one day and he said I've got a guitar at home, an electric guitar, because I didn't have an electric guitar in those days. And he said I've got a guitar at home, an electric guitar, because I didn't have an electric guitar in those days. He said I've got a guitar and an amp, and then he said I've got a bass too. So anyway, we were all hanging around, we all just started playing together and Paul's sitting on the table whacking away. I said, well, it's time for you to buy a drum kit. So anyway, he went and learned to play drums and bam, and that was our first little band.
Speaker 1:So we've got you to thank for Paul Hitchens, who ended up drumming for the sports.
Speaker 3:I don't know whether he's got me to thank for that. That's a choice he made, I think, but the sports did really really well for themselves in the old days and they were a big act. And Paul now lives in Western Australia, in Perth.
Speaker 1:He still plays a bit over there, I think, but we're all getting pretty old now, hence the Legend series, I have been called a veteran musician. I like Legend better.
Speaker 3:It's a nicer thing, isn't it?
Speaker 1:So did you guys form Lois Lane no.
Speaker 3:No, that came later in my life. That was something I did 17, 18 sort of thing and that was with Greg Grunter on vocals, greg Thomas keyboards, neville Oreska on bass and Dan we call him Dan Solo Salovey, a Dan Solo on drums, and it was a cracking band and we won the Hodley Battles of the band. That's right In 1974-ish A bit earlier, I think Something like that.
Speaker 1:Early 70s.
Speaker 3:Yeah, very early 70s.
Speaker 1:Well done, congratulations.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and that was what sort of like led to being introduced to John Dallimore and from that point he was playing in a band called Red House and their other guitar player, gary jeez, I haven't thought about these people. Gary Quince was the other guitar player, but he wanted to get out because he wanted to play more guitar solos. So I'm thinking to myself, je out because he wanted to play more guitar solos. So and I'm thinking to myself, geez, well, you can't play more guitar solos than the great John Dallimore. I mean, like he's the guy, he's the number one.
Speaker 1:Band's named after him after all.
Speaker 3:Well, that was the second. That's. The second point of contention is, anyway, they came and saw me playing in Lois Lane and JD really loved what I was doing at the time and so he asked me to come and join his band, or Red House, and so I joined a Geelong band called Red House and I did a 93-day Sherbet tour photo play tour. That was when they had How's that? That was huge. That was 93 days, every day in a bus with Sherbet and us. It was fantastic. Can you remember any of it? No, I was pissed. I was pissed from one end of it to the other. I was 19 years old. It was just ridiculous, you know, but it was fantastic. I have some great memories of it, but it was amazing, absolutely amazing.
Speaker 1:Still rocking the podcast with that radio chick, cheryl Lee. I think we'll hear from Sherbert a track from that tour. How's that we? I think we'll hear from Sherbert a track from that tour. How's that? We'll be back to speak some more with rockin' Rob Riley shortly and find out which Aussie rock legend thought Rob was too old, at 29.
Speaker 3:But then I got itchy and I had to leave, and then, anyway, I think about six or eight months later, jd got a record contract with Elbets in Sydney.
Speaker 1:As Dallymore as Dallymore.
Speaker 3:Right and this is where the Dallymore thing came and that's where Rick Croft came in and I brought my drummer, John Laylor, in. We were a cracking band, absolute cracking band. And then our greatest problem was we recorded an album three times with Ian Miller as producer and Mark Opitz on the board, and after three times of trying to get that album past George and Harry, it just never got out. And it's some killer, absolutely killer, killer, killer stuff. And it was doing me in and I was too drunk in that place and anyway I was probably being a pain in the arse. I probably was, but a big pain in the arse. Anyway, I left and that was just one of the biggest.
Speaker 1:Didn't you want to do more guitar solos?
Speaker 3:Yes, I did. I wouldn't have wanted to do a couple, but I mean, like that was a point at the time, but it was more, I didn't feel that it was going anywhere because we couldn't get past George and Aaron. Yeah, so I had to go, and Jesus, that was hard life after that, but anyway, that leads into other adventures.
Speaker 1:Well, that's right, it's all meant to be, because wasn't it soon after that that Mick Cox was a bit unreliable in Rose Tattoo? And along comes Rock and Rob Riley.
Speaker 3:Well right, mick was playing up. He'd always been a drug addict and a shocker of a drunk and he was a terrible guitar player in my opinion, and I hated Rose Tattoo. I thought they were rubbish, absolute rubbish, because they used to support Red House at the Croxton Park Hotel every fourth Wednesday, that we would play there every second Wednesday. So I saw them and I went that is an absolute bag of shit, but you know I didn't get all that crap. So anyway, they had a big single. I'm trying to step through this really quickly, but they had a big single called Rock and Roll Outlaw and it went off in England, in London, and they were like number nine or something, number eight on the charts and they were just packing them out wherever they go. And this is where Mick became a very naughty boy and legend has it that he was with Bon Scott the night that he died. But anyway, he was playing up so badly that they had to sack him. And that's when Dallas Royal, the drummer, rang me up. He'd ring me up every couple of weeks and he'd say, man, you've got to come over and join the band. I said, digger, I hate the band, I love you and I love Giorno but I just hate the band and I love Pete, you know.
Speaker 3:But anyway, eventually I ended up going to London my very first overseas jaunt, and to London, my very first overseas jaunt, and that was the scariest thing I ever did. And anyway, I got over there and I had two days to learn a whole set of their stuff, to play my very first gig with Rose Tattoo at the Soho Club, what it was called Very famous club. I can't remember, I've got a memory like a sieve, you know. But anyway we went and played it and I didn't even know the songs. I had an idea how they went but I didn't know what they were called. Anger would say, fuck it, this one's called. And I'd go and I'd trade a Geordie. I'd say, how's that one go, you know? And he goes da, da, da, da, da, da. Oh, that one right on and off, we'd go.
Speaker 1:You couldn't have done too badly.
Speaker 3:It was absolutely frightening, it was terrible and the joints packed and the line up down the street and around the block, it was incredible. Anyway, that's all history. So, anyway, we went out and did all this touring and it was great. It was great and we went to America not long after that and that was incredible. We spent three months there and I don't remember much of that because I was pissed from one end of that to the other two, as we all were. But we got this close. We got this close to the big axe where the big money lived and the big success and the big everything.
Speaker 1:Missed by that much, missed much.
Speaker 2:You are listening to Still Rocking it. The podcast with Cheryl Lee.
Speaker 1:We'll hear more about the love-hate relationship between Angry and Rob after this song. I thought it was time for a Rose Tattoo song, One of the songs the boys wrote together, in fact, the title track of Scarred for Life. Here's Scarred for Life.
Speaker 3:Anyway, you know, angry sold out to the record company and Pete, the other guitar player. By those days him and I became great friends and Pete, it was his band. So anyway, this is how it all started. So Angry sold out to the record company and Peter came down, he woke up. He says to me, because we roomed together. He said I'm leaving the band. And I said why is that? He said angry, salt head, rickall Company. I said that's a real shame. I said if you're leaving, well, I'm leaving.
Speaker 1:If you leave me, can I come too?
Speaker 3:That's right, there's a song in there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, quote me.
Speaker 3:Anyway, I went downstairs and I said and Digg's sitting down there with Geordie? And I said Pete's leaving the band, and Pete explained why and I said I'm leaving too. And Digg said well, if you guys are leaving, I'm leaving. So the three of us left and Geordie said I'll stay. So he stayed on. That's basically how that part of it all sort of started, you know, and that was way back then.
Speaker 1:So you had pretty much 30 years on and off with Rose Tattoo. Can I quote you On and off? You told them to stick it up their bib.
Speaker 3:No, I didn't tell them, I told Angry. Angry, you know, because he's Rose Tattoo. Nobody else is Rose Tattoo, it's just angry.
Speaker 1:Well, on a positive, from then you wrote we Can't Be Beaten with Angry. Great song, great Aussie anthem. And I think three other tracks too off the Scarred for Life album are yours.
Speaker 3:Yes, I co-wrote. In other words, I'm the composer and he's an author. Right, that's how you define it.
Speaker 3:Music lyrics right and story. Well, that was we Can't Be Beaten, scarred for Life, the title track and Branded and Work Itself Out, and they were the four singles that were pulled off the Scarred for Life album. So I was enormously proud of that. Of course you should be Good, record that one. And anyway it went along and we did another album called Pain and I wrote Pain and three other songs again. That's eight songs all up that I have in the repertoire of Rose Tattoo. So I don't know, I'm not a very big player in it, but I mean there's people that have been long there for longer and I don't know where it all sort of goes to from that point, but they're still out working around and stuff like that. Everybody's getting older.
Speaker 1:Well, apart from those, you also have three, four fabulous original songs that haven't been released yet. Yes, and we might have a listen to one of those now, if we can.
Speaker 3:Love it.
Speaker 1:Okay, let's just keep it rolling now. All righty, we're back with Yep. We're back with Rob Riley. Can you get the camera? Okay, five, four, three. Yeah with Cheryl Lee, that radio chick from Mega Music TV. We are back with Rob and Rob Riley. Now where to after Rose Tattoo?
Speaker 3:The Party Boys with Richard Clapton mainly. Yes, well, I started with Richard Clapton because Harvey James from Sherbet had to go and do some stuff with Sherbet and I did about six months of touring with Richard Clapton. I remember that was the time that Ralph wanted to go out and do some stuff and Harvey was also playing in Richard Clapton. I remember that was the time that Ralph wanted to go out and do some stuff and Harvey was also playing in Richard Clapton's band as well as Sheridan.
Speaker 1:Very incestuous Rob. Everybody's played with everybody.
Speaker 3:Except me. But anyway, they played with you, they played with you, but anyway. So that's when I joined the Party Boys and when I joined, cheryl Strawn came in. I think I was in that line-up of the Party Boys for about two, two and a half years or something.
Speaker 1:Did a lot of touring, still rocking that podcast with that radio chick, cheryl Lee. The line-up of the Party Boys at that time in 1984 included founding members Kevin Borich, paul Christie and Graham Bidstrip, along with former Skyhook singer Shirley Straughan and Rose Tattoo slash Jimmy Barnes guitarist Robin Riley. They released a live album no Song Too Sacred, which included the Immigrant Song, a Led Zeppelin cover. Back to speak more with Rockin' Rob Riley during his Mega Music TV interview very shortly. And you and Cheryl, you had a really strong bond, didn't?
Speaker 3:you. Yeah, we struck up a fantastic relationship and friendship. We had a lot of fun, a lot of fun. Every time we'd go out and do something, he'd drag me out, like any interviews and stuff, because he's a mega. He was just great fun. I loved him. I loved him to death. We used to do everything together. When we were around the road he laughed his guts out at me. He thought I was a great bunch of fun. But yeah, yeah, that was that. But then the party boys they carried on again with different members. I mean, Joe Walsh was the bloke that replaced me in the party boys, and so you can't get a better replacement than that.
Speaker 1:No, he had big shoes to fill. Now, being a South Aussie girl, obviously I'm a.
Speaker 3:Victorian, but I'm a South Australian too. I live in the land of the Croweater.
Speaker 1:Good on you. I'm a Jimmy Barnes fan Now. You even toured with Jimmy's band for a while for the Working Class man tour.
Speaker 3:That's correct. That's absolutely correct. I was living in Perth at the time and he tracked me down and said I want you to come over and play in the band. And I didn't really know what was going on. I said sure. He said I'll pay you $500 a week and he said I'll look after you. I said Jim, that sounds fantastic. He said beautiful. He said well, well, your ticket's waiting at the airport for you and I'll see you in two weeks. So I went over there and had a few days to learn his stuff, you know. And so I go, jesus you know, and I replaced Chris Stockley from the Dingoes, who was playing in Jim's band, because he wanted a guitar player that had a bit more oomph.
Speaker 1:A bit more grunt.
Speaker 3:Yes, and so poor old Chris got the heave-ho. Poor yes, and so poor old Chris got the heave-ho. Oh, poor bugger, you know he got the gratuitous. Sit out the back and chopping up the lines you know and saying, look, it's like this, you know from Popey, but anyway, you know the poor bugger, he was absolutely shocked and upset.
Speaker 1:That's rock and roll, though, isn't it?
Speaker 3:That's rock and roll.
Speaker 1:That's rock and roll. Ask that again Still going to hear the rain? Yeah, but the rain is louder coming from out there.
Speaker 3:If you actually push that other door too as well, just push that thing out of the door, stop out of the way, but you're still going to hear the rain.
Speaker 1:It's ambient. We're in a man cave. We're going to hear the weather. It's all good.
Speaker 3:So where were we?
Speaker 1:I'm going to say to you that's rock and roll though, isn't it Rob? Yes yes, that's rock and roll. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and you're still here. You must be a strong bugger.
Speaker 3:They say, only the good die young. So look, I don't know what I've done wrong. I must have done something real bad.
Speaker 1:So your tenure with Barnsey Incorporated finished when you were 29 because they wanted to get a whole bunch of younger people Too old at 29.
Speaker 3:That was how it happened and everybody got their marching orders, except for me, because I don't know why, because nobody ever said anything. I was just go and Bruce Howe. That's how I met Bruce Howe, the bloke that brought me to Adelaide, and I played in a band with him and I struck up a fantastic relationship and brotherhood with him. And I actually came to Adelaide with Bruce because I didn't want to go back under Melb's and I didn't want to stay in Sydney.
Speaker 3:And then you found a good oh yes, well, not the one I'm with now, you know, but I did find her eventually.
Speaker 1:Behind every great guitarist is a good woman.
Speaker 3:Well, that's what they say. That's what they say. So you stay here for love. Well, only that, only that. Well, not only that. It's very comfortable where I am.
Speaker 1:And you've got a pretty good man cave here I reckon it's the best.
Speaker 3:I love it. I reckon it's the best.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love it. The last time I saw you live on stage was during COVID, with the boys are stuck in town, out at the bridgeway. How good was that? I don't know how good was it, can't you remember?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I do remember, but the way I was looking at you, I'm looking, is this any?
Speaker 1:good.
Speaker 3:See, I've got no idea how good it is or how bad it is.
Speaker 1:Well, you know what? We were just so happy, as I think were you guys to be we were the punters just so happy to be out, being able to watch live music again, and I think you guys were just as happy to be able to be performing live again.
Speaker 3:Yeah yeah, yeah, because when this whole COVID thing started I was over in Tasmania, in Launceston, visiting with my little brother and a mate of mine, jim Garlick, and I'll never forget it. I was supposed to do two weeks over there and going out and hanging with my little brother and stuff, blah, blah, blah, and they dropped the curtain on the block of the board, the C-bomb.
Speaker 3:And the big COVID thing, and I got the last train out of Clarksville, in other words the last spirit to leave Tasmania. We had to get there in two or three hours and I had to get over there and then get the spirit back and this was when they were dropping everything. And then I got to Victoria. Then I had to get down to Geelong, pick up my car and then I put my best Peter Brock hat on and I just did a gun run all the way on because I didn't want to get stuck. So I've been in lock up ever since, have you? I've been here ever since, yeah, two and a half years now.
Speaker 1:Self-imposed Loving it. I bet you are Loving it. What better place to be in lockdown?
Speaker 3:Oh, I love it. I love it, you've got your music.
Speaker 1:your instruments, your Tools, yeah, tools your car. What more would you want?
Speaker 3:Nothing.
Speaker 1:You are listening to Still Rocking it, the podcast with Cheryl Lee. We'll be back to listen to the last little bit of the television interview with Rockin' Rob Riley shortly, but I think let's listen to the Dallymore song. We Are the Kids. Just recently, Rose Tattoo have lost a guitarist.
Speaker 3:I didn't know. Ah, I didn't take any notice.
Speaker 1:So we're not going to see you out guitaring with Rose Tattoo anytime soon. Rob Spencer's left. Bob Spencer's left. Jesus Christ there you go, there's another scoop.
Speaker 3:Look, some months back I spoke with Angry and stuff and I was asked to join a band and I said I'd love to, I would absolutely love to, but no.
Speaker 1:Stick it up your no, no, no.
Speaker 3:I said no, I'd love to. I said I'd love to join. I said but I'm not going to do anything like that because I'm not going out while all this COVID's going around. I said because number one and the only reason is I will not get blamed for anything ever again. So in other words, if I got sick, I'd get sick because the whole tour would come down.
Speaker 1:So it doesn't matter who gets sick, so Rob Riley killed Rose Tattoo. You don't want that headline.
Speaker 3:Rob Riley's done more than anybody can possibly ever do. You know like I mean, some of the shit I hear about myself is unbelievable.
Speaker 1:Well, hey, rob, not superman, you know are you sure I haven't seen you and superman in the same room? Look, we look very similar. Now you've also played with kevin borich. You're also played with matt finish. You truly are one of austral Australia's music legends and I really appreciate you and your time today leading me, a lowly female, into your beautiful man cave and having a chat. A lowly female, what in Jesus Christ? The wheel goes rear-wind with it, of course, yeah, but I think we should go and fiddle with your car now. I brought my screwdriver.
Speaker 3:That's exactly what I need.
Speaker 1:That's perfect. I know that's not a screwdriver, though it's a hammer. That's a left-handed hammer too.
Speaker 3:You see how it goes to one side, Right? No left.
Speaker 1:I see what you did there. Anyway, we are going to go out with one of your singles New singles.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, nobody's ever it, so it's new Hidden scoop. I'll get a random release on all this very, very, very shortly, because I forgot that I didn't.
Speaker 1:Ever release it.
Speaker 3:Release it.
Speaker 1:So yes, I, I'm not surprised that you forgot. You've had a bit of a rock and roll life.
Speaker 3:It's probably that I didn't forget. It's probably that I didn't forget, it's probably just I don't want to do it yet because I've got to get a few other things going, because I've got plenty of stuff to do like music and stuff like that. So I've just got to put a few simple film clips together and get them up on YouTube and all that sort of stuff. I've been asking Sue to do it for decades now.
Speaker 1:Sue, our producer and director, you prove my theory rock and roll is the fountain of youth would you like to? Would you like to throw to your clip?
Speaker 3:here it comes.
Speaker 1:Music lovers need your love so badly still rocking that podcast with that radio chick, cheryl lee. I so hope you've enjoyed being a fly on the wall during the filming of the interview with rock and rob riley. If you want to hear his previously unreleased song I Need your Love so Badly, you're going to have to wait until series three of Mega Music comes out. In the meantime, I think we'll go out with the hit from Rose Tattoo, written by the songwriting team of Angry Anderson and Rob and Riley. We Can't Be Beaten from the Scarred for Life album. You're with Cheryl Lee, that radio chick. Thank you so much for joining me on the Still Rocking it podcast. Hope to catch you again next time. Get out when you can support Aussie music and I'll see you down the front.