Little River Band legend Beeb Birtles will be inducted into the South Australia Music Hall of fame in November.
Beeb Birtles had his first success in Zoot with Darryl Cotton in Adelaide in 1967. Cotton, who died in 2012, will also be inducted posthumously at the same event. Zoot was also the first band for Rick Springfield as well as Rick Brewer who later formed The Ferrets.
After Zoot, Beeb and Darryl formed Frieze. They released one album ‘1972 B.C.’
Beeb’s next band was Mississippi with Graeham Goble. That band scored another two hits with ‘Kings of the World’ and ‘Will I’.
Then global domination hit. Beeb Birtles and Graeham Goble teamed with Glenn Shorrock, Derek Pellicci and soon after Roger McLachlan and Ric Formosa to form one Australia’s biggest exports of the 70s, Little River Band. The band cracked the USA with ‘It’s a Long Way There’ and then Beeb scored his first hit song for the band with ‘Every Day Of My Life’. ‘Every Day Of My Life’ is also the title of Beeb’s autobiography, to be published in November.
During the LRB days, Beeb and Graeham had their own hit with ‘I’m Coming Home’.
Birtles Shorrock Goble toured as a trio a decade ago but are not allowed to use the name of the brand they created Little River Band. “We’re not the Little River Band but we bloody well sound like it,” Glenn Shorrock often said at their gigs.
Beeb now lives in Nashville. He will be in Australia for the SA Music Hall of Fame inductions on 24 November. The autobiography ‘Every Day Of My Life’ will be released on November 1, 2017.
