Billy Baxter (song)
| "Billy Baxter" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 7" single label | ||||
| Single by Paul Kelly and the Dots | ||||
| from the album Talk | ||||
| A-side | "Billy Baxter" | |||
| B-side | "Hard Knocks" | |||
| Released | 20 October 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1980 AAV Studios, Melbourne | |||
| Genre | Rock, ska | |||
| Length | 2:43 | |||
| Label | Mushroom | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Paul Kelly, Chris Langman | |||
| Producer(s) | Joe Camilleri | |||
| Paul Kelly and the Dots singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"Billy Baxter" is a song by Australian rock group
Background
Their debut album, Talk followed in March 1981 and peaked at No. 44 on the related albums chart.[1][3] Kelly was later dissatisfied with his earliest albums: "I wish I could grab the other two and put 'em in a big hole".[5]
The subject of the song,
The B-side to the single, "Hard Knocks", was featured in the soundtrack[8] of the 1980 AFI Award nominated film of the same name.[9]
On the
Composition and recording
"Billy Baxter" is a ska-influenced song of two minutes and forty-three seconds. It was written by Paul Kelly and Chris Langman.[11][12] From 1977 to 1978 Kelly and Langman had shared a house in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra, where according to Kelly, "Chris and I sat around for hours, days playing guitars ... I played him my new songs as they kept coming and we made up tunes together".[13] Kelly and Langman also co-wrote "Leaps and Bounds", which appeared on Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls' album Gossip (1986).[13] According to the lyrics, Billy Baxter's attributes include: lost limitations, imitations, a thousand faces, a lover, a gambler, a lesson for all the crew, a hungry heart, love to burn, in love with abandon but never loses control, walks right through disaster and still whole, plays pantomimes.[14]
Kelly had met Joe Camilleri (from Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons) when the latter was looking for someone to co-write songs with, Kelly gave Camilleri "Only the Lonely Heart" (aka "Only the Lonely Hearted") and "Hand Me Down".[13] Camilleri recommended Kelly to Mushroom Records and put up the money to produce the group's debut album, Talk. The song was produced by Camilleri for Mushroom Records.[12] Kelly remembered "I'd done my back badly and couldn't stand or sit for any length of time, so I had to do my vocals lying on the floor... If I could gather up every copy of that first record and bury them all in a big hole, I would. But that's no fault of Joe's".[13] The B-side, "Hard Knocks", was produced by Trevor Lucas (of United Kingdom folk group Fairport Convention).[15]
Reception
Reviewed at the time of release in Roadrunner, the song was deemed, "Unlistenable. A sort of reggae David Watts/Billy Hunt, it reeks of a calculated attempt at commercial success."[16]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Billy Baxter" | Paul Kelly, Chris Langman[11] | 2:43 |
| 2. | "Hard Knocks" | Kelly[17] | 3:54 |
Personnel
Paul Kelly and the Dots members
- Paul Kelly – vocals
- Paul Gadsby – bass guitar
- Chris Langman – guitars
- John Lloyd – drums
- Chris Worrall – guitars
- Chris Dyson – guitar, vocals
- Tony Thornton – drums
- Alan Brooker – bass guitar
- Tim Brosnan – guitar
- Michael Holmes – guitar
Recording details
- Producer – Joe Camilleri ("Billy Baxter"), Trevor Lucas ("Hard Knocks")
- Remixer – Camilleri ("Hard Knocks"), Jim Barton ("Billy Baxter")
- Engineer – Jim Barton
- Studio – AAV Australia, Melbourne
Charts
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian (Kent Music Report)[18] | 38 |
References
- ^ ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Archived from the originalon 30 September 2004. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ Holmgren, Magnus. "Paul Kelly". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ^ ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own chartsin mid-1988.
- OCLC 259372869. Archived from the originalon 8 February 2004. Retrieved 17 December 2016 – via Dumbthings: Official Paul Kelly Website.
- ISBN 978-1-921332-11-1.
- ^ Brown, Jenny (27 September 1985). "Billy Baxter in the 3RRR Groove". The Age. Fairfax Media. p. 34. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
- ISBN 0-7333-0115-0.
- ^ "Hard Knocks". Australian Television Memorabilia Guide. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
- ^ "Hard Knocks (1980) Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
- ^ "Mushroom Evolution Concert". Australian Rock by Memorable Music. Little Acorns Publishing. 2007. Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ Australasian Performing Right Association(APRA). Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ a b "'Billy Baxter' / Paul Kelly-Chris Langman ; [performed by] Paul Kelly & The Dots. 'Hard knocks' / Paul Kelly ; [performed by] Paul Kelly & The Dots". Trove. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-926428-22-2.
- ^ Talk (LP liner). Paul Kelly & the Dots. Mushroom Records. 1981. p. 2. L37512.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Blanda, Eva (2007). "Paul Kelly – Discography – Part IIb – The Recordings of Paul Kelly with Bands". Other People's Houses (Eva Blanda). Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
- ^ John Doe (April 1981). "Albums". Roadrunner. p. 28.
- ^ "'Hard Knocks' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
External links
- "Billy Baxter" 30-second sample of live version by Paul Kelly backed by Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons from the Mushroom Evolution concert performed on 26 January 1982, stored at Music Australia site for National Library of Australia. Note: requires browser to be in 32-bit mode and .asxcompatible.