With so many tributes to the late & great George Young doing the rounds, we're surprised this one hasn't appeared. Check it out: George and Little Stevie, together with Rory O'Donahue and the Cook Bananas band, do a couple of rippers off Stevie's then current Vanda & Young-produced Hard Road album, and a cover of the Rick Derringer tune made famous by Johnny Winter "Still Alive and Well". And then Aunty Jack joins them for a rocking "Rip Off", which originally appeared on the classic Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong LP.
In case you have no idea what any of this is about - you're too young, or overseas maybe - Aunty Jack was a bizarre and fabulous TV character here in the mid-'70s. The aforementioned Rory O'Donahue - he of the wild and oddly shaped afro - was otherwise known as Aunty's on-screen sidekick Thin Arthur. In the real world, Rory had played in mid-'60s Sydney outfit the Pogs, who are known to fans of Glenn A Baker's So You Wanna Be A Rock'n'Roll Star collection. The Pogs never really got anywhere - I'd reckon Rory would've been pretty chuffed to finally share a stage with a couple of Easybeats.
We're not sure if George would've counted this among his greatest musical achievements but at least Stevie looks like he's having fun, and it's a great chance to see Stevie in his prime and a bit of unique Aussie culture to boot. Enjoy, and don't forget you can check out Stevie's classic Alberts albums of the '70s, Hard Road and Black Eyed Bruiser, on Spotify.
-DL.
