The Ritz (4)

From http://www.milesago.com/artists/ritz.htm The Ritz formed in early 1975, when former Heaven and Rain guitarist and musical visionary Peter Dodson teamed with talented ex-schoolmate Steve Maughan (from prominent Canberra all-rounders The Second Movement), Englishman George Bennett (who had a stint in mid-60s UK vocal outfit The Ivy League), seasoned keyboardist Alan Cook and charismatic frontman Richard Hauser (along with Dodson and Bennett, ex-Wally & the Wombats). The group presented a colourful hybrid of sounds inspired by the likes of Yes, Focus, Pink Floyd and the later music of The Beach Boys, for an audience starved of such heady and sophisticated material presented in live performance. In concert, The Ritz certainly delivered the goods. While their main rivals, Snibbo, served up a popular repertoire of R&B and hard rock standards, The Ritz put on shows of amazing polish, clarity and musical dexterity, utilising their own in-house songwriting skills of Dodson, Maughan and Hauser. They were among the first bands to introduce the wonderful sounds of the Mellotron and Moog to live Aussie music. To witness a Ritz gig (rare though they were) was a truly enervating experience. I can still remember them performing a hypnotic rendition of Floyd’s "Us And Them" and having shivers down my spine from it! The band released one jaunty single on RCA, the Steve Maughan-penned "Pick Me Up", before themselves being picked up by Mushroom Records for their sole LP, A Diamond As Big As The Ritz (the title of which was taken from the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald), which featured a cover design by Keith D. Davis, who also designed albums for The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Recorded at Melbourne’s TCS Studios under the production guidance of John French, the ambitious album displayed the strengths of the group and the great songwriting skills of Dodson in particular, but, while satisfying to the listener, it unfortunately failed to really capture the dynamic essence of the band, in this writer’s opinion. The lacklustre production undermined the highly melodic, rich and inventive range of songs offered, and the album’s long gestation period before its eventual release did the band few favours. When A Diamond… emerged in early 1977 it was, alas, met with general indifference -- a situation exacerbated by a distinct laack of support from their record company. Apparently at the time, Mushroom supremo Michael Gudinski, when asked what he considered his failures, cited The Millionaires and The Ritz as such. We in Canberra didn’t mind though, because for a short time we had our own virtual Yes or Floyd in residence and we loved it! And who could resist a band that wrote songs with titles like "Piglet of the Imagination"? With the advent of punk and new wave, punters’ taste for The Ritz’s ornate, highly-orchestrated style of music -- essentially ‘prog’ -- quickly waned and signalled their death knell. Members went on to other extremely popular and successful Canberra groups, notably good-time all-purpose barnstormers Kevin McLaughlin & the Murrumbidgee Orchestra (there was no Kev; dig the joke, trainspotters!) This outfit featured Bennett on lead vocals, Maughan on bass, ubiquitous drummer Pat Italiano, former All Stars and Kevin Borich Express roadie Barry McCulloch on guitar and revered lead guitarist Ian “Willie” Winter whose impressive resume included stints with Carson, Daddy Cool, Mondo Rock and the Alberts All-Star Band. At the height of their popularity, Kev & the M.O. frequently upstaged national and visiting international acts they supported, propelled through the sound barrier by their demented sound engineer, whose identity is revealed at the foot of this profile. Their solitary (limited edition) single, "Thunder On The Mountain", backed with a version of Wreckless Eric’s "Whole Wide World" is well worth seeking out. Good times indeed.