Elliot Gordon Union

The Elliot Gordon Union was formed in Sydney in 1966 as a blues band comprising Ray Grieve on vocals and percussion, Vaughn Brus on guitar, organ and harmonica, Charlie Deguara on bass guitar and John Chronopoulos on drums. They took their name from their friend and first manager, Elliot Gordon, who left the music business soon after acquiring them a residency gig at Michelle’s disco at Narrabeen on Sydney’s northern beaches and arranging a recording session. For the recording session, which took place early in 1967, Brus decided to concentrate on organ and harmonica so Marty Van Wyk was brought in on lead guitar. Three blues tracks were recorded but were rejected by two major companies as not commercial enough for release. By this time, however, the band had built a formidable reputation during their six months at Michelle’s, playing to a packed house every week. It was not long before they were in demand on the rapidly developing club and disco circuit around Sydney. During 1967 further line-up changes occurred, most significantly Neil Markwick coming in on lead guitar and Chris Rees taking over on drums. One of EGU’s more interesting bookings was for Juanita Nielsen, the Mark Foy heiress who used the band for promotions in the store’s Elizabeth Street headquarters and in a number of its suburban branches. There was also a fashion parade on a passenger liner anchored in Sydney Harbour. These gigs were a great boost for the band because they were advertised on-air and were always on a Saturday morning, leaving them free to accept other bookings the same night. Around this time the Rev. Ted Noffs was looking for a resident band for his Wayside Disco at Kings Cross and Nielson recommended the EGU. They formed a good working relationship with the Rev. Noffs and enjoyed two years playing to full houses at the ‘Wayside’. During 1968 the EGU transformed themselves from a blues group to a more commercially oriented rock/soul band, incorporating a Hendrix/Cream style. Gary Lothian joined on lead guitar and the band were outfitted with Lenard PA, guitar and bass amplifiers, becoming the first band in Australia to use the new Lenard brand. They were made to a one-off design in bright orange with black fronts, supplemented by Rees’s Sonor drums, one of the first such kits made available in this country. With psychedelic stage outfits to match, the EGU achieved immense popularity on the dance circuit as well as continuing to work the clubs and late night discos with their blues repertoire. They were interviewed for Go-Set and were nominated on one occasion as "Group to Watch". Although their material was heavily re-arranged they did not write any original material. Besides Sydney, the band played occasional gigs in Canberra, Newcastle, Wollongong and on the NSW north coast. The EGU often supported bigger name acts, such as Axiom, The Groove, The La De Das, Jeff St. John & Copperwine and Doug Parkinson In Focus. They also backed in live performance a diverse range of solo artists, including Ronnie Burns, Pip Proud and Wendy Saddington.