THE FLYING CIRCUS

THIS IS NOT REALLY ABOUT "FLYING CIRCUS", BUT SOME MEMORIES ABOUT THE BASSIST, WARREN WARD. WARREN AND I WENT TO SCHOOL TOGETHER AT CANTERBURY BOYS' HIGH IN THE 1960'S. ALSO WITH US WAS IAN COHEN, WHO LATER BECAME IAN STUART, OF STUART & McKAY FAME. I DON'T KNOW WHY IAN CHANGED HIS NAME, IF IT WAS A JEWISH THING OR WHAT, I JUST DON'T KNOW.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF HE WAS JEWISH. I DO KNOW THE THREE OF US WERE STEAM TRAIN FANS, AND WE USED TO GO AND CATCH STEAM DRAWN TRAINS ALL OVER THE PLACE, JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT. YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND IF YOU WERE AROUND IN THOSE DAYS. SADLY IAN DIED A COUPLE OF YEARS BACK. I HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN MUSIC SINCE I WAS 8, AND WAS TRYING TO GET INVOLVED IN BANDS. WARREN SEEMED TO TAKE A SUDDEN INTEREST, AND BEFORE I KNEW IT, HE WAS PRACTICING WITH ROSS, HIS YOUNGER BROTHER, WHO WAS ALSO A GIFTED KID AT MUSIC. WITHIN ABOUT TWO YEARS STARTING INTO MUSIC, HE WAS RECRUITED INTO THE FLYING CIRCUS. THEY WERE A CLASS ACT, AND I DESCRIBE THEM AS AUSTRALIA'S FIRST COVERS BAND, DOING GREAT INTERPRETATIONS OF "BYRDS" HITS SUCH AS "TURN TURN TURN". THEY EVEN PLAYED THE SAME INSTUMENTS, WARREN HAD A RICKENBACKER BASS. BUT THEY WERE MORE THAN THIS. THEIR FIRST RECORD RELEASE WAS "HAYRIDE" IN 1969 AND IT WENT TO #3 IN SYDNEY AND #1 IN BRISBANE. THAT SAME YEAR, I JOINED FLAKE AND IN 1970 WE RECORDED OUR FIRST RECORD "THIS WHEEL'S ON FIRE" IT ALSO WAS A HIT MAKING #1 IN SYDNEY AND STAYED ON THE NATIONAL CHARTS FOR 22 WEEKS. MAKING A HIT RECORD SEEMED PRETTY EASY! WARREN ALSO PLAYED WITH QUILL, STONEHENGE, FLAKE, BLACKFEATHER, NUTWOOD RUG AND CINNAMON? SADLY WARREN DROPPED OUT OF THE MUSIC SCENE, BUT HIS BROTHER ROSS, IS STILL PLAYING, AND IS A LEGEND ON THE BLUES SCENE. MORE TO COME........



IF ANYONE CAN GIVE ME SOME NICE PICS AND STORIES ABOUT THESE TIMES I WOULD LOVE IT.