Meeting Harry Vanda

I recently had the honour and pleasure of meeting Harry Vanda, a name that will not resonate with a number of people, but Harry Vanda would by any reasonable measure be Rock Music Royalty in this country if such a thing officially existed.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia on line we have the following;

Harry Vanda (born Johannes Hendricus Jacob Vandenberg, 22 March 1946, in The Hague, The Netherlands), is a Dutch-Australian popular music singer, guitarist, songwriter and record producer.

His family migrated to Australia in 1963, and settled in Sydney. Vanda came to fame there in 1964-65 as the lead guitarist in Australia's most popular and successful group of the 1960s, The Easybeats.
In 1966 he began a successful and enduring writing partnership with rhythm guitarist George Young; together they penned all of The Easybeats' late 1960s recordings, including their major international hit, "Friday On My Mind".
After returning to Australia in 1973, Vanda & Young took over as the house producers for leading Australian independent record production company, Albert Productions, and publisher J. Albert & Son. From 1974 onwards they enjoyed huge success in Australia and elsewhere, writing and producing hits for a number of popular Australian groups and solo singers, including John Paul Young, Cheetah, Stevie Wright, Ted Mulry, Rose Tattoo, The Angels, William Shakespeare, Mark Williams and, most notably, AC/DC, producing landmark albums such as Let There Be Rock, Powerage, If You Want Blood You've Got It, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, High Voltage/TNT, amongst others.
Vanda and Young also had major international success with their own studio-only project Flash and the Pan, scoring many hits round the world over a 15-year run, particularly in Europe where they had many chart topping records.
Most recently Vanda has left the long time partnership with Albert, and started Flashpoint Music with his producer/engineer son, Daniel, setting up Australia's premier private studio.
For those interested in guitars, Harry Vanda used a 1964 Hofner Verithin 1574 with Bigsby tremolo and 511 pickups, before switching in 1965 to a Gibson 345 which it is believed he proudly uses to this day. In The Easybeats Vanda also often played a cherry-red Maton 12-string electric guitar, which he donated to the collection of Powerhouse Museum in Sydney in 1999.

It was a great thrill. I found harry to be such an unassuming gentlemen, who never had or gave off any vibes to suggest, "Don't you know who I am?" and well he could have, but no, he was the most down to earth person. It was suggested to me by one of his admirers that he earns royalties in a week from songs that some people earn a year in the mortgage belt! WOW! But honestly, it was not about the money he earns for me, it was just the wide range of talent he has, people he has met, and knows, and the ability he has to indelibly make a mark on the world through songs. What an admirable gift. Many people chart their lifes moments by songs and many, will know where they were, what they did and how they felt by Harry's songs and wont ever really know it was him! Judging by my brief meeting with him, I suspect that is just the way he likes it.

I enjoyed telling a few people I met Harry to see these blank looks on their faces, and then say you may not know his name but you will know his work. His songs have been used in a number of film scores, been sung in an Olympic Opening ceremony, and at most weddings in this country! and when I attempted to sing or share his songs with them to see their faces light up with recognition was fun.

Some of his songs are:-

"Friday On My Mind" - The Easybeats, David Bowie, London, Gary Moore (1987), Richard Thompson
"Good Times" - The Easybeats, INXS & Jimmy Barnes (1986), Australian Idol - The Final 10 (2004)
"Evie, Parts 1, 2 & 3" - Stevie Wright (1974), Pat Travers Band (1978), The Wrights (2004), Suzi Quatro
"Hard Road - Stevie Wright, Rod Stewart
"Black Eyed Bruiser - Stevie Wright (1975), Rose Tattoo (2007)
"Love is in the Air" - John Paul Young (1978)/(1992)
"Standing In The Rain" - John Paul Young (1976)
"I Hate The Music" - John Paul Young (1976)
"Yesterday's Hero" - John Paul Young (1975), Bay City Rollers (1976)
"Down Among the Dead Men" - Flash and the Pan (1978)
"Hey St Peter" - Flash and the Pan 1976
"Walking in the Rain" - Flash and the Pan, Grace Jones
"Waiting for a Train" - Flash and the Pan
"Midnight Man" - Flash and the Pan
"Running The Red Light" - Meatloaf
"Show No Mercy" - Mark Williams (1990)

Just to name a few.

Here are a couple of clips, the first is Friday on my Mind from the Easy beats in the 60's with their biggest hit, written by guess who? Harry is the blonde guitarist on the far right. This song has been released by a number of notable international rock acts, David Bowie among them, and Harry still gets the credit! He is still tall and still blonde and as said earlier, a true gentleman, and let me add, songwriting genius. The next clip is a song called Love is in the Air which was used in the film Strictly Ballroom and was sung by John Paul Young. This song made John an Australian star, he still sings this song, and still as well. I hope you enjoy. It was a thrill for me to meet Harry.