Doug Parkinson

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For the member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council in Australia, see Doug Parkinson (politician).
Doug Parkinson
Years active 1960s – present

Douglas "Doug" Parkinson is an Australian singer who first came to fame with his band, Doug Parkinson in Focus, in 1969. He has had numerous hits on the Australian Top 40 charts.

Career

Parkinson first started singing with a band called The A Sound but, in 1966 graduated to a more professional outfit, The Questions. Led by Rory Thomas (piano, organ, woodwind and brass) the group held a residency at the Canopus Room, colloqually known as "The Can", at The Manly Pacific Hotel in Manly, a seaside suburb of Sydney.

In 1969 The Questions changed personnel and in the process became a four-piece band and took on the name of Doug Parkinson in Focus. This band, made up of some of Sydney's top musicians, Billy Green (guitar), Mark Kennedy (drums) and Duncan McGuire (bass), allowed him to showcase his powerful, soulful voice. With this band he rose to prominence with a number of Top 20 hit records in Australia such as "Dear Prudence" and "Without You" / "Hair", the latter written by guitarist and songwriter Billy Green (aka Wil Greenstreet[1]) in the mid-1970s, when Green composed the soundtrack to the film Stone, Parkinson sang on two tracks.

In 1969 Doug Parkinson in Focus won Australia's prestigious band competition, Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds. Following the demise of that band he joined Vince Melouney's post-Bee Gees supergroup Fanny Adams, which recorded one album and broke up. He then embarked on a successful solo career. He also sang the theme song of the short-lived 1980s soap opera, Arcade.

He continues to be a perennial favourite in stage shows, cabaret, club work and recording until the present day.

Discography and chart positions

The A SOUND

  • Talk About That / Tomorrow I Meet You (Festival)

(Australia #-)

THE QUESTIONS

Album

  • Nov 1966 What Is A Question (Festival)

(Instrumental Album recorded before Doug joined the band)

(Australia #-)

A/ Fire Down Below/Wheels/Again/Proud of You/Guantanamera/Canadian Sunset

B/ Deep Purple/How High the Moon/Hello Young Lovers/A Hard Day's Night/Kareila/Speak Low

Singles

  • Oct 1966 Karelia / Wheels (Festival)

(Instrumental single recorded before Doug joined the band)

(Australia #-)

  • July 1967 Sally Go Round the Roses / Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness) (Festival)

(Australia#33-8 Sydney#12)

  • Oct 1967 And Things Unsaid / I Can't Hear You (Festival)

(Australia #-)

  • Feb 1968 Something Wonderful / We Got Love (Festival) (Both sides charted)

(Australia#54-6 Sydney#33)

Extended Plays

  • Oct 1967 Sally Go Round the Roses (Festival)

A/ Sally Go Round the Roses / Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)

B/ Deep Purple / How High the Moon

(B side has Instrumental tracks recorded before Doug joined the band)

  • May 1968 Something Wonderful (Festival)

A/ Something Wonderful / We Got Love

B/ And Things Unsaid / I Can't Hear You

DOUG PARKINSON IN FOCUS

Singles

  • May 1968 Advice / I Had a Dream (Festival)

(Australia #-)

(Australia#5–19, Melbourne#2, Sydney#9, Brisbane#2, Adelaide#1)

  • Aug 1969 Today (I Feel No Pain) / Theme From 12th House (Columbia/EMI)

(Withdrawn From Sale)

(Australia#4–17, Melbourne#3, Sydney#7, Brisbane#4)

  • March 1970 Baby Blue Eyes / Then I Run (Columbia/EMI)

(Australia#42-9*, Melbourne#22, Sydney# -) (*Both sides charted)

  • Sep 1970 Purple Curtains / Pour Out All You've Got (Fable)[3]

(Australia #-)

Extended Play

  • 1970 Doug Parkinson in Focus (Columbia/EMI)

A/ Hair / Without You

B/ Today (I Feel No Pain) / Dear Prudence

FANNY ADAMS

Album

  • June 1971 Fanny Adams (MCA)

(Australia #-) (US# -) (UK# -)

Single

  • June 1971 Gotta Get A Message To You / They're All Losers Honey (MCA)

(Australia #-) (US# -) (UK# -)

DOUG PARKINSON

Album

(Australia #-)

A/ Takin' It Easy/Tell Him I'll Be All Right/I Ain't Gonna Live That Way No More/And Things Unsaid/No Regrets

B/ Sweet Rock and Roll/Lonely/Get What You Can/Light My Fire/Dear Prudence, Love Gun

Singles

  • Aug 1972 Lonely / Takin' It Easy (Polydor)

(Australia #-)

(Australia#99-1)

The LIFE ORGANISATION

Singles

  • June 1973 In the Mood (Forties Style) / In the Mood (Seventies Style) (Polydor)

(Australia#76-6, Sydney#36)

DOUG PARKINSON

Single

  • July 1973 Sweet Rock 'n' Roll / Tell Him I'll Be Alright (Polydor)

(Australia #-)

The LIFE ORGANISATION

Singles

  • Nov 1973 Boogie Woogie / Little Brown Jug (Polydor)

(Australia #-)

  • Feb 1974 Pink Steamroller / Boodilidoo (Polydor)

(Australia #-)

  • May 1974 American Patrol / Opus No. 1 (Polydor)

(Australia #-)

  • June 1974 The Time Warp / The Sweet Song (Sweet Transvestite) (Polydor)

(Australia #-)

  • Aug 1974 Beyond the Blue Horizon / In the Mood (Polydor)

(Australia#87-4)

DOUG PARKINSON

Singles

(Australia#22-18, Melbourne#14, Sydney#25, Adelaide#16)

  • May 1975 Love Is Like A Cloudy Day / One Track Mind (Atlantic)

(Australia#95-1)

  • Sept 1975 Raised on Rock / I'm Gonna Get You (Wizard)

(Australia #-)

DOUG PARKINSON & THE SOUTHERN STAR BAND

Album

(Australia#37-15)

A/ I'll Be Around/In My Life/Now You're on Your Own/Rainbow in Your Eyes/Soon As Your Thing Is Done

B/ The Hungry Years/Riff Raff/Midnite Sky/Lonely/Shuffle Up

Singles

  • July 1978 The Hungry Years / Soon As Your Thing Is Done (Southern Star/ATA)

(Australia#88-7)

  • Jan 1979 I'll Be Around / Riff Raff (Southern Star/ATA)

(Australia#22-18, Melbourne#19, Sydney#20)

  • April 1979 In My Life / Shuffle Up (Southern Star/ATA)

(Australia #-)

  • Sept 1979 You Ain't Going Nowhere Without Me / Now You're on Your Own (Southern Star/ATA)

(Australia#70-7)

DOUG PARKINSON

Albums

  • 1980 Rock Legends (Polydor)

Re-Issue of 1973's No Regrets

  • March 1983 Heartbeat To Heartbeat CBS

(Australia#59-3)

A/ Heartbeat To Heartbeat/Let Sleeping Dogs Lie/Don't Let Love Go/ It's Your Move/Better Keep Your Hands Off My (Potential New Girlfriend)

B/ I Can't Live With You/I Don't Unlove You/Thanks To You/What Does It Take/The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore

  • Sept 1986 Reflections (Hammard)

(Australia #-)

A/ Reach Out, I'll Be There/The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore/A Whiter Shade of Pale/Without You/Reflections/You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'/I Heard It Through the Grapevine/(Love Is Like A) Heatwave

B/You Keep Me Hangin' On/Dear Prudence/When a Man Loves a Woman/I'll Be Around/Endlessly/It's a Man's Man's World/You've Really Got a Hold on Me/You Are So Beautiful

  • 2 Sep 2005 Somewhere After Midnight (Roy Boy Records)

(Australia #-)

You Don't Know Me/The Look of Love/Somewhere/Windmills of Your Mind/At Last/My Love/Try A Little Tenderness/Nature Boy/If You Go Away/Norwegian Wood/Ruby/The Moon's A Harsh Mistress/Somewhere ( Reprise)

Singles

References

  1. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/nyregion/thecity/26disp.html
  2. ↑ Australian Chart Book 1970–1992
  3. ↑ Who's Who of Australian Rock (5th Edition)

Further reading

  • The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop – Ian McFarlane -Allen & Unwin, Sydney – 1999
  • Noel McGrath's Australian Encyclopedia of Rock & Pop-RigbyPublishers-1978
  • The Who's Who of Australian Rock-Chris Spencer-Moonlight Publishing
  • Gavin Ryans Chart Books

External links

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