Scraps Of Mind

Ross Ryan…my name means horse

Went along to a great gig on Friday and I thought I’d share it with you. A friend of mine, Ross Ryan teamed up with Spectrum for a terrific night in the upstairs bar at the Trades Hall in Melbourne.

Ross is a well known performer in Australia from the 70s and 80s. Back in the 80s he parted company with his record company EMI, and unfortunately they got to retain ownership to all of his published material at that time. But now, in a watershed negotiation achieved by the legendary (or should that be mythical?) Virtual Publicity Maven Ms Connie Person, a deal has been struck with Aztec Music, EMI and Coathanger (Ross’s company) to re-release his classic My Name Means Horse album. And of course this includes his trademark song I am Pegasus

Thirty three and a third years after its original vinyl release, Coathanger and Aztec Music are proud to announce that Ross Ryan’s classic album, ‘My Name Means Horse’ is now available on CD.

Issued in the wake of the impossibly huge 1973-74 hit single ‘I Am Pegasus’, the ‘Horse’ album earned Ross three gold records; was voted Album of the Year and was only kept from the top of the LP charts by some guy called Neil Diamond and his since long forgotten ‘Hot August Night’.

From the Ross Ryan site

At the same time Ross’s old touring partners Spectrum (who have been together since the 70s under a variety of names) are also releasing their Spectrum Part 1 album. So the guys all decided to get together and have a dual CD launch.

Well the venue was an upstairs function hall/bar in a heritage listed building, complete with heritage listed paint flaking off the wall. A grungy vibe with surreal overtones as the hall was decked around with all the different union banners and posters. But it all added up to a really great atmosphere, believe it or not.

I loved Ross’s set with songs not only from the Horse album but also from his current 1 Person Queue album so he really mixed it up with the eras. He performed some of my favourites; Orchestra Ladies, 606, Blood on the Microphone and of course I am Pegasus. And he threw in some of his contemporary stuff with Chase the Ghosts Away and Cool River from the 1PQ album. it was great. I loved it. It’s been a while since I had the opportunity to see him play live. He is a great live act. Has a wonderful connection with his audience and a great style of chat. If you’d like a taste of the evening, Thatch was trying out a new little toy he just bought and his review, together with a sample, is on DugguP

Spectrum put on a great set too. With some edgy 70s techno rock. And although I really enjoyed it in a pub style venue with a couple of drinks under my belt, I have to say it’s not really my style of music to listen to in any other sort of setting.

All round it was a great night, good friends, good laughs, good music. What more could you ask for?

So if you’re interested in hearing more of what Ross sounds like, head on over to his 1PQ site and pick up the two free MP3 singles he has on offer. If you like what you hear you can buy both the 1PQ CD and the Horse CD direct from the site. Let me know what you think.