Andrew Durant (musician)
Musical artist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Andrew MacLeish Durant (2 October 1954 – 6 May 1980) was an Australian musician-songwriter. He was a member of country rock group Stars (1976–79) providing guitar, harmonica, and backing vocals. He was also a session and backing musician for a range of artists. He died of cancer, aged 25. On 19 August 1980 a tribute performance was held in his honour, with a live double-album recorded by various artists, Andrew Durant Memorial Concert, which was released on 9 March 1981. All but three tracks were written by Durant (and two of those were co-written by Durant). It peaked at No. 8 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and reached No. 40 on the End of Year Top 100 Albums Chart for 1981.
2 October 1954
Andrew Durant | |
|---|---|
| Born | Andrew MacLeish Durant 2 October 1954 |
| Origin | Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Died | 6 May 1980 (aged 25) |
| Genres | Country rock |
| Occupation | Musician-songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, harmonica, vocals, mandolin |
| Years active | 1972–1979 |
| Formerly of | Astra Kahn, Stars |
Biography
Andrew MacLeish Durant was born in 1954.[1][2][3] Durant grew up in an Adelaide beach suburb with an older sister who was in a "very folkie vocal group – she had a stunning voice".[4] He attended Brighton High School,[4] alongside his girlfriend, Bronte Seidel.[5] In 1968 Durant was inspired by his copy of The Band's debut album, Music from Big Pink.[4] In 1972 on lead guitar he founded a group, Astra Kahn, in Adelaide which included Glyn Dowding on drums, Malcolm Eastick on guitar and vocals[2][6] and Wayne Gibson on bass. By 1974 the group disbanded when Durant left Australia to travel overseas.[7][8] Meanwhile Dowding, Eastick and Gibson formed a hard rock covers band, Flash, which in May 1975 became the country rock band, Stars.[2][6][7]
In August 1976 Durant was back in Australia and joined Stars, which had relocated to Melbourne and, alongside Dowding and Eastick, included Mick Pealing on lead vocals (ex-Flight, Nantucket, Flash) and Graham Thompson on bass guitar.[2][6] According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, Durant "added a great deal to the band's strengths, becoming the major songwriter in the group".[2] He wrote their third single, "Mighty Rock" (August 1977),[1] which peaked at No. 47 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.[2][9]
Durant also wrote "Look After Yourself" (November),[1] which became Stars' highest charting single at No. 30.[2][9] The group's debut album, Paradise was released in December.[2] Durant wrote seven of its ten tracks, including two further singles, "Back Again" (April 1978) and "West is the Way" (June).[2][10] In June 1979 they issued their second studio album, Land of Fortune,[2][11] by that time Durant had been diagnosed with melanoma.[2] Stars' last gig on 18 October 1979, at the Bombay Rock Hotel, was recorded for their live album, 1157.[2][12] Andrew Durant died of cancer on 6 May 1980, aged 25.[2]
1157 appeared in July and was dedicated to Durant.[2] Eastick organised a tribute performance on 19 August 1980 at the Palais Theatre in his honour; lead vocalists included Pealing, Jimmy Barnes, Renée Geyer, Ian Moss, and Broderick Smith;[13][14][15] musicians included former Stars band mates Dowding on drums and percussion; Eastick on guitar; Thompson on bass guitar; as well as Ric Formosa on slide guitar, guitar and piano; John-James Hackett on drums and percussion; Glyn Mason on guitar and vocals; Mick O'Connor on organ; Billy Rogers on saxophone; Kerryn Tolhurst on guitar and steel guitar; and Don Walker on piano.[2][14][15]
A live double-album recorded by various artists, Andrew Durant Memorial Concert, was released on 9 March 1981.[2][14][15] All but three tracks were written by Durant.[14] It peaked at No. 8 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and reached No. 40 on the End of Year Top 100 Albums Chart in 1981.[2][9] Profits from the album's sales went to the Andrew Durant Cancer Research Foundation.[2] Highlights from the performance were broadcast on TV by Channel 7.[14] A VHS was also issued.[16]
Aside from Stars, Durant was a session and backing musician for a range of artists.[2] He provided rhythm guitar for Richard Clapton's seventh album, Dark Spaces (August 1980), which was dedicated to Durant.[17][18] In late 1979 after Stars disbanded, Eastick had joined Broderick Smith's Big Combo.[13][19] Durant, Eastick and Smith co-wrote "I Was Here",[20] which appeared on Broderick Smith's Big Combo (November 1981).[13]
In May 2008 a 2× DVD package also titled, The Andrew Durant Memorial Concert, compiled material from the original tribute concert VHS and a live performance from 1978.[16][21] Off the Record reviewed the release, which highlights "the strength of Durant's song writing and the fact that, had he lived, he might have gone on to carve himself a niche in Australia's Pantheon of great writers".[22] While "[the] sound, however, has been digitally remastered and is superb. There are also interviews with Mal Eastick, Mick Pealing and Sarah Morgan (who ran the fan club)".[22] In 2012 Durant's former girlfriend, Bronte Seidel donated his mandolin to her ex-neighbour, Chris White, "to make sure it got played".[5] White wrote and recorded "Andy's Mandolin" using the instrument.[5]
Soundtrack
- The Andrew Durant Memorial Concert
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[23] | 8 |