The Home Song Stories is an Australian film released in 2007, which features Wendy's cover of Sixto Rodriguez's "I Think of You".
The film was written and directed by acclaimed writer/director Tony Ayres, of Walking on Water (2002) fame. The Home Song Stories stars Joan Chen, Joel Lok, Qi Yu Wu, Irene Chen, Steven Vidler and Kerry Walker. The film was also announced as the Australian entry for nomination consideration in the Foreign Language Film category of the Oscars. It received a total of nine nominations at the 2007 Inside Film Awards, which were held on 16 November at Crowne Plaza Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast.
A short performance by Wendy Saddington & Teardrop is featured in this 11-minute documentary short for Film Australia, which was made by Peter Weir in 1972 as part of the Commonwealth Film Unit's "Australian Colour Diary" series. The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band, and the Indelible Murtceps, and Spectrum also appear in this film. Wendy and Teardrop were captured for posterity, complete with costumes and white-face 'pierrot' makeup.
This film is No. 43 in the continuing series Australian Colour Diary, which began in the early 60s. This is a particularly important document of the Melbourne music scene of the time, presenting a sample of three trends in early 70s Australian pop music -- the theatrical rock of Wendy Saddington & Teardrop; the psych-vaudeville jug music of The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band and the progressive rock of Indelible Murtceps / Spectrum.
All three performances were filmed in concert at the TF Much Ballroom in Melbourne.
LONG WAY TO THE TOP - (2001)
Wendy is featured in this ABC TV music series from 2001. An extract of Wendy & Teardrop's "I Think Of You", along with Wendy & Copperwine's "Blues In A" and "Looking Thru A Window", were all used in this segment for Episode 3 of the series. There was a clip from the promo video to "Looking Through A Window" featured in this series, set in what looks to be in Melbourne somewhere, with Wendy walking around an abandoned building near a railway.
To purchase a copy of this DVD, visit your local ABC Shop.
HANGING ABOUT - (1978)
Wendy appears on the soundtrack to (and appears brifely in) renowned Australian photographer Carol Jerrems 1979 short experimental narrative film about the impact of rape, Hanging About. Hanging About was written, directed & edited by Carol Jerrems, with a cast including: Linda Piper, Robyn Bucknall, Richard Moir, Esben Storm, Kate Grenville, Alan Diekman, Rosalind Hepher, Sally-Ann Bertram and Wendy Saddington.
The short was screened at the Sydney Film Festival in 1980, a few months after Carol's death from cancer, just three weeks before her 31st birthday. Hanging Aboutis now available as a special extra on the DVD of the 2005 documentary about Carol Jemmens titled, Girl in a Mirror.
"Rape is the hatred, contempt and oppression of women in this society, in one act. It is a symptom of a mass sickness called sexism. This sickness can be cured. In order to change, we have to change." -- Carol Jerrems (1949 - 1980).
ONCE AROUND THE SUN - (1970)
Wendy appears in this unreleased film by David Huggett, of the first Australian Rock Festival - Ourimbah - singing "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out", among several other songs. Wendy performs this song backed by 'Company Caine', and she also does a couple of songs with Chain and Jeff St John.
The film was going to be released by compiler David Huggett, but due to copyright costs, speficially; Jeff St John's version of "Teach Me How To Fly", which was an American composition and the owners of this song wanted over AU$20,000.00 for David to use it; and Leo De Castro's version of "Great Balls of Fire", which the song owners wanted over AU$10,000.00 for use in the film.
After such costs, David did not have any funds left to pay for both songs, so the project was unfortuantely aborted.
OTHER TELEVISION APPEARANCES
WENDY SADDINGTON & FRIENDS (CIRCA '70s)
Wendy Saddington & Friends was apparently available from ABC TV sales at one point, though is near impossible to find today. This VHS apparently features a half-hour of studio 'live' recordings from Wendy and Jeff St. John.
IN MELBOURNE TONIGHT - (CIRCA '70s)
IN TIME - (LATE '60s)
Wendy performed "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" with what was probably Chain. She had kind of a sackcloth dress on, black eye makeup, and the biggest 'Fro I had ever seen. I remember she just knocked me out and that hallucinogenic scream made me feel that singing, which was already stirring inside me, was the only path to follow – and that you could be the blues and jazz and soul AND be yourself in Australia and get it happening.
FUSIONS - (1969)
During 1969, Wendy made a guest appearance on the short-lived ABC-TV program Fusions, an innovative 'in concert' series starring Sydney-based progressive band Tully. With Tully, Wendy sang a cover of "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out". It's not known whether any tapes of this series have survived, but the recent rediscovery of a large number of episodes of the ABC's GTK series give hope that at least some of this series has survived.
