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WARREN BARNETT - June 23rd, 2009 (email)
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"A wonderful site, well done It's fantastic. Finding all the (Festival) master tapes currently. Please pass my sincere love and greetings to Wendy and let her be comforted in knowing that her recorded history has not blown to the 4 winds but is being preserved for all time as it should be, she was one of this country's golden lady's of music."
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GARY RYAN - Junec 23rd, 2009 (email)
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"Hi, I was reading a post you put on Midoztouch about Wendy’s other recordings that were never released. Like Micko I to think she has one of the best female voices and talent Australia has to offer. I have her album and single and other various songs on Kevin Borich’s cd ect. I think your fan site to Wendy is great and I at least check it out once or twice a week and the pics you’ve collected are excellent. Anyway mate keep up the good work on the site and please next time you message Wendy please give her my regards and tell her she is one of a kind."
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STEVE GRAHAME - June 23rd, 2009 (email)
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"Gee --at 55 years of age I have been to see most of the bands, groups and singers Wendy associated with and I never knew what she looked like. I too was one of the (hopefully thousands) who bought the single " looking thru a window " when it was released.--the words and tone of the song I very much related too and I have tried to explain to my kids that with a bit of luck, Wendy could have been bigger than Joplin!!! I know thats a sweeping statement but I really thought the above song was brilliant!. It's good to see that Wendy is still performing and I would like to say thanks for a small but profound moment her single provided in my life. Please pass on my best wishes and thanks."
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BARRY McCULLOCH - March 24th, 2009 (email)
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"Howdy, I did the sound for Wendy when she was backed by Skylight towards the end of 1975. We toured Adelaide & had a residency at Countdown Disco there. The last gig was supporting Frank Zappa at Festival Hall. The band was Trevor Courtney drums, Mike Kelly aka Mike Clarke bass, Rex Bullen keyboards & John Pugh guitar. The music was funk more than blues eg The Meters & even Jive Talkin' by the Bee Gees. A great band & a mighty singer ... it was a pleasure. And to answer your question, no photos or audio unfortunately. Cheers, Barry McCulloch."
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SOFTFEATHER - November 29th, 2008
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"I was down at Freo today & spotted a cover for an album I haven't seen in a long, long time...... Copperwine by Jeff St John. Gee the memories came flooding back. Saturday nights out to see the bands. The female singer Wendy Saddington was unreal ... my goodness she could scream...... Ahh they were great days in Sydney. Kevin Borich, James Taylor Move, Billy Thorpe.... Kevin Borich ~ Chain of Fools & Voodoo Child..... Tommy the musical :))))."
Original article here: http://blogs.rsvp.com.au/2008/10/everyone_loves_a_love_song.html
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RALF BEYERLE - November 20th, 2008 (email)
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"I was blown away that WS has a fan site. I had a tape of the Copperwine Live album but the it wore out about six years ago & have been searching for a replacement since then. I had read online that Mushroom were putting out a CD but it seems it never eventuated. I am hugely grateful that you have shared these music files with me. They are most treasured. I would still purchase the CD if it were issued. The tape I had wore out because I had played it to death. So many memories. Saw Saddo play live at Total Theatre in Melb in mid '70s, fantastic. Once again, many, many thanks."
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IRENE - August 31st, 2008 (email)
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"Hi, I just found your wendy saddington site and i thank you for it. I was a close mate of her in the hare krishnas in the early eighties - and i have many fun memories of her as a person and also a singer both in the temple and at some gigs. It is so great to read this, more than I can say. Ah we grow old... she is exactly ten years older than me hahaha and i'm pretty old. She blew me away and was one of the most dry witted persons and best friends I ever had. xx thanks for your site xxxx"
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RIK - August 23rd, 2008 (email)
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"I first saw Wendy fronting Chain at the East Coast Rock Festival in 1968. This was held over a weekend at a park in Sydney (E.S. Marks field I believe). I was working as a photographer and was a bit of a music groupie. I got to know a lot of the bands that hung around the Paddo area (Taman Shud, Tully etc) as I knew people that were connected to the East Coasr RF and the Ourimbah festival.
"I was freelancing at Ourimbah and I had a great time. You have to understand that my detailed memory of these times is not good at all, I was in there with the best of them, and thus really out of it for most of this period. I do remember the AAP wire service picking up one of my pics. I was pretty chuffed with that.
"Later on I joined a mate putting on liquid light shows and for a while we moved to Melbourne. I don't remember seeing Wendy there but I did meet Jeff. He had a mate, Boris, who was living in a garage at the back of his parents. I think I met Jeff there although it is possible we met at the Thumpin' Tum disco and Jeff introduced us to Boris. No, I think we met Boris at a party at Camberwell and we met Jeff at Boris' garage.
"We supplied lighting to the Thumpin' Tum on a part time basis and part of our payment was the use of the loft above the disco. We met a lot of musos through our residency, including Jeff and the guys from Company Caine. My partner or me would go off to another gig in one of the suburbs and the other would operate the lights at the Tum. Sometimes at the end of the night the last band performing would stay back and we would party till dawn. Co Caine also used the place for rehearsal and those times are especially fond ones for me.
"I remember Jeff telling us about some of his exploits, including the time he spent living in a tin shed on Manhattan. For part of the time he shared the shed with Wendy and through the bitter winter times they kept themselves warm in the way many street people still today keep themselves warm. He told us about the performance at the Melbourne town hall where he accidentally set fire to the curtains and how, in his words, he, off his head, was chased down the city streets by town hall employees.
"In 1971 we joined forces with Sydney friends also in the business and scored the job of supplying lighting for the Odyssey Festival at Wallacia. We constructed a backdrop of sheets 14 metres high by 22 metres wide. This allowed us to project the liquids from behind the stage, thus removing the shadow from the band and their equipment. Most of my time was spent working backstage, but the evening that Wendy played I took some time off and wandered up the hill. For the first time, from that vantage point, I saw the result of all our hard work. With a backdrop of real stars, the stage was a kaleidoscope of seething light pulsating in time with the music. It really was magic."
"Later after coming back from Melbourne, I was living in Edgecliff with friends and heard that Wendy was living round the corner. I called on her once or twice but I need to say that with Wendy's reserved nature and my heavily stoned existence, there wasn't the closeness that I may have hoped for.
"A year or so later I joined a group that was planning big things in the art/music scene. Unfortunately the dream didn't grow as big as we all hoped. It was here that I met Wendy again. I engaged her to perform at one of the gigs I organised and while she only sang a few numbers before leaving the stage I considered her performance magic. My mates were furious and wanted to withhold payment but I was adamant that Wendy was worth every cent of her fee, no matter how short her set had been. As this one was 'my' gig, Wendy got her money."
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SHARON TUPPER - July 21st, 2008 (email)
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"Wendy was an inspiration to me when I was growing up in the 60s - she showed me that women could be other than 'popular' (lightweight??) singers/musicians!!!"
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ROSE BYGRAVE - June 30th, 2008 (email)
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"She (Wendy) really was amazing... Her singing came some someplace that I’m not aware of. Somewhere between some kind of spiritual channeling and the dust of the dirtiest street on the planet. She is, as you seem to know, quite extraordinary!"
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ELLIOT GORDON UNION memories (passed on by Ray Grieve) - June 12th, 2008 (email)
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"We were to play for the whole show with Wendy doing two 30-minute sets.
"Unfortunately, a problem occurred just before we were due to go on, when our drummer, Chris Rees who had been ill for a while, suddenly collapsed and had to be rushed by ambulance to Canberra Hospital.
"We contacted a local radio station and asked the DJ who was on-air at the time to put the word out for a drummer who could get to the Park Royal as quickly as possible. Wendy had not yet arrived at that stage and we were wondering how she was going to feel about doing her sets without a drummer when the DJ's call was answered and a local drummer arrived.
"We started our first bracket and all went well until the drummer stopped and threatened to walk out, unless we upped his pay. This resulted in a an on-stage dispute, which the audience really enjoyed and all this happening with Wendy due to arrive and do her first set within the next few minutes.
"Suddenly it all came good when our drummer Chris, staggered in through the front door looking really bad but exclaiming that he had discharged himself from the hospital and was ready to play.
"Wendy arrived within the next couple of minutes and did her sets, which were brilliant as usual. As far as we know, she didn't have any idea of the 'drama' and extra bit of entertainment that had just taken place.
"Chris Rees was a bit shaky, but he got through the whole gig and needed to rest up for a few weeks."
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RAY GRIEVE (Elliot Gordon Union) - May 17th, 2008 (email)
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"Through most of 1969, my band the Elliot Gordon Union, were the resident band at Caesars Place Disco in King St. Sydney (where the Supreme Court building is now.) I think it was four nights a week, a bit too far back to remember. Because of that, we backed various artists who occasionally appeared on guest spots. Wendy was one of these and as far as I can recall she did about three spots throughout the year with us backing her. About mid-year we were all booked to do two spots in Canberra at a sort of 'disco-night' at the Park Royal Hotel; I think it was a Saturday night and Sunday afternoon."
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PATRICK - Rock&Roll Scars - April 22nd, 2008
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"Ah Chain… what a wonderful band, it's been 40 years since I saw Chain play live at the Windmill Disco in Kurri Kurri NSW [get your Gregorys out to find that one]. On the night it was rumoured that Wendy Saddington might be appearing as a special guest and expectations were high...as Chain walked out on stage the little side door nearby opened and everyone held their breath, then out walked the little old cleaning lady mop in hand with a fag drooping from the corner of her mouth. Wendy it wasn't but it certainly some entrance."
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LYN HADLEY-TRAILL - April 14th, 2008 (email)
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An experience with Wendy Saddington
"We were at Lobby Lloyde’s funeral, surrounded by greats from the past and present. An interesting collection, with some looking like life had sucked them dry and others still pumping the rhythms of their particular beat.
"A figure approached us, clothed in a modest sari, her hair pulled back from her arresting face. I was drawn to her eyes, luminous pools of wisdom and warmth. She announced that she was Wendy Saddington and I immediately became excited, remembering how as a rather suppressed young woman, I had envied her wild energy in the 70s. She mentioned that she had always wanted to share a gig with my husband, Mick Hadley, and at that moment my head went into gear. I felt an immediate connection with this special woman and felt an urgent desire to make something happen with these two talents.
"Six months later we realised the dream and it really happened! On the 14th September 2007, Mick was dispatched to pick Wendy up from the airport. He was away for ages and when he did return, Wendy accompanied him, but without her luggage, which had gone missing! This meant that Wendy did not have the outfit she had planned to wear that night. Being the pro that she is, this did not daunt her. She simply tied around her waist the leopard skin top she had been wearing. She had recovered from the depths of her bag a black sarong which we pinned to her bra. The final touch was a red headband that was also found in her bag. With her lovely eyes outlined in her trademark kohl, she looked like a million dollars and she was ready!
"There had been many anxious moments in the previous months when I wondered what I had persuaded my husband to do. We booked the two nights at the Brisbane Polish Club, which has wonderful acoustics and is far away from the whinging of local yuppies who have invaded the city precincts with a set agenda to drive out the live music, thus depriving music lovers of so much of the pleasure remembered from previous years!
"Being a novice promoter and self elected manager, I learned a great deal about what has to happen behind the scenes before an event such as this can take place. I think some members of Mick’s ‘Atomic Boogie Band’ thought my enthusiasm was misguided and sometimes I wondered myself!
"Mick has a good following and the first night the numbers rolled in quite quickly. We had been a little disappointed with the publicity machines but brightly coloured posters adorned many shop windows and posts. A kind friend had taken his children on long walks dropping leaflets into letterboxes. We had used every network we could think of and felt sad at the lack of enthusiasm from some quarters. A great blues diva was about to perform here and we wanted to give as many people as possible the opportunity to enjoy the occasion.
"The first night the crowd that rolled up were enthusiastic dancers and took the opportunity of the magnificent dance floor to don their dancing shoes, you know those black and white numbers, and danced up a storm. Mick and the Atomic Boogie Band were on fire and the Polish Club was alive with the Rhythm and Blues Review!
"After a few sets of fabulous blues, there was an expectant silence and there she was! Up there on the stage no one would ever have suspected the makeshift wardrobe! She shone like a true professional and when she sang, the Polish Club shook to its foundations. There were those who, unaware of her work, were shocked and left swiftly saying they didn’t like the screaming of her voice, but those of us who had known and loved her work, were thrilled to our very being. When she sang “God Bless the Child” I noticed more than one person with tears of emotion and I knew that my instincts to do this review had been justified.
"The next day her luggage arrived and she asked if we could visit the Hare Krishna Temple, which we did. I felt privileged to experience this with her, knowing what an important part of her life and survival her faith has become for her and we treasure the book, 'Bhagavad-Gita', which she gave to us.
"The first night had been terrific but the second night was sublime. It was a different crowd, consisting of more followers of Wendy’s music, a much more appreciative audience. She was more relaxed and it showed! Margaret Roadknight was in the audience and was invited by Wendy to sing with her and Mick, which was an unexpected bonus!
"Once again my favourites were "God Bless the Child" and "Gopinatha Mama Nivedena Suno" sung with such reverence and devotion, but on this second night we were given a real treat when Wendy and Mick thrilled us with a unique rendition of Wild Thing. Wendy really did ‘want to know for sure’ as she used her walking stick as an air guitar. The crowd went mad! They finished the night jointly with Midnight Hour and the crowd was on its feet cheering.
"The 14th and 15th September, 2007, are etched in my memory as a very special experience with a very special lady whom we love very much. Considering the reputation Wendy had for perceived ‘wildness’ in her younger years, their remains a purity of soul and vulnerability that is very endearing.
"We will never forget you, Wendy Saddington!"
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HENRY MANETTA - April 9th, 2008 (email)
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"I first saw Wendy Saddington (on television) in the late 60's when I was around 10 years old on an Adelaide music show called 'In Time'. She performed "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" with what was probably Chain behind her. 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. She used to come over to Adelaide and play at Alex Innocenti's Blues Cellar at this time but I was too young to attend.
"I also witnessed a ½ hour ABC TV presentation with Wendy in clown makeup and leotard with a mime artist attached (I am under the impression it may have been Jeff Crozier) when she performed 'Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child' and 'I Think Of You.' It was utterly otherworldly, like an ectoplasmic carnival from another dimension, and at the same time the deep soul feeling was shiveringly palpable. This was circa 1972 or thereabouts.
"I finally got to see her live at a place called Blazes in Adelaide, with a large band, including keyboards and horns, doing Aretha's 'A Change is Gonna Come' and '5 for the DJ', and in an amazing display of her ability to turn what one would consider an inappropriate song into something wild, 'Jive Talkin' by the Bee Gees. This was the mid to late 70's.Then again in Melbourne in the late 80's at The Royal Derby, it was a slightly reggae-ish situation, but still funky, and Zan from I'm Talking was the support act. And then in the early 2000's at The Continental guesting with Kevin Borich and Ross Wilson, featuring a superb 'Backlash Blues'.
"I also saw Wendy at The Rainbow in Melbourne around this time and she asked me to sing with her, so we duetted on "Stormy Monday" and it was a moment I shall always treasure, an honour and an absolute transport.
"There have been other memorexes - sitting through a long televised version of Tommy to catch her short piece as The Nurse, and I remember her again on television at different times on the ABC doing 'Superstition' and 'Oh Sanity,' and 'St Louis Blues' in a long Billie Holiday frock with just a piano backing.
I felt then, and still feel, that Wendy is possibly the best singer this country has produced, and certainly one of the most unique. And regarding sticking to your artistic guns with no compromise, she definitely wrote the book."
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JIM FINN - April 9th, 2008 (email)
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"I have known Wendy for a number of years as you probably know, and I have a couple of funny stories which I don't think should go public but there is one memory of her and her awesome voice. I was working with her in a very small room in Darlinghurst and we were set up on the floor in the corner, Wendy was about 3 feet from me and she let go with a mighty note and the timber and volume was just incredible, she was probably 2 feet from the mic but with the awesome power in her voice she needed to get no close to be heard above the band and all over the room, she almost burst my ear drum. Unbelievable singer. Recording was a treat too as she could put so much emotion in to her part you felt like she was bleeding for you, good luck she is worthy."
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RENEE GEYER - April 8th, 2008 (email)
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"Wendy was the only female in rock and roll when I was a young girl. Am happy to participate in a long overdue story about the legend that is Wendy Saddington."
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R. P. White - April 2008 (email)
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"I arrived in Australia in 1970, in the middle of the record-ban, no playin' of non-Australian recordings on Pop radio stations. In the midst of the clamour to re-record overseas hits, only a few people had the guts to be original in their sound and help set up the foundation of what became a very high-quality Aussie-Rock output. For me, Wendy Saddington was one of the fearless few who were the Fire-Screamers of Secession From Ordinary Pop-Pap. Though I never got to work with her in person, she and others of her partisan battalion were the battle-flag wavers that finally rallied the efforts to produce the successful Great Australian Rock Defence against the Yankee-Eagle and the British-Lion. A well-deserved "Thank You Ma'am" for the inspiration, Ms. Wendy..."
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CHEZOB - September 25th, 2007 (email)
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"Wendy truly is a gem is there any chance we could convince her to play a gig in Melbourne. Saw her at the lobby Lloyd benefit last October but it was too brief i ran into her in the CBD not long after and she said she hoped to do more she is a very humble lady .I used to follow her around in the early 70s and never missed a gig at places like Sebastians, Berties, TF much ballroom and anywhere else please tell her she is very loved and thanks for the memories but I'm sure singing gives her soul and spirit so much happiness."
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MICHAEL ROBBINS - Rock&Roll Scars - March 18th, 2007
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"I remember the first time I heard Wendy. It was on an Infinity compilation album called 12x12. Lotsa great stuff on their but Wendy's Backlash Blues copped the biggest flogging until I was finally able to afford the Live album with Copperwine. Looking Through A Window was also on high rotation for years until I wore it out waiting for new stuff that criminally never came out. However anyone who saw Ms. Saddington last year performing "...Window" on the Lobby Benefit in Melbourne will be in no doubt that she's as great as ever. That magnificent wail filled the entire venue effortlessly & in my opinion she was the highlight in a show full of highlights. Fortunately the show was taped I believe & Aztec will be issuing it on DVD soon for everyone to enjoy."
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MORRIS SPINETTI - 2007 (email)
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"I'm the teardrop in the (Peter Weir) movie clip (1971 "I Think of You" extract) – it's great to see – Wendy is a great talent.
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HENRY COREY - October 28th, 2004
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"Last nite (Ocober 27th, 2004) at the invitation of Barry Harvey, I attended a private screening at the Chauvel Cinema in Paddington Town Hall! Our own Tony Jaggers as well as Billy Thorpe, Wendy Saddington and many other luminaries of our Rock generation were there, socialising, like old friends that hadn't met in 34 years! It was great! A real flashback to 1970 in more ways than one... laugh! Featured in this Rockumentary is the music of John Sangster, performances by Billy Thorpe, Chain, Leo De Castro, Jeff St. John, Tully, Hans Poulsen, with a standout performance by, in my opinion, Australia's finest female Blues Singer, Miss Wendy Saddington! I remember back in the 70's how much I liked her vocals, and not having heard them for a while, her filmed performance of Nobody Knows You (When you're down and out), not only gave me goose bumps, but nearly brought a tear to my eye! It was such a soulfully phrased vocal! and loudly applauded by the audience after the last note was sung! Well Deja Vue was great, and catching up with Wendy, Billy and others was a blast too."
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PETER - October 24th, 2003
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"I remember seeing Wendy Saddington in Adelaide, just after she returned from her stint in New York. She had abandoned the Afro for a buzz cut, b+w face make-up and body stocking and began her set with a very sweet (Sixto) Rodriguez song. After a few songs she introduced the last song saying, "You may recognise this song..." and closed with the same Rodriguez song again... It was so nice it was worth hearing again. She certainly had her own path to tread and we loved her."
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KALAI ESTPAL - October 20th, 2003
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"Hello? Where was Wendy Saddington in the women singers show (ABC's Love Is In The Air)? True she didn't record much and to quote Renee G (Geyer)… she probably wasn't well enough behaved (just like ALL the males) but she was far and away the best voice in the land. More than one white Jewish singer climbed out her mum and dad's bathroom window to go see Wendy. I've heard her sing more times than I can tell you. The gigs with Jeff St John at Caesars INN Place, with Siversun at the Station Hotel; I can even recall her voice with Chain...opening the gig with a jaw-dropping "Help". There was an ABC Wendy + Jeff TV 'special' with some beautiful songs including "To Mother from Sweetcakes" (their private nicknames for each other). I'd love to see a copy. Some memorable GTK appearances including the famous interview in a Paddington gutter where she totally slagged off her forthcoming live LP. She later was quoted in Go-Set saying it was a waste of money and you shouldn't buy it. It proved to be a milestone in Oz recording history with unbelievably moving versions of Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues and Backlash Blues as well a brilliant original song "Five People Said I Was Crazy"… a critic in The Australian said her LP showcased the best white singer in the world since Elvis... I could go on... So where does she fit in? I suspect Wendy didn't toe the line in the music biz… is this the backlash of the biz???"
Original link here: http://www2b.abc.net.au/love/guestbook/archive/archive27.shtm
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ALF ANDREWS - January 5th, 2003
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"The first really big show I went to was the Myponga Rock Festival ... three days of peace, love and brown rice in the finest tradition of Woodstock. The main attraction was Black Sabbath, but I was pretty hungover when they played and didn't really get into them. The last night was amazing ... and what a night it was ... Wendy Saddington (the greatest blues singer this country has ever produced), Jeff St.John and the Copperwine, Healing Force, and finally, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs with their 25-minute version of "Gangster Of Love" - complete with 10 minute drum solo...
Original link: www.bigfooty.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-56074.html
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