The Lighthouse Keepers

The Lighthouse Keepers were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney in the early 1980s though three of its members were originally from Canberra, ACT , and two of them had earlier played in another band, Guthugga Pipeline. Greg Appel composed most of the group's material, and the bulk of it was sung by vocalist Juliet Ward. Drummer Steven Williams (-Particles (band)) joined in 1982 for the recording of their mini-album (Exploding Lighthouse Keepers) at Keith Hale's studio in the Haymarket. Williams stayed on as drummer-manager.

For three years between 1982-1985, The Light House Keepers were regarded as one of the hardest working bands in the industry, regularly touring around the country before shifting abroad for a tour of Europe.

Their repertoire was quirky mix of pop, country, rock and folk, led by the distinctive, quavering vocals of Ward. Alongside Appel's songs were a few contributions from O'Neil and a large cache of covers and originals. They built up a cult following and performed regularly on the east coast of Australia, releasing a number of independent recordings and making touring to almost every major city in Australia and in Europe. The band split on Good Friday 1986, after playing to a then record crowd at the Graphics Arts Club in inner-city Sydney.

Appel and Ward went on to the shortlived Rainlovers, which evolved into arguably the best of Appel's various musical outings, The Widdershins in 1987, including drummer Peter Timmerman, guitarist James Cruikshank (who subsequently joined The Cruel Sea (band)), and bassist Barry Turnbull (ex- John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong). Widdershins had a good following around Sydney in the late '80s and gained airplay on radio station Triple J and had music video clips played on the ABC's weekly late-night program "Rage".

Following the demise of Widdershins, Greg and his younger brother Stephen Appel gigged occasionally with Ward, Timmerman and others in a loose-knit outfit called Hammerhead, before forming the semi-regular group One Head Jet ca. 1992, playing in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and other towns until about 1997. The fluid lineup included Timmerman, the youngest of the Appel clan, David (vocals, trumpet, percussion) and on occasion, in the latter stages of the band, guitarist Brendan Gallagher, later of Karma County. After the demise of One Head Jet, Steve Appel formed the Sydney-based trio King Curly.

Greg Appel has limited involvement in music since One Head Jet although he has contributed to his brother's recordings. Appel has worked for the ABC for many years and his long friendshhip with senior producer Paul Clarke led to him directing the landmark ABC music documentary series "Long Way To The Top".

The fourth Appel brother, Robert, is the founder of the pioneering and highly successful internet music retail website ChaosMusic (http://www.chaosmusic.com).

Members

*Greg Appel (12-string guitar, keyboards, vocals)
*Juliet Ward (vocals, bass)
*Steven Williams (drums)
*Stephen O'Neil (bass, guitar, sax, drums)
*Michael "Blue" Dalton (harmonica, slide guitar, bass)

Discography

*'"Gargoyle"/"Demolition Man", "Quick Sticks" (single, 1983)
*"The Exploding Lighthouse Keepers" (mini album, 1983)
*"Gargoyle"/"Demolition Man", 'Quick Sticks' (single, 1984) reissue by Hot Records
*"Tales of the Unexpected" (1984, Hot Records).
*"Ocean Liner"/"Sad Tale" (single, 1984, Hot Records).
*"Ode to Nothing"/"Seven Years", (single, 1985, Hot Records)
* Imploding (Waterfront, compilation 1989?)

External links

* [http://members.ol.com.au/rgriffin/LHKeepers/ The Lighthouse Keepers: History]
*McFarlane, Ian, "Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop" (Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1999) ISBN 1-86508-072-1
*http://www.eggrecords.co.uk/
*http://www.myspace.com/gregappel
*SYDNEY INNER CITY MUSIC ON MP3 & WAV http://www.showroom.com.au/sydneygroups/