Not too many people recognised the man with the beard when he rode into the packed MCG on a horse just before kick-off for the 1988 VFL Grand Final. But Noel Watson had been there and done that. During the late 50s/early 60s he had played in some of the best bands on the Melbourne dance scene, he was a Vietnam Vet and he had served his country for 20 years in the Royal Australian Army. Noel did one lap of the oval then stepped onto a small stage at the centre of the arena and delivered the most soul-stirring rendition of Waltzing Matilda that has ever been sung. From that day on, to most people, Noel Watson became known as “That bloke with the beard that sang Waltzing Matilda.” But to his friends and anyone who knew him, he was much more. His partner, Ren Busch summed up the feelings of many when she said “He was a ripper bloke, an absolutely ripper bloke.”
Noel Alexander Watson was born on December 17th, 1942 and he was the youngest of three children. He grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong and his parents were strict Catholics. During his teenage years Noel took classical guitar lessons and would spend many hours practising in his room. His mother Isobel was quite deaf and his father Alex, a builder by trade, also had poor hearing. When Noel was supposedly practising his classical guitar pieces, his parents knew he was playing rock’n’roll from the vibrations coming from the room with Noel tapping his feet on the floorboards. Another interest of Noel’s was athletics and it has been said that he was a champion sprinter at schoolboy level, although little is known of his achievements in this sport.
Noel loved rock’n’roll and idolised Buddy Holly and at around 16 he joined his first group, the Tridents. The other members included Joe Papparone, Phil Golotta and Ron Chapman. When Noel left school he worked as a Lab Technician and later worked as a cameraman at a television station. In 1959 when he was 17, he signed a 3-year contract with Kevin McLellan, who was the biggest dance promoter/talent agent in Melbourne at the time. McLellan ran dances at the Canterbury Ballroom, Preston Town Hall and Earl’s Court in St Kilda. McLellan’s top group were the Thunderbirds, considered to be one of the most professional groups on the Melbourne dance circuit. The band consisted of Harold Frith on drums, Murray Robertson on piano, Peter Robinson on bass, Henri Bource on saxophone and flute and Charlie Gauld on guitar. At dances where the Thunderbirds played they would have 4 or 5 featured vocalists and Noel was one of the most popular. Other singers included Billy Owens, Johnny Chester, Colin Buckley and Bobby Cookson.
In the early days when Noel started singing with the Thunderbirds, he used to sing a lot of Buddy Holly songs and even wore glasses like the American rock’n’roller. Later he expanded his repertoire to include covers of other popular singers of the day and add his own interpretation of their songs.
Noel was included as one of the featured singers on a live recording made during this time. The album, ‘Quite A Party’ was issued on the W&G budget label, Gem, and captures the magic of a typical night at Preston Town Hall. It features instrumentals by the Thunderbirds and vocal tracks by Murray Robertson, Johnny Chester, Gillian Buckley and Noel. Singing in the style of rock’n’roll singers of the day, Noel performs Fats Domino’sLet The Four Wind Blow and Roy Orbison’s hit Cryin’. The LP is a highly prized collector’s item these days. Also of interest is a documentary titled ‘Quite A Party –The Story Of Melbourne Rock’n’Roll’ which covers the early rock’n’roll scene in Melbourne of the late 50s/early 60s, that Noel was part of and can be viewed on You Tube.
In 1960, Noel married Gloria Staples when he was 18. Their first child James was born in 1961, followed a few years later by Glenn and Leanne. Noel was the father of three children at the age of 21.
One of the rising stars of the Melbourne music scene in 1964 was Merv Benton. Merv had scored two Top 40 hits locally and for his third single it was decided to use a German backing track with new words written by Noel. Noel had developed a strong interest in song writing and was keen to have a song he had written recorded. Both sides of the single Be Sweet/You’re The Dog were German tunes with new words written by Noel. Everyone seemed to like Be Sweet, it received a lot of airplay and reached No.22 on the local charts. But Merv and Noel quickly realised that the song’s words were sexist and they hated performing it live.
“Noel Watson recalls that ‘Be Sweet’ came about from a deal with Ron Tudor who was the A&R man at W&G. Tudor had obtained a series of backing tracks from Germany and he needed English lyrics for them. There was a flat fee of two quid to use the backing track and away you go. We all have our crosses to bare, and ‘Be Sweet’ is one of mine.” (Rockabilly Hall Of Fame, 2004).
In early 1965 Merv Benton formed his own backing band and he wanted Noel to be part of it. The band was called the Tamlas and the founding members were, Charlie Gauld (guitar ex-Thunderbirds), Ian B. Allen (bass ex-Planets), Eddie Chappell (drums ex-Checkmates) and Noel Watson (guitar ex-Thunderbirds). When Merv recorded another song penned by Noel, Can’t Believe It’s True, in October 1965 it was intended to be the A-side. He was disappointed when radio picked up the other side of the single, Crash Craddock’s Don’t Destroy Me.
While touring with a band in Perth in early 1968, Noel enlisted in the Royal Australian Army. Why the talented young musician made this unusual choice is not known, possibly a marital issue he thought the best way to deal with was to join the Army. Noel did recruit training at Brisbane and was assigned to the Signals Corps and began training to become an Electronics Technician.
After completing the Tech course Noel was posted back to Melbourne and re-united with his family. He was then posted to Brisbane early in 1969, then in April he was sent on a tour of duty to Vietnam. Noel was sent to the Australian Infantry Support Base in Vung Tau. He was part of 103 Signals Squadron and was chosen to be one of a select crew who manned a communications shelter on top of what was called VC Hill.
In May 1970 Noel completed his tour of duty in Vietnam and returned to his family in Brisbane. But it was not a pleasant homecoming because Noel was deeply affected by his Vietnam experience. Not long after the Watson family were on the move again when Noel was posted back to Melbourne. During this time Noel would often head down to the soldiers club at Watsonia called the Mactier VC Club. He would take his guitar and entertain his fellow soldiers with bawdy ballads.
During 1973 Noel was posted to Singapore but this time Gloria and the three children went with him. Noel bought an old two-door Riley soft-top sedan to drive around in and he attracted a lot of attention. The canvas top had long since deteriorated in the hot Singapore sun and when it rained he would drive around holding an umbrella to keep dry. After Singapore Noel was posted to Ingleburn Army Camp in the Western suburbs of Sydney then in mid-1975 he was posted back to Melbourne and was assigned as an instructor at the School of Signals at Watsonia. Noel soon became renowned for his unique instructional style when presenting a course because when explaining complex electrical circuitry he often would suddenly break out into song.
One of the most popular bands on the Melbourne pub circuit at the time was Country/Bluegrass outfit Saltbush. Noel knew most of the members from his early Melbourne dance circuit days. The group formed in 1971 and consisted of Bernie O’Brien (ex-Rondells) on vocals, lead guitar, dobro & fiddle; Harold Frith (ex-Thunderbirds) on vocals & drums; Paul Pyle (ex-Johnny O’Keefe Band) on vocals & double bass and Ross Nicholson on vocals & guitar. Saltbush was an original material band performing songs written by Bernie O’Brien and Ross Nicholson. Because of their connection with Noel, Saltbush ended up playing at several Army functions and they would always ask him to get up to do a couple of songs with them, which always went down well.
Noel was invited to play at the 1979 Broadford Rock Concert, a 3-day outdoor music festival organised by the Hell’s Angels. It is Australia’s longest running rock concert and according to the organisers “has withstood petrol strikes, beer strikes, adverse weather conditions, financial problems and permit problems.” Noel drove down to the event with his son Glenn and they slept in their car. Noel played in between as bands were setting up and Glenn, who was only 15 at the time, saw some amazing sights but was also amazed at the great reaction his father received from the crowd. Among the acts performing that year were Russell Morris, Zo Zo Zep and Jimmy & the Boys. Frontman Ignatius Jones’ on stage antics managed to offend everyone so much they were quickly escorted from the grounds after their performance and were lucky to make it out alive.
When Ross Nicholson left Saltbush, Noel was asked to take his place. Saltbush released their first album, ‘At Twin Rivers’ in 1976 and their highly acclaimed second album ‘Saltbush’ followed in 1978. The group’s next release in 1979 was the single Razor Back Mountain Blockade a song written by Noel. The song is about a blockade by truckies protesting about road taxes and it was recorded at Ron Tudor’s North Melbourne studios.
Some internal conflicts caused Saltbush to disband in 1981 and Noel began working in a duo with Bernie O’Brien performing at various pubs around Melbourne. They started to build up a collection of songs that each had written and decided to record an album together titled ‘Pickin’ The Pieces Up’ released in 1980. The album was credited to Noel Watson and Bernie O’Brien but it was basically a Saltbush album because Harold Frith and Paul Pyle both played on it as well.
Everyone who knew Noel were surprised when he signed up to do an officer’s training course. He completed what was called a “Knife and Fork” course held at Canungra, Queensland and was given a commission and promoted to the rank of Captain. He was assigned the Senior Project Officer at 127 Signals Squadron, Ivanhoe, 9 km north east of Melbourne. It was a demanding role but Noel did an exceptionally good job and as a result was promoted to the rank of Major.
Noel recorded an album during this time. His son James was doing a Sound Engineering Course and he and the other students doing the course wanted to get some practical experience. So Noel decided to record an album. All the students picked a track each and the completed album was called ‘Noel Watson’. Two singles were released off the album, Matilda/Hold On Me (1987) and I’m Falling/ Vietnam in 1988. James engineered the track Matilda, which was Noel’s version of Waltzing Matilda that he had been singing for a few years at Army functions and pubs around Melbourne.
Noel retired from the Army on April 20th, 1987. Chris Yates had joined the Army in Perth at the same time as Noel and they both retired on the same day. Chris recalls,
“We both started off in the Corps of Signals as Electronic Technicians and did the same course together and we retired from the Army on the same day. We caught a taxi to the Olde England Hotel in Heidelberg and got pretty happily merry.”
After leaving the Army Noel followed through with his long-term plan of becoming a farmer and he bought a goat farm in Redbank in Central Victoria. Noel remarried during this time, grew his hair and a long flowing beard. The living conditions were not that flash with a generator supplying power and an outside fridge well stocked with VB. But Noel was happy.
1988 was Bicentennial year in Australia. A 2-hour documentary ‘Australia – A Celebration of a Nation’ was broadcast nationally on ABC TV and Noel’s recording of Waltzing Matilda was chosen for the closing credits. Noel’s voice and the way he sang the much-loved Banjo Patterson song made a big impact and left a lot of people wondering, who was this man with such a powerful voice. When Ross Oakley who was the President of the VFL at the time rang to ask Noel to sing Waltzing Matilda at the Grand Final, he thought it was one of his mates playing a joke on him and he hung up. Oakley rang back and Noel discovered it was a genuine offer.
The idea the VFL had was to make it look like someone had just ridden in from the bush. Little did they know that Noel did not like horses and had not ridden one for over 20 years. Noel was also concerned that he would get pelted with beer cans as he circled the ground and that the crowd would start booing at his long version of Waltzing Matilda. It’s not easy singing live to a backing tape in a huge arena, as many well-known singers have found out, but Noel nailed it. His performance made a big impact on many people at the ground and those watching at home on TV. One young footy fan, who was there on the day commented,
“I was 15 when dragged to the 1988 Grand Final by my father. Crappy game, got drenched … But a 10 minute period that day blew my mind and still does. Whilst retrieving many beer cans that I loyally smuggled in for Dad, I saw a huge horse enter the arena with a bearded bushie on its back. He was introduced as Noel Watson. He then ripped into the most outstanding ‘Waltzing Matilda’ I had ever heard, or will ever hear. Lucky my Mother had taped the Channel 7 coverage. I wore out the tape.” (didakpies You Tube comment [edited] 2015).
The Grand Final appearance turned Noel’s life around, all of sudden he was in high demand for pub gigs, corporate functions and television shows. Everyone loved his version of Waltzing Matilda and were intrigued by this goat farmer from Avoca with the great voice. He became a regular on Bert Newton’s ‘Good Morning Australia’ and was flown to Sydney almost on a weekly basis to appear on the ‘Midday Show’. The host Ray Martin was a big fan of Noels.
At a pub gig in Ballarat, Noel met Ren Busch (Thorpe) and his life made a definite change for the better. They bought a 14-acre property in Avoca, which had an old mud brick cottage built in the early 1900s and a large weatherboard shed where Noel set up all his recording gear. He called it the Goat Shed and he set up his own production company, Goat Shed Productions.
In 1990 Noel released the album ‘Georgia’. Many people associate Noel as a singer of Australian Bush Ballads and would be surprised at the song choices on this album. The first two songs, Georgia On My Mind and September Songhave a distinct Jazz style and he pours a lot of emotion into the love ballad, Sometimes When We Touch. There are also a few country-flavoured songs including a fine version of Tom T. Hall’s Old Dogs & Children (& Watermelon Wine) and the one original song on the album, Don’t Go, stands up well alongside the other better-known songs on the album.
Everything seemed to be going well for Noel, but tragedy stuck in May 1990 when his oldest son James died tragically. Noel appeared on the ‘Midday Show’ and dedicated the Beatles song Yesterday to James. The Lennon-McCartney song has been covered by many singers but when Noel applied it to the loss of his son, it takes on a whole new meaning. The song became the title track of Noel’s next album, which is another fine collection of covers and original songs. Noel does outstanding versions of some classic songs including You’ll Never Walk Alone, Somewhere Over The Rainbow and When A Man Loves A Woman.Some of the more obscure songs on the LP include Buddy Holly’s Send Me Your Lovin’ and the Everly Brother’s Mabel’s Room.
Towards the latter part of 1990, Noel recorded a Christmas album. Although not keen on the idea, he managed to produce a unique and special album, which included great versions of some traditional and well-known Christmas songs like Away In The Manger and Mary’s Boy Child. There were also some great original songs the highlight being Blue Gum Christmas Tree, a song Noel wrote about his childhood memories of Christmas and the Christmas tree his father made for him when he was 4 years old.
Noel’s next release was a live album recorded at the Hotel Victoria in Avoca. The album was originally issued as ‘Evil Leon’ a strange title for an album, but it was ‘Noel Live’ spelt backwards. The album provides a good insight into how good Noel was when performing live. He is very much at ease in front of his mates and local friends and introduces each song with amusing stories about his school days (Bernie O’Brien’s Annie Johnson), farming (Barb Wire Blues) and his living conditions (The Hut). Some other gems on the album include a great version of Wonderful World and a slow country-styled version of Heartbreak Hotel. The album was re-released in 1998 as ‘Live In Concert’
As well as travelling extensively around Australia, Noel made a number of overseas trips to share his unique brand of Australian music for a variety of bids and campaigns in a number of countries. He was asked to go to the US to support Australia’s 1991/92 America’s Cup Challenge, he was flown to Paris for a function in support of Australia’s bid for the 2000 Olympic Games and he travelled to Nashville and performed in front of a large audience and also appeared on television. Some of his overseas assignments were unusual like the Australian Meat & Livestock promotion in Bahrain.
In 1993, Noel released his next CD ‘Spirit Of Australia’. The album has a strong Australiana theme with songs about Bushrangers, Holden cars and a tribute to Smokey Dawson. The title track, the Jim Walpole/Peter Clark penned song was chosen as the theme song for the Spirit Of Australia challenge for the America’s Cup. Noel collaborated with partner Ren to write the majority of the songs on the album, one exceptional example being Care For Me, a conservation song for Landcare Australia. Noel also does a great re-working of the song that brought him to national attention, Waltzing Matilda.
In 1994 the lifestyle television program ‘Healthy, Wealthy & Wise’ wanted to do a feature story on Noel. New Zealand born journalist and bush poet Jim Brown visited the farm at Avoca to shoot the segment. They set-up a campfire at the back of the house and Noel spoke openly about the bad times he had been through and how good he felt in his current situation. He told Jim Brown,
“You don’t wish those things on yourself, I’m really quite happy with the way I am now. If those things had to happen to get to this stuff, well that’s fine, I’m really happy now.”
In the mid-90s, Noel formed a band to support him at the many shows he was performing around the country. The band included Noel (vocals, guitar), Louis McManus (fiddle, mandolin), Peter Hayes (bass, 6-string guitar, fiddle) and Stuie Lees (drums). Later Mark Losin replaced Lois McManus who joined the Bushwackers. Losin used synthesised fiddle programs, which added a different dimension to the sound of the band. The group performed at quite a few corporate functions and often impressed the organisers so much they were asked to sing all their songs again.
In the late 90s the Noel Watson Band supported American Country music legend Charlie Pride on his Australian tour. The tour included shows in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth and travelled up the east coast of Australia all the way to Cooktown. The Aboriginal Community absolutely idolised Charlie Pride and eagerly awaited seeing their idol perform live. But the concert did not go ahead due to torrential rain that started on the day of the concert. The insurance company would not let the show go ahead. Instead, the Aboriginal Community put on a huge feast of barramundi and crab and the bands and crew all sat around together talking and swapping stories with the locals.
In 1994 Noel got a call from Melbourne based singer Carol Sendall. She was recording and wanted someone to do the male part of a duet. She did not know Noel, but someone said she should ring him and ask and Noel agreed. English-born Carol Sendall began singing in the children’s talent television show ‘Brian & the Juniors’ at 10 years old in 1965. After their first meeting in the recording studio, she and Noel became good friends and started doing a lot of pub work, corporate functions and Vietnam Veteran shows.
Since doing the ‘Healthy, Wealthy & Wise’ feature story Noel had become good friends with Jim Brown. Brown was a Bush Poet and one night while sitting around a campfire with Noel he recited a couple of his poems and some of Banjo Patterson’s poems, and accompanied himself on guitar. Noel loved the spoken word with guitar backing concept and said, “I’d like to do some stuff with you.” Jim recalls,
“I went up there every couple of weeks in the Goat Shed. So we nutted out a set of poems that would suit music and some I wrote the music to and he re-arranged it. He did his own arrangements so it was a co-operative thing and it was a lot of fun to do.”
The result was the ‘Banjo, Jim & Me ‘ CD released in 1995. The album consists of spoken word poems by Jim Brown and poems put to music and sung by Noel. Carol Sendall shares vocals with Noel on the sentimental ballad As Long As Your Eyes Are Blue and Last Week. Noel wrote in the liner notes of the CD,
“Writing music for the album was fun as all of the poems developed their own musical character, but the hardest job was to keep each song as honest and true as Banjo’s original work. Some songs had to be played on instruments and in the style of the period, however, some leapt forward 100 years into the musical ‘feel’ of today. To me that’s a good indication of the timelessness of Banjo.”
Noel had enjoyed working with Jim Brown so much it inspired him to do a similar thing with another great Australian poet, Henry Lawson. Noel identified much more with Lawson than Patterson and other Australian poets. ‘All For Being Alive – The Henry Lawson Selection’, is the first album entirely devoted to the works of Lawson and Noel manages to incorporate a variety of music styles including, Jazz, Rock and Gospel, to bring the poems to life. Outstanding tracks include Waterlily, a mother’s dream of her dead baby, the emotional ballad The Things We Dare Not Tell, and the evocative poem written in the year of Lawson’s death, On A Night Train.
Everything was going well in Noel’s life but things went downhill in a hurry one night in 2001 when he was driving home from a gig in Melbourne and he suffered severe back pain. It was discovered that Noel had crushed discs in his back and he had to have an operation to correct the damage to his spine. Unfortunately this resulted in him losing sense to his extremities, he had difficulty walking and his fingers did not work, which meant that he could no longer play the guitar. Noel was devastated.
After the operation Noel decided not to continue performing. It was a difficult decision to make, but he managed to find a variety of activities to keep himself busy. He joined the Avoca Men’s Shed and was instrumental in organising visits by local school children and also got involved with two online discussion groups - Renovate Forums and Woodwork Forums. He later became the Administrator of Woodwork Forums and Head Administrator of Renovate Forums.
When Merv Benton organised a reunion concert with the Tamlas he wanted Noel to be part of it. The concert celebrated the release of a double CD featuring all of Merv’s W&G recordings and was held at Kingston City Hall, Moorabbin on August 24th, 2002. The line-up appearing with Merv that night included Noel Watson (guitar), Denis Tucker (bass), Les Stacpool (lead guitar), Andrew King (keyboards) and Eddie Chappell (drums). During the week of the concert Merv celebrated his 60th birthday at Cabaret 499 in St Kilda. A DVD titled ‘Yeah! Still Shakin’!’ released in 2002, features both the concert and birthday celebration.
Country/Rock band the Wolverines (Darcy Leyear, Gizz Button and John Clinton), had a tremendous respect for Noel and even though they knew he had stopped performing they thought it would be good idea to get the veteran singer to Tamworth to perform one more time. So the group arranged for Noel to go to Tamworth and perform ‘Waltzing Matilda’. It was a special performance and was the last time Noel performed live.
In 2011 Noel was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which unfortunately spread to other parts of his body. Sadly, Noel died on October 10th, 2013 aged 70. When his friend Eric Bogle heard of Noel’s passing, he dedicated part of his show to Noel. In an interview on ABC Radio Eric said,
“You meet some wonderful people on the road in this business which is one of the bonuses, and you hear some great voices and musicians. And they just give you a warm feeling. After I did the Tamworth concert on the 11th of this month, friends told me that a fellow called Noel Watson had passed away the day previously. Noel was a mate from way back … he did the best version with an electric guitar of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ that I’ve heard. He never got the recognition he deserved … it never seemed to embitter him, he just enjoyed singing. But he should have been better known and his voice has now gone forever.”
The music of Noel Watson lives on. Recently a song of his was included on a CD titled ‘Where Words Fail’ issued by Guitars For Veterans Australia. The organisation provides veterans with guitars and free music lessons. Peter Cupples wrote Beating Around The Bush for Noel and they performed the song together on the ‘Midday Show’. The CD liner notes states that the song “perfectly reflects Noel’s no nonsense style and talks to his straight up approach to life”. For more information visit guitarsforveteransaustralia.com
Noel Watson was an outstanding performer and a unique character. I was not able to fit all the stories people told me about this great Australian into this blog but I intend to continue researching and hopefully put it into a book. If you knew Noel and have any interesting stories to share, please contact me at graemebrown101@gmail.com
Thanks to the following people for their help putting Noel’s story together:
Jim Brown, Ren Busch, Wonita Harris, Lorraine Lowe, Ken Sillman, Glenn Watson, Steve Watts, Chris Yates.
Discography:
Matilda/Hold On Me (Noel Watson) Big Time BTS 19 1987
I’m Falling/Vietnam (Noel Watson) Big Time BTS 25 1988
You’ll Never Walk Alone (Rogers-Hammerstein)/In The City (Noel Watson) Musicland Releases MUS SP 2021
Pickin’ The Pieces Up (with Bernie O’Brien) LP Renegade Records RE 069 1980
Queensland, Broke, Don’t You, Someday When I Get A Little Older, That’s All You Ever Got, If It Wasn’t For Love, Memories, Taxi Dancer, Stolen Love, Take Off Our Clothes, Would I Ever Be So Unkind, Too Late Now, The Night And The Lady, Pickin The Pieces Up
Noel Watson LP Big Time BT 7087 1988
I’m Falling, Matilda, Here Comes The Morning Again, Om On The Range, Cocaine Blues, Hold On Me, Down At The Junction, Going Down, Trouble, Vietnam
Georgia LP Massive 7321302 1998
Georgia On My Mind, September Song, Sometimes When We Touch, Crying, Don’t Go, How Would You Feel, Crazy, Streets Of London, Old Dogs & Children, When I Dream, As Time Goes By, If You Could Read My Mind.
Yesterday LP Musicland Releases MUS LP 2020 1990
You’ll Never Walk Alone, One For My Baby, Mad Michael McGee, Send Me Your Lovin’, Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Yesterday, Defying Gravity, Mothers Daughters Wives, Mabel’s Room, Son Of War, When A Man Loves A Woman, Ren
Blue Gum Christmas CD Musicland MUS 2022 1990
The First Noel, Silent Night, Christmas At Home, Mary’s Boy Child, O Come All Ye Faithful, Christmas Creatures, I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas, Little Drummer Boy, Away In A Manger, Blue Gum Christmas Tree, All Through The Night.
Spirit Of Australia CD Ritz Records 4900802 1993
Tom’s Woman, Daniel Morgan, Darlinghurst Road, The FX Holden, Care For Me, Old Heroes Like Me, The Spirit Of Australia, Waltzing Matilda, Nowhere Town, Old Bluey, Southern Lights, Smokey, My Country, Song Without Words.
Live In Concert CD Massive 7321342 1998
Redbank, Wild Wood Weed, Sydney Or The Bush, Wonderful World, The Bicentennial, The FX Holden, The Songwriter, Bulls, Heartbreak Hotel, St. Pansy’s Primary, Annie Johnson, Henry Lawson, Scots Of The Riverina, Going Farming, Barb Wire Blues, Daniel Morgan, Concreting The Patio, The Hut Song, Irene Goodnight.
(originally released on cassette as Evil Leon)
Banjo, Jim & Me (with Jim Brown) CD GS11395 1995
Prelude, Any Other Time, Our Own Flag, As Long As Your Eyes Are Blue, The Billy Goat Overland, The Man From Ironbark, Clancy Of The Overflow, Old Man’s Town, A Bush Christening, Last Week, A Bunch Of Roses, Waltzing Matilda, Mulga Bill’s Bicycle, The Flying Gang, In The Droving Days, A Singer Of The Bush, The Last Parade, Finale.
All For Being Alive – The Henry Lawson Selection CD 7322252 1998
The Shearer’s Dream, The Free Selector’s Daughter, Knocking Around, The Waterlily, Andy’s Gone With Cattle, Gypsy Too, Down The River, Scots Of The Riverina, Faces In The Street, The Little Slit In The Tail, The Things We Dare Not Tell, When Hopes Ran High, On The Night Train, For Being Alive.
Let The Four Winds Blow, Crying tracks from ‘Quite A Pqrty’ LP Gem GEM-38 1961
Waltzing Matilda a track from ‘The Man From Snowy River Soundtrack’ CD Polygram 21195 1995
Without You (duet with Carrol Sendall)
Here I Am (duet with Marcie Jones) a track from Here I Am CD Marcie Jones 2006
Que Sera Sera (with the Wolverines) a track from Making Tracks CD 2011
Beating Around The Bush (with Peter Cupples) a track from Where Words Fail CD 2021
Sources:
abc.net.au – Eric Bogle talks to Nicole Chvastek, November 1st, 2013
Mervyn Bonson – comments via email April 20th, 2021
Jim Brown – Interview: March 14th, 2021
Ren Busch – Interview: February 23rd, 2021
Peter Carroll – Interview: February 20th, 2021
Alan Dunsmuir – Interview: April 8th, 2021
Lofty Evans – Interview: April 7th, 2021
Harold Frith – Interview: March 10th, 2021
Ron Gilbee – Interview: February 8th, 2021
Randall Hardy – Interview: April 7th, 2021
Rockonvinyl.blogspot – Saltbush Selftitled (19780, April 15th, 2014
Barry King – Interview: March 4th, 2021
Greg Lawrence – Interview: April 8th, 2021
Stuie Lees – Interview: March 4th, 2021
Greg Lynch – comments via Facebook 2021
David McLean – Collected Stories On Australian Rock’n’Roll, Canetoad, 2011
Bernie O’Brien – Interview: March 4th, 2021
Paul Pyle – Interview: April 7th, 2021
Murray Robinson – Interview: March 1st, 2021
Carol Sendall – Interview: April 7th, 2021
Glenn Watson – Interview: February 18th, 2021
Tony Wilkinson – Rockabilly Hall Of Fame, 2004.
Chris Wilson – Interview: April 7th, 2021
Chris Yates - Interview: April 10th, 2021
You Tube – comments on Australian Rules Football 1988 VFL Grand Final Noel Watson Waltzing Matilda