Buffalo

Buffalo was an Australian rock band formed in August 1971 by founding mainstay Dave Tice on lead vocals (ex-Head). Fellow founders, also from Head, were Paul Balbi on drums, John Baxter on guitar, and Peter Wells on bass guitar; together with Alan Milano on lead vocals (ex-Mandala). Milano left after their debut album, Dead Forever... (June 1972), and Balbi was replaced on drums by Jimmy Economou. Their next two albums, Volcanic Rock (July 1973) and Only Want You for Your Body (June 1974), were also issued by Vertigo Records.After 1975 line-up changes resulted in a more commercial sound and the group disbanded in March 1977. Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane noted that there was "nothing subtle about Buffalo's primal, heavyweight sound, but it was delivered with a great deal of conviction ... combining the dense, heavy riffing ... with the progressive blues chops ... the band certainly captured the arrogant disposition of the times in a bold and thunderous fashion". Alongside Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs and Blackfeather, Buffalo pioneered Australia's heavy metal, pub rock and psychedelic rock movements. Peter Wells died on 27 March 2006, aged 58.Buffalo were an Australian hard rock band formed in August 1971 in Sydney by founding mainstay Dave Tice on co-lead vocals (ex-Head). Fellow founders, also from Brisbane's blues-rockers Head, were Paul Balbi on drums, John Baxter on guitar, and Peter Wells on bass guitar. Tice and Wells had been together in groups since 1966 with The Odd Colours and Strange Brew before forming Head in 1968. Head had relocated to Sydney in mid-1970, its line-up changed with the acquisition of Alan Milano on co-lead vocals (ex-Mandala) and a new musical direction led to the name change. 'Buffalo' was chosen (according to legend, randomly off an Australian map) as being more marketable than 'Head', with its sexual and drug connotations. Alongside Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs and Blackfeather, Buffalo pioneered Australia's heavy metal, pub rock and alternative rock movements. Buffalo were the first Australian act to be signed to Vertigo Records, however they remained largely an underground band.In May 1972 they issued their debut single, "Suzie Sunshine", which was written by Baxter and Peter Brett. It was followed in the next month by their debut album, Dead Forever..., which was produced by Spencer Lee. Both the single and album sold well with the album sales reaching 25,000. This was despite commercial radio virtually blacklisting the band – they received little airplay prior to the emergence of public radio stations (such as Triple J and 3RRR) in the mid-1970s. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described the album's cover as "controversial" in that it depicted "a mournful, blood-soaked face peering through the eye socket of a skull" while buyers were advised to "Play this album LOUD". After Dead Forever... appeared, Milano left, and Jimmy Economou replaced Balbi on drums. In mid-January 1973 Buffalo supported Black Sabbath at two Sydney shows on the Australian leg of the United Kingdom heavy rockers' Volume IV Tour. According to Australian rock music journalist, Ed Nimmervoll, "The seeds for Australian heavy rock can be traced back to two important sources, Billy Thorpe's Seventies Aztecs and Sydney band Buffalo, who came from the Black Sabbath/Uriah Heep school, and were signed to the same label as those groups (Vertigo) in Australia".The four-piece line-up of Baxter, Economou, Tice and Wells recorded their next two albums, Volcanic Rock (July 1973) and Only Want You For Your Body (June 1974), with Lee producing again. AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia found their second album was "about as raw as heavy metal got in the early 1970s" and "all of its crudity was absolutely intentional". He felt that their third album had the group "honing their songwriting into far more focused and compact heavy rock nuggets". McFarlane stated that the band had "kept up the scorching, heavy metal mayhem, with Baxter's savage guitar work and Tice's demented vocals well to the fore" for both albums. The group's talent manager was Sebastian Chase. Their use of controversial cover artwork continued: Volcanic Rock has a "graphic yet hilarious depiction of the female form as a menstruating volcano" while Only Want You For Your Body has an "obese, screaming woman shackled to a torture rack". Some record chains refused to stock these albums. By mid-1974 Norm Roue (ex-Band of Light) had joined on slide guitar and later that year Baxter was fired from the group. McFarlane declared they had "lost one of its most valuable and distinctive assets and its spirit simply dwindled".

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.