Zoot

Forming in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1966 and calling themselves "Down the Line," a soon re-badged Zoot achieved local fame on the dance scene before moving to Melbourne in 1968. Shortly after their pink-fuelled launch, their second single, "One Times, Two Times, Three Times, Four," peaked at number 32 on the Melbourne charts and the band began playing the Melbourne TV show Uptight regularly. Their next single, "Monty and Me," hit number one in Brisbane and the band, along with local contemporaries the Valentines, the Flying Circus, and New Dream, developed a strong teen following with their blend of disposable pop. Replacing guitarist Roger Hicks with Rick Springfield saw the band's sound begin to mature, and they toured with the cream of Australian pop on the national Operation Starlift Tour in September 1969. They ended the year by being voted Top Australian Group in Go-Set magazine's Pop Poll.



Despite burning their former pink outfits for the cameras and baring their backsides for Go-Set, their next single, "Hey Pinky" (April 1970), failed to chart. Nevertheless, the band placed second to the Flying Circus in Hoadley's National Battle of the Sounds final in July 1970 and released their debut album, Just Zoot, the following month. The band achieved their biggest hit with their next single, a cover of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby," which peaked at number four on the national charts in March 1971. The single later achieved gold status after being re-released by EMI in 1979 and Zoot formed a reputation for performing heavy covers of well-known songs. Zoot's next single, "The Freak," failed to achieve chart success and, still haunted by their former teen-star status, the group disbanded in May. Several of the bandmembers continued successful careers in music and film, including bassist Beeb Birtles, who later surfaced in the internationally chartbound Little River Band. Most notable though was Rick Springfield, who went on to achieve international stardom as a singer and actor in the U.S. ~ Brendan Swift, All Music Guide