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The Substitutes
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Based in:
Melbourne VIC
Line up(s) available: 4 piece (quartet) The Substitutes are Melbourne’s most authentic 60's British Invasion cover band playing the best (and the lost gems) of the Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Animals, Small Faces, Zombies, Pretty Things, Yardbirds, Spencer Davis Group et al. The members of The Substitutes were inspired by the music of the Sixties to commence their own music careers which led them to hone their crafts, tour nationally and internationally and record and produce albums and singles, all the while retaining a love for performing live.
Dennis is a fantastic singer who can hit the high notes of 'Tin Soldier' as easily as he can growl like Eric Burdon. This versatility enables him to do perfect justice to many 60's songs that others cannot touch without a key change. His playing career commenced in the late 60's in a succession of local bands before he become professional and joined the legendary Buster Brown in 1975. Buster Brown featured Angry Anderson (Rose Tattoo) and Phil Rudd (AC/DC) but the band broke up a year later. Dennis next joined up with a group of top profesional musicians including Trevor Young (Coloured Balls and Black Feather) and lan "Bobsy" Millar (Coloured Balls) to form Haphazard Jack who played and toured nationally for a few years. Then came One Night Stand, a solo band project for drummer Ray Arnott (ex Spectrum) with Dennis holding down the guitar seat. It was in this latter band that Dennis first met highly regarded blues guitarist Nick Charles. Nick and Dennis went on to play on and off together for the next 11 years in such bands as the heavy rock Full Boar (with Kerry McKenna from Madder Lake and Trevor Young and Bobsy Millar), as an acoustic duo and, in the late 1980's, in the Room Service Blues Band with Les Gough (bass) from Somebody's Image and Peter Reed (drums). In between all of the above Dennis found time to play with the highly regarded country rock band The Lamington Brothers led by Bill Jackson. So Dennis has done it all and now has genuine enthusiasm for recreating the hits of his youth. He plays guitar with fire and passion and his soaring vocals have provided The Substitutes with many more 60's song options.
Pete Robinson, bass and vocals Pete was a founder member of one of Melbourne's first 60's pop bands, "The Strangers". This band appeared regularly on TV, had a succession of national hits ("Lady Scorpio", "Happy Without You", "Melanie Make Me Smile, "Western Union") and included John Farrar who went on to become a successful songwriter in the US. Pete's subsequent musical career has included such roles as television musical director/arranger/record producer for the likes of John Farnham, Johnny Young, Russell Morris, Ted Mulry, The Masters Apprentices and The Town Criers. He has continued to play with professional bands (including a long stint with The Seekers and a two year intense spell with heavy blues rock band BlackSmith Hopkins (led by ex Rose Tattoo guitarist Peter Wells) and is a highly respected musician. As a result Pete is very well known within Melbourne musical circles and has played all sorts of music but "The Substitutes" has rekindled his love of the British Invasion music of the 60's because they aim to play with true period authenticity.
Peter Reed is a veteran of Melbourne's rock scene who began his career as the drummer in 60's band The Dream who later became the New Dream and had a national #1 hit with "Groupie" in 1969. Since then he has played and recorded with numerous bands such as Gary Young's Hot Dog (at Sunbury '75), Pantha, the Mark Gillespie Band, The Tremors (with KerrynTolhurst from the Dingoes), Lyn Randall Band, the Phil Manning Band, the Jane Clifton Band. Peter met Dennis during their long stint together in the Room Service Blues Band. He is a fantastic and authentic rock drummer.
Peter has been obsessed with music in all forms his entire life and played in many different sorts of bands, recreating the 30's music of Eddie Lang & Joe Venuti with Brendan Shearson, stretching the limits of country rock with the loving remembered Riverina Playboys before forming his own band, Strange Idols, with Brian Gamble in 1979. Recruiting singer/actor Robert Price (always the bad guy in such programs as Police Rescue and Blue Heelers) as the singer, Strange Idols were part of the early 80's New Wave and played extensively for 4 years, and recorded a single and an album before Peter disbanded the group in 1983 due to family and business commitments. Though influenced by everyone from the Hot Club de France through the Sex Pistols to Matthew Herbert, for years Peter toyed with the idea of forming a band to play solely Sixties songs with an emphasis on the music of Ray Davies, Pete Townsend, et al because there are so many classics that are not often performed. After being forced to attend yet another corporate event with a B-grade covers (two singers and a laptop computer doing Abba songs), he decided that, enough was enough, and he would form The Substitutes with some like minded musicians. British Invasion
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