Little River Band

Soft rock group Little River Band was formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1975. They are best known for a string of international hits in the late 1970 and early 1980s, but their career went off the rails and Little River Band now operates out of the U.S. with no original members. Founded by vocalist Glenn Shorrock, guitarists Beeb Birtles, Graham Davidge and Graeham Goble, bassist Dave Orams, and drummer Derek Pellici on drums, they originally used the name Mississippi before settling on Little River Band. Before releasing any music, the group experienced its first personnel changes - the first in a long series - with the departures of Graham Davidge and Dave Orams, replaced by Ric Formosa and Roger McLachlan. They signed with EMI and released their self-titled album in 1975, which included the hit single “It’s a Long Way There”. Their second album, After Hours (1976), was not as successful as their debut, but the band’s third album, Diamantina Cocktail (1977), proved to be their commercial breakthrough and featured the massively successful single “Help Is on Its Way”. The album Sleeper Catcher (1978) included the hits “Reminiscing” and “Lady”. Their next album, First Under the Wire (1979), entered the Top 10 in the US and contained the hits “Lonesome Loser” and “Cool Change”. Two years later, the band crossed paths with legendary Beatles producer George Martin and his engineer Geoff Emerick, who agreed to work on Time Exposure (1981). While there had been several other line-up changes since their debut album, the group suffered a big blow in 1982 with the departure of vocalist Glenn Shorrock. Little River Band replaced him with Australian rock vocalist John Farnham, who appeared on the 1983 album The Net. Beeb Birtles left in 1984 followed by the departure of John Farnham. While the band’s albums Playing to Win (1985), No Reins (1986), Monsoon (1988) and Get Lucky (1990) were successful in their home country, the band lost commercial momentum and, by the end of the 1990s, all original members had departed. Guitarist Stephen Housden, who joined the band in 1981, took control of the band name. Although Beeb Birtles, Graeham Goble, and Glenn Shorrock took Housden to court in order to regain control of the band name, they lost their court case. Housden continues to tour and record under the group name Little River Band with all new members.

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