Spectrum

When latter-sixties psychedelic rock became the progressive rock of the early Seventies, Melbourne’s Spectrum was at the forefront of the Australian response.

Ross Wilson had abruptly split his group to join Procession in London, leaving Party Machine’s bass player Mike Rudd (ex Chants R&B) with the opportunity of creating a group of his own, Spectrum. Rudd switched to lead guitar, and recruited Bill Putt from the Lost Souls on bass, organ player Lee Neale from Nineteen87 and hot young drummer Mark Kennedy. Rudd took with him from Party Machine that group’s leaning towards lyrical satire, including the Wilson/Rudd song ‘Make Your Stash’.

EMI Australia added Spectrum to the company’s global progressive roster (Pink Floyd, Deep Purple etc), and found amongst the group’s experimental repertoire a melancholy, uncomplicated song called ‘I’ll Be Gone’, released as the group’s first single. On the B-side was an instrumental ode to an ill-fated (pre-Sunbury) Melbourne outdoor rock festival, ‘Launching Place Part II’. In May 1971, ‘I’ll Be Gone’ reached Number One nationally, changing the group’s fortunes dramatically. Prior to the release of ‘I’ll Be Gone’ Spectrum had struggled for gigs (promoters found them ‘too progressive’) and Mark Kennedy had lost patience. He left to join a group of more high profile musicians collected together under the name Friends. Some observers thought that the loss of the flashy and busily impressive drumming of Mark Kennedy would be a blow Spectrum wouldn’t survive, but ‘I’ll Be Gone’ ensured the group’s survival. Kennedy was replaced by the less explosive, more sympathetic Ray Arnott.

Mike Rudd refused to allow ‘I’ll Be Gone’ to be included on the album ‘Spectrum Part One’. It didn’t fit with the innovative roaming style of the rest of the music on the album. Spectrum’s follow-up single was an attempt to replicate their hit’s commerciality, with a song written and sung by Ray Arnott, ‘Trust Me’. With the help of a second ambitious double album ‘Milesago’, Spectrum had become one of Australia’s first ‘concert’ bands, preferring venues when they could use elaborate light shows. By now Ross Wilson had returned to Australia and formed the incredibly successful Daddy Cool. Sharing management, the two groups often performed together, a perfect foil for one another, Spectrum’s adventure next to Daddy Cool’s fun. Step by step Spectrum were becoming an ‘event’ band. It was hard for them to present themselves at their optimum at the regular gigs which were bread and butter for any working band.

To keep Spectrum’s performances ‘special’ Mike Rudd invented an alter ego, Murtceps (Spectrum spelt backwards) with, apart from ‘I’ll Be Gone’, a repertoire all its own. Most important was the fact that Murtceps, as a stripped-back version of Spectrum, with no lightshows, and a portable electric piano instead of the weighty Hammond organ could play anywhere and often. Murtceps released its own singles and album.

Because of personal problems Lee Neale left the band in around September 1972, replaced by John Mills, but when Ray Arnott decided to leave to join a new Ross Wilson group, Mighty Kong, Mike Rudd and Bill Putt decided it would be simpler to put an end to Spectrum/Murtceps altogether. They started again with a new group, new set of songs, and new name, Ariel.

Spectrum’s ‘final’ performance on April 15, 1973 was recorded as the double album ‘Terminal Buzz’. The Rudd/Putt partnership endured through Ariel, Mike Rudd and the Heaters, W.H.Y., No.9 and the Burwood Blues Band. In 1995 they reinstated their Spectrum career with an independently released album, ‘Living In A Volcano’. They continue to perform under a variety of names, to suit different situations and line-ups, but predominantly still call themselves Spectrum.

After a couple of albums as Spectrum Plays The Blues, Mike, Bill and friends playing the music that shaped their music, Spectrum finally returned to recording in 2008 with the six track 'Breathing Spaces' EP the first of a planned four disc series.