THE NAKED CITY – A MATCHBOX ODYSSEY

Before jazz boomed in America there were groups like Canon’s Jug Stompers, and before Oz Rock ripped through the pubs in Australia there was Captain Matchbox and the Conway Brothers. Now, some forty-five years after this home-grown musical adventure began, comes a definitive biography: Captain Matchbox & Beyond.

Meticulously and lovingly compiled by joint authors Catherine Fleming and John Tait, it details the life and times of the extraordinary Conway brothers, Jim and Mic. It’s often forgotten that just prior to the explosion of the Oz Rock sound in the mid 70s, there was a thriving folk scene in Australia. Whilst some purveyors looked to Anglo/Irish influences, others were inspired by the rich treasure house of early American ‘jug bands’, vaudeville and jazz artists. Amongst them Jim and Mic, who from a very early age were buying up old 78s from church fetes and discovering the likes of Fats Waller and Spike Jones.

The Matchbox story is a fascinating romp through decades of Australian music and social history during which the original ‘Whoopee’ band achieved national pop-star recognition and morphed into a number of later creations, like the National Junk Band and the Hiccups Orchestra – at the same time maintaining a strain of wicked humour and musical creativity that has defined them forever.

Retold through the recollections of Mic and Jim, in a largely conversational style, there are classic anecdotes from the days of Melbourne’s legendary T.F. Much Ballroom, Sydney’s fabled Yellow House in Potts Point, and endless adventures on the touring circuit, both here and abroad.

It’s also a story of Mic and Jim’s individual projects from the 80s onwards. Jim of course took his renowned harmonica talent to bands such as The Backsliders and Jim Conway’s Big Wheel, all the time battling bravely with the debilitating condition of multiple sclerosis. There’s one telling moment during its early onset whilst he was playing with American blues singer Brownie McGhee and appeared unstable on stage. Brownie later chastised him for being drunk, only to learn the real truth and naturally apologize.

Mic on the other hand kept the spirit of the large ensemble alive, with groups such as the National Junk Band and Mic Conway’s Whoopee Band as well as endless side projects including his amazing life sized puppets, his collaboration with The Wiggles and Whoopee, which won an ARIA for ‘Best Childrens Album’.

The book also includes a wonderful collection of archival photographs and posters, making it a joy to peruse. We particularly love an early 70s poster for a Paddo Town Hall concert billed as ‘Great Chunks Of Spunky Funk’ – no less than six bands on the bill for the princely sum of $1.50.  At a healthy 400 pages it also includes detailed lists of band members, career highlights, a discography and a bibliography that would do a PhD proud.

Captain Matchbox & Beyond is published by Melbourne Books. Essential reading if you are a Matchbox fan, or just looking for a most entertaining insight into a remarkable chapter in Australian music history.  www.melbournebooks.com.au

By Coffin Ed, Jay Katz and Miss Death