Music Colin Stead Frank Strangio

Transcription

1 Music Colin Stead Frank Strangio According to director Brian Trenchard-Smith, Colin Stead did a lot of a "kind of Tangerine Dream wash" and Frank Strangio did "some more carefully orchestrated stuff". Co-composer Colin Stead: As a film composer, Colin Stead was particularly active in the 1980s. He has also worked as a fashion and music photographer for over thirty years, and at time of writing he had a website in his own name here. Stead's Soundcloud, here, provides this handy short biography: I'm a Musician/Songwriter/Composer/Singer. My first band was 'Lloyd's World' in Sydney in the 1960's. We recorded 2 singles of my songs. 'Pinky Lamour' -'Goodbye Goodbye' 'Brass Bird' - 'Dandelion Wine' [Festival Records] In 1970 I formed 'Sweet Wine' a duo with singer Philip White. We recorded a single with 2 of my songs. 'Summer's Gone' -'If I could have you back' [EMI records] In 1976 joined Australian band 'Buffalo' Recorded 2 of my songs. 'Rollin' -'Hotel Ladies' [Polygram Records] In 1980 released a single in my own name. 2 songs. 'Wheels of Love' -'Panic in the City' [Result Records] In the 1980's composed the music scores for Film and Television. FEATURE FILMS 'Fighting Back' 'Melvin, Son of Alvin' 'BMX Bandits' TELE MOVIE 'Stock Squad' MINI SERIES 'The Last Bastion'

2 DOCO'S 'The Horse that Built a Nation' 'Dream Chasers' The songs I am uploading to Soundcloud are all demo's some old some new. ALL songs are published through 'Albert's Publishing World Wide' At time of writing, no material had been uploaded. The soundtrack for the film didn't reach an LP or 45, but here's the cover for Stead's 45 which was released in 1980, and below that images of an older Stead:

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4 Co-composer Frank Strangio: Frank Strangio started his feature film career with Dusty. At one point, he released a compile of his film and television work, but perhaps significantly, it didn't include his work for BMX Bandits.

5 This was a promotional CD and is now rare. At time of writing, Strangio still had a personal website here. It contained this biography: Italian born Frank Strangio was raised in the United States and migrated to Australia as a teenager. He attended the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music and is a graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. While living in Boston Frank studied Composition privately with composer Michael Gibbs and piano with Madame Margaret Chaloff and Ray Santisi. Upon his return to Australia, Strangio began composing music for myriad projects, from Corporate films and presentations to Commercials for TV and Radio. His first feature film score was fordusty, by director John Richardson, and was the winner of the Best Music Award at the 28th Asian Pacific Film Festival. Dusty was an orchestral score featuring members of the MSO. This was followed by cult classics BMX Bandits, (Nicole Kidman's first film) and Dead End Drive-in, both directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith. It is said that Dead End Drive-In is Quentin Tarantino's favorite Trenchard-Smith flick. Following this, Frank composed the music for the Craig Lahiff film Fever, featuring the late Bill Hunter and Gary Sweet, and received an AFI Nomination for Best Film Score. Strangio has gone on to compose many other film scores including Paradise Found (directed by Mario Andreacchio) starring Kiefer Sutherland and Nastassja Kinski. The score was recorded at Angel Studios in London with the Philharmonia Orchestra and at Waveband Studio in Melbourne. The score was nominated for Best Soundtrack Album at the Australian Screen Composer Guild awards. Strangio composed the orchestral score to Andreacchio's The Dragon Pearl starring Sam

6 Neil. This was the first official Australia China co-production and was filmed at Hengdian World Studios in China. The score was recorded by the Slovak National Orchestra. Frank has also composed for many documentaries and television series including the inimitable 'Round The Twist, which was awarded an AFI Award for Best Children's Program for the episode "The Whirling Dervish". The episode "Little Squirt" won the Le Prix Jeunesse and was nominated for an Emmy Award. The series Mortified scooped several awards as well: Gold Medal winner at 2007 New York Festival of Int'l TV Programming and Promotion Youth Programs Grand Award winner for Best Youth Program Nomination for Banff World TV Awards 2007 International Emmy Nomination 2006 First Prize at Chicago Int'l Children's Festival 2006 AFI winner for Best Children's TV Series More recently, Frank composed the dark, electronic score to Leigh Sheehan's teen thriller, Six Plots. Strangio was a synth man for many years and provided a note on this aspect of his work: In a bid to expand his musical horizons and compositional technique, Strangio invested in the legendary Synclavier Digital Music System. The Synclavier was, undoubtedly, the most advanced music technology of its time and was championed by such musical luminaries as Sting, Frank Zappa, Quincy Jones, Mark Knoefler and film composers Danny Elfman, Alan Silvestri, Howard Shore and too many others to list here. Strangio states that "the beauty of the Synclavier is not only its unique sonoric qualities, but its human interfaceability", thus enabling him to compose intuitively, efficiently and quickly. " the beauty of the Synclavier is not only its unique sonoric qualities, but its human interfaceability." AWARDS & NOMINATIONS 2007 New York Festival of Int'l TV Programming and Promotion Gold Medal Winner for Best Youth Program - Mortified 2007 New York Festival of Int'l TV Programming and Promotion Grand Award Winner for Best Youth Program - Mortified 2007 Banff World TV Awards Nomination - Mortified 2007 International Emmy Nomination - Mortified 2006 First Prize at Chicago Int'l Children's Festival- Mortified 2006 AFI Award Winner for Best Children's TV Series - Mortified 2006 Australian Guild of Screen Composers Nomination for Best Original Song for the Screen (with Joe Creighton)

7 2000 AFI Award Winner for Best Childrenʼs Program - Round The Twist 1993 Emmy Award Nomination for Best Children's Program - Round The Twist (series 2) Winner of Le Prix Jeunesse for Best Children's Program - Round The Twist (series 2) 1986 Penguin Award for Best Music - The Lancaster Miller Affair 1988 AFI Award Nomination for Best Music - Fever 28th Asian Pacific Film Festival Award for Best Music - Dusty The site also provided this filmography: Feature Films: Six Plots (2012) The Dragon Pearl (2011) Under a Red Moon (2008) Elephant Tales (2006) Paradise Found (2003) Dalkeith (2002) Young Blades (2001) Muggers (2000) Dags (1998) Under The Gun (1995) Iron Fist Sex is A Four Letter Word (1995) Lex & Rory (1994) Get Away, Get Away (1993) Voyage Into Fear (1993) Strangers (1991) Bony (1990) A Kink In The Picasso (1990) Fever (1988) The Dreaming (1988) Living Forever (1987) Coda: A Symphony of Evil (1987) Contagion (1987) Dead-End Drive In (1986) The Blue Lightning (1986) BMX Bandits (1983) Dusty (1983) Television Series & Mini-Series Mortified (2006/2007) Power Rangers Ninja Storm (2003) Round the Twist ( ) The Genie from Down Under (1998) The Genie from Down Under (1996) Glad Rags (1995) Snowy River (1994) Under The Skin (1993) Bay City (1993) Songs of Innocence (1992)

8 Lift Off (1992) Bony (1992) Flair (1990) The Lancaster Miller Affair (1986) The Harold Holt Mystery (1985) Glass Babies (1985) Television Movies Strangers (1991) Bony (1990) Living Forever (1987) The Blue Lightning (1986) Documentaries P.S. I Love You Peru - The Land of the Llama Reunion The World's Greatest Commercials The Tree Kangaroo: Forest Recluse The Beast that Man Forgot The Adventures of the Quest series The Wild Yak of Tibet The Destroyers 100 Years of Australian Football Rex Hunt Fishing Adventures The Worlds Greatest Commercials The Australian Football Program Rex Hunt's Fishing World Monuments To Man A Walk In The Sea The Researchers Escape The Dream Merchants of Asia Crocodiles: The Deadly Survivors The Enterprise Wildcat & Pipedreams On The Line Living Forever The Brisbane Line Jerusalem of Heaven & Earth Australia's Hidden Wealth Journey to Hainan Triumph of the Nomads The Pintubi The Mississippi Challenge The Wharfie (Below: Frank Strangio)

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10 There are no credits for the songs used, including the one over the end credits. It appears these were written before the film's release, and were released on a number of 45s, but did not do any business. However, as the result of the film being much liked by BMX and Ozmovie period cultists, the songs can easily be located as clips on YouTube. One release was in 1982, with the A side the theme from the film, and the track The Papers. The B side on at least one release was recorded as Boys Song, with Petra Gaffney the vocalist. However other releases are recorded as having This is Love on the B side.

11 The releases have been variously listed by music database sites as: 45 Powderworks POW theme and The Papers on the A side and Boys Song on the B side. 45 Poko International POW-02 Sweden theme on the A side, This is Love on the B side. 45 Abstract Records ABS 833 released 28 December 1982, theme on the A side, This Is

12 Love on the B side Produced and engineered at Canley Heights Recorders, engineered and produced by Chris Eggleton Vocals John Nash 45 EMI 983 New Zealand, also 1982 release, with the same credits as for Abstract Records. The lyrics for the song BMX which runs over the end credits: Iʼm ready to fly Down the grid Competitionʼs tight Iʼve got to win Donʼt fool with me because you know Iʼll drag you down Youʼll do the pancake and Iʼll bunny-hump around Diamond-back minis and Super Goose too Iʼve got my Mongoose And my chick she thinks itʼs cool And we can fly We are kings Weʼll just ride We can spin Watch me do The kangaroo hop Kicking out On the table top Competitionʼs tight But itʼs alright Fly like a bird Like a bat in the night Donʼt fool with me because you know Iʼll drag you down Youʼll do the pancake and Iʼll bunny-hump around And we can fly We are kings Watch us fly We can spin Competitionʼs warming Cutting up the track Mongoose flying No turning back BMX, BMX, BMX, BMX, BMX,BMX. Super Goose is storming Burning up the track

13 Mongoose flying No turning back Competitionʼs warming Cutting up the track Mongoose flying No turning back Competitionʼs warming Cutting up the track Mongoose flying No turning back BMX, BMX, BMX, BMX, BMX,BMX.