Roger Hicks (rock musician)
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Roger Hicks or Roger Glanville-Hicks is an Australian rock and classical musician. He was active as a rock music guitarist in the pop group Zoot from 1968 to 1969 before relocating to Brisbane, where he joined the Avengers. From the 1980s he returned his classical music origins providing theorbo for theatre productions or lute for films.
Biography[edit]
Roger Hicks was raised in Melbourne's Toorak and trained as a classical guitarist.[1] He is the nephew of Australian composer Peggy Glanville-Hicks. Australian pop rock group, Zoot had relocated from Adelaide to Melbourne in early 1968 with the line-up of Beeb Birtles on vocals and bass guitar, Daryl Cotton on lead vocals and guitar, Ted Higgins on drums and Steve Stone on guitar.[1][2] After they recorded their second single, "1 x 2 x 3 x 4", Higgins and Stone both returned to Adelaide. Hicks replaced Stone and Rick Brewer replaced Higgins in September 1968.[1][2] Their talent manager Wayne de Gruchy designed a publicity campaign, "Think Pink – Think Zoot", whereby all members wore pink.[3] He was recorded on Zoot's third single, "Monty and Me" (June 1969). Hicks left Zoot in September 1969 due to his dissatisfaction with the publicity campaign and was replaced on guitar by Rick Springfield.[1][2][4]
Hicks relocated to Brisbane where he joined the Avengers (sometimes referred to as Brisbane Avangers) alongside Julian Jones on vocals (ex-Breed), Keith Kerwin on guitar, Don Lebler on drums and Andy Tait on bass guitar.[1][5] As a session musician he performed the acoustic guitar introduction to Russell Morris's "The Real Thing" (1969),[6] which became the most recognisable "hook" to the song. Following this he also played all the acoustic guitar parts in the extension to "The Real Thing", Morris's follow up single, "Part Three into Paper Walls", which ends with a reprise of the opening statement from "The Real Thing". "The Real Thing" reached no. 1 on hits charts across Australia, as well as in United States cities New York, Chicago, and Houston.
In October 1980 he provided guitar for the musical theatre production of El Cimarrón at Universal Theatre, North Fitzroy.[7] He played a theorbo for The 43rd Intervarsity Choral Festival, Hobart as a member of a chamber orchestra in 1992 and for "A Purcell Celebration" at Xavier College Chapel, Kew in 1995.[8][9] He provided lute for Paul Cox's film Innocence (2000).[10]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "MilesAgo - Groups & Solo Artists - Zoot". www.milesago.com.
- ^ a b c McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Zoot'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 9 August 2004.
- ^ Zoot (2018). Archaeology (CD). EMI Music.
- ^ "Zoot". birtles.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2010.
- ^ McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'The Avengers'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004.
- ^ "MILESAGO - Groups & Solo Artists - Russell Morris". www.milesago.com.
- ^ "Event: El Cimarron". AusStage. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
- ^ "HIV1992". AICSApedia. 24 May 2010. Archived from the original on 27 February 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "'A Purcell Celebration' (1995): Choir". Ensemble Gombert. 21 November 1995. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ May, Jaslyn Lai Yi. "Film: Innocence". Australian Cinema. Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.