BIOGRAPHY:
Popular local
country rock act formed in the 1975 by Roy Whittit (guitar, ex-Triad),
Richard "Dickaroo" Dow (guitar, ex-Aardvark),
Charlie Dyer (bass, ex-Cat Violet)
& Davy Waugh (vocals, ex-Aardvark).
Whittit, Waugh & Dow then changed the band's name to Bushrod
Gentry in April, but they reverted to Thrush by October, along with Norrie
Stirrat (bass) and Ross Crichton (drums, ex-Castle).
This line up was the most successful of the Thrush line-ups, and played regularly
in Glasgow at "The Maggie" and in Oban at the "Bistro" where
people were known to queue for hours to see them. In 1977 the band were featured
on BBC Radio Scotland in a concert recorded at Falkirk Town Hall. They also featured
on Scottish TV programme "Thingummyjig" a few times in 1978. In July
1978 they played at the legendary Glasgow Apollo...suporting Christian! Stirrat
was soon replaced by Glaswegian musician Jim Gallagher. Gallagher & Crichton
were then replaced by Colin Silcock (drums), Derek Lenathan (guitar) & Mick
McNally (bass, ex-Makaris Park).
1981 saw Dow leave to be replaced by Eddie Reader who bought Dow's sure microphone
and Barcus Berry pick-up from him. Reader didn't last long (later singing backing
for The Gang Of Four & The Waterboys, before forming Fairground Attraction
and going solo), being replaced by ex-Makaris
Park guitarist Robert McMullan. Soon afterwards the band split , with Waugh
later going on to promote bands at The Burns Bar, The Glenfinnan, The Metropolitan
Hotel and The Argyll Bar, as well as playing in Fast
& Furious with Dow. Lenathan, meanwhile, joined The
Deft Jerks, and some members of Thrush went on to form Red
Dexter & The Trailblazers. McMullan & McNally later formed The
Rocks.A late line-up featured a returned Dow and George Falconer (drums, also with The Deft Jerks). Dow later moved to Australia (where his daughter now plays in a band called Voyager).
Thrush were actually the last band to ever play the legendary Apollo Theatre in Glasgow. On that night they had invited Haldane Duncan, who was a producer at STV and had become good friends with the band after doing several "Thingummyjig" shows. He turned up pretty drunk and the band were having a laugh when the stewards threw him out. An hour or so later Duncan appeared and said to the band "You bastards think you're great...the last band to play the Apollo... but I'm the last punter to get chucked out". Needless to say, he brought the band to their knees laughing.
Another funny event was the night they played the Loch Long Hotel, where only two people turned up to see them! They were a bit funny about receiving a cheque from the hotel, so when Thrush got home Dow took the cheque to the Scotia Agency who had booked them for the gig, and which was run by Bill Barclay (the comedian / singer / actor). Barclay exchanged it for one of their cheques which was made out to cash. Needless to say, the hotel cheque bounced and every time Dow later Barclay he would say "Ya little bastard... that cheque bounced". The hotel gig was also remembered for roadie Alan Scott fainting three times in the lift after smoking too much weed!
WEBSITE:
http://thrush-band.com
http://www.myspace.com/thrushcountryrock