THE BITTER LEMONS 

CANBERRA BLUES / ONE MORE CHANCE

AUSTRALIA   1965

EMI PRS-1289 CUSTOM SERVICE 

Extremely limited 1965 Canberra garage punk 45 with a killer 'B' side.

'A' side under strong light has only a couple of minor insignificant hairlines.

'B' side is the same but with a heat(?) stain. This does not effect play but looks bad.

Mileago.com.au

Unfortunately there is little information about this pioneering Canberra beat combo, although we hope this can be rectified in the near future. The group might have remained very obscure indeed had it not been for the later career of their lead singer, Paul Lyneham, who became a prominent political journalist.

The band formed around 1965 under the name The Orgasms, but changed it to the less provocative Bitter Lemons soon after. The band had a residency at a club called The Lemon Tree, in Kingston ACT. This venue will be well-known to Canberrans and others under its name in the '70s and '80s, the Boot & Flogger.

The group were evidently well-regarded and popular on the local scene, and they recorded one independently released single, "Canberra Blues", during 1965. Their band came to an abrupt halt in late 1965 after the untimely and tragic death of bassist Graeme Harding -- he accidentally fell from a ferry during a party cruise on Lake Burley Griffin and drowned, and the group evidently broke up soon after.

Although his career as a pop singer was short, Paul Lyneham went on to great notoriety and acclaim as a political journalist with the ABCs  and . His heyday as political correspondent and political interviewer par excellence was with The 7:30 Report. His final work prior to his own untimely death was with the Nine Network.

Another notable member is guitarist Dave Kain. Dave went on to work in a number of prominent groups with singer Gulliver Smith, including Sydney 60s pysch band Dr. Kandy's Third Eye and a later lineup of the illustrious  in the early 70s. Dave was a fixture on the Canberra scene throughout the 70s and 80s and his contribution is well-documented on Uncle Bazs exemplary  site.

Another notable Bitter Lemons alumnus is Rex Bullen, who moved over to Perth in the early '70s, where he joined renowned W.A. prog-rock band . He went on to work with  and the Marc Hunter Band. He died in March 1983.

The surviving members of The Bitter Lemons reformed for a one-off performance at a social function in 1988 to mark the closing of Old Parliament House. Sadly, Paul Lyneham died from lung cancer on 24 November 2000.

Paul Lyneham

CONDITIONS   PLEASE READ

No sales to Mexico and Italy unless you pay Insurance and Registration.

When the customer is pleased with the item and has left positive feedback, I will gladly do the same.

All payments in Australian Dollars by Paypal only and are due within 3 days of this auctions end. 

Sturdy boxes are used with a cardboard inserts.

Always happy to combine postage, please wait for revised rates.

No extra charges for handling & packaging just normal postal costs.

Can parcel 45's in a much thinner and cheaper package. $2 local and $8 overseas.

I don't recommend it but let me know before I send an invoice, if you want the cheaper service.

                                                                             


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