Having produced two albums in our GOOD*GOD home studio in Adelaide, which I really enjoyed and liked, it seemed time to produce a more professional album in a studio in Sydney with Producer Chris Neal, instigated, encouraged and supported by David Smallbone.

 

Songs were chosen and I lived in Sydney for a few weeks in 1981, working day and night on the new album YOOHOO with David watching and waiting. We photo-shot the cover with Roger Hanlon and had an Adelaide album launch at the heritage Hardy’s Cellers with radio guests, drinks and snacks but received very little radio play unfortunately. I was hard to pigeon-hole, when to spin? One review said, “Rod is like a musical cartoonist” which I always liked but generally people felt that it was ‘overcooked’ and I was better ‘raw’. Looking back, there is some great vocal multi-tracking which I was able to do in a bigger studio.

 

We released two singles which I could promote on radio around the country while touring with AC/DC for two months. David, in his inimitable style, managed to get Slim Dusty to cover “Every Little Bit Of Australia” and then several years later “Traveller’s Blessing”. Slim’s recording of the Blessing was played at his Sydney Cathedral funeral and used recently in an ABC detective series “Mystery Road: Origin”. “No Worries Luv” is being used in a new film “Unsung Hero” about the amazing story of Helen Smallbone and family. We never know what’s around the corner, do we?