“Those were amazing times. We toured with Hush, Sherbet, The Sweet, AC/DC. We spent time with all those guys, so it was very much like a little club that you were very lucky to belong to,” says Murdoch. “Countdown did enormous good for everyone. We’d have to spend the whole of a Saturday together, someone would smuggle a bottle of scotch in and as a result be the most popular. Having Ted Mulry and Bon Scott bashing on your door to get in. There were so many characters in those days – Marc Hunter was a wild man, just unbelievable. But they were all great people.”
It is clear talking with Murdoch that his recollections of Aussie music throughout the ‘70s are largely happy ones, even though each of the performers he identifies have passed away. They were only 15 when they were signed to Warner Music – the youngest artists on their roster – but Taste quickly became stalwarts of the scene. When Queen came calling, they were on the cusp of signing a major record deal. Until their parents showed up.
“Well, my parents were very supportive, and they didn’t question much, they were just happy to see us on TV and hear us on radio. But the other three families, they were always saying, ‘Well, where’s the money?’” says Murdoch. “We bought seven Marshall stacks, a two-tonne truck and an eight seater van, so we had debts. That’s why there was no money up front, but the idea was that eventually we’d be able to be independent.
“When those three parents got together, they had met a guy who owned a wine business and was very wealthy, and he said if he managed the band, we’d get paid a very nice wage and we’d fly everywhere, stay at the best hotels. And that all came true, he did all that. The only unfortunate thing was that he knew nothing about music. Just nothing,” says Murdoch. “So all the industry contacts and promises, they all went. These recording companies deal more with managers than they do with the band, and they understandably just didn’t get this guy. We were just about to sign with Sire Records in America – I actually sat with [founder] Seymour Stein in Australia and he was all excited – and then we changed management, and could never get that door open again. I think that’s an important lesson for musicians to learn. They sign managers as much as they sign up the band.”
It spelled the end of the band for almost 40 years, during which time Murdoch maintained a career as a piano entertainer. But then in 2008 Taste fans were given an unlikely and welcome gift – Rock Is Dead, their third album and first in 31 years. Since then they’ve remained active and are currently gearing up to tour in support of their latest LP, Life on Earth.
“Life on Earth asks the question why do we act like animals? Which might actually be a bit of an insult to the animals,” says Murdoch.
BY ADAM NORRIS
