The Musical World of Rocky Horror

This recording of the Original 1974 Australian Cast of The Rocky Horror Show was initially released as a gatefold LP by Festival Records in Australia, reissued in the U.S. a year later by Elephant Records as a budget LP (no gatefold), and finally reissued a decade later by Festival Records again on CD. This is the only cast album I know of that uses "The Wedding Song" as a song title in lieu of "Dammit Janet" (though the Steinway Pianola Meets Rocky Horror cover album did also). Similarly, I know of no other album that groups "Rose Tint My World" / "Fanfare" / "Wild And Untamed Thing" (collectively titled "It Was Great When It All Began" here) with "I'm Going Home" for one extremely long track.

This stage production opened in Sydney on April 19th, 1974 at the New Arts Cinema in Glebe (which became the Valhalla Cinema, until it closed in August 2005). As the first Rocky Horror Show production outside of the U.S. and U.K., much of the original creative team was used with this cast: director Jim Sharman, designer Brian Thomson, and costumer Sue Blane. The show ran for three and a half years, transferring to Melbourne in October 1975 and then to Adelaide in August 1977 before finally closing.

The producer was Harry M. Miller, who actually heard Richard O'Brien's demo tape before The Rocky Horror Show even opened at the Royal Court Theatre in London. He had previously produced two extremely successful shows in Australia, Hair (1969-71) and Jesus Christ Superstar (1972-74), with several of the same people as The Rocky Horror Show. Jim Sharman was director for all three, Brian Thomson designed in all three, and Reg Livermore had principal roles in all three (Berger, Pontius Pilate, and Dr. Frank-N-Furter). Brian Thomson did not actually design the original Sydney production of Hair (this was by director Jim Sharman), but he was brought in to redesign the show for its Melbourne season in 1970-71.

The Riff-Raff, Sal Sharah, can also be heard on the 1978 New Zealand cast album. John Paramor, who plays Brad Majors here, went on to also perform as Sgt. Polnik in The Stripper in 1982. The Stripper was also produced in Sydney and similarly involved several members of the Rocky Horror Show creative team: Richard O'Brien composing lyrics, Richard Hartley writing, arranging, and directing the music, and Brian Thomson both designing and directing.

All three recordings (original LP, U.S. budget LP reissue, and CD reissue) have the same tracks and front cover. The original LP features a nice gatefold with performance photos and complete song lyrics. The budget LP reissue got rid of the gatefold (to reduce costs assumedly), added the Elephant Records logo and "Suggested Retail: $3.29" to its front cover, and added some production credits (in normal type, not reversed like everything else) to the back cover. Finally the CD reissue included the song lyrics again in the liner notes, but did not include any of the performance photos and used a more plain back cover.

Rocky Horror Show (1974 Australian Cast)
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Rocky Horror Show (1974 Australian Cast)
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Rocky Horror Show (1974 Australian Cast)
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Rocky Horror Show (1974 Australian Cast)
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HARRY M. MILLER by arrangement with MICHAEL WHITE presents
THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW


Book, Music & Lyrics by Richard O'Brien
Original Music and Musical Arrangements by Richard Hartley
Directed by Jim Sharman
Designed by Brian Thomson
Costumes by Sue Blane

Exec. Producer: Frederick J. Gibson
Musical Director: Roy Ritchie
Lighting: John Saltzer
Sound by John Morrison Sound Australia

Produced by Harry M. Miller

Lead Vocals

Dr. Frank-N-Furter: Reg Livermore
Janet Weiss: Jane Harders
Brad Majors: John Paramor
Riff-Raff: Sal Sharah
Magenta and Usherette: Kate Fitzpatrick
Columbia: Maureen Elkner
Eddie and Dr. Scott: David Cameron
Rocky Horror: Graham Matters
Narrator: Arthur Dignam
Magenta (only on "Touch A Touch Me" and "Once in a While"): Julie McGregor
Brad Majors (only on "Over at the Frankenstein Place"): Piero von Arnim

The Band

Piano: Jamie McKinley
Sax: Geoff Oakes
Guitar & Mellotron: Roy Ritchie
Bass: Ken Firth
Drums: Greg Henson

Chorus

Bob Hudson, Arthur Dignam, Julie McGregor, Maureen Elkner, Graham Matters, Sal Sharah, and Piero von Arnim.

Cast Album

Recording Produced by John Morrison & Roy Ritchie
Musical Direction and Arrangements: Roy Ritchie
Brass Arrangements: Geoff Oakes
Recording Engineer: Richard E. Lush
Mixing: Richard E. Lush and John Taylor

Executive Producer: Harry M. Miller