The Musical World of Rocky Horror

This is a six song EP for the Original 1981 Australian Cast of The Rocky Horror Show, released initially on red vinyl and reissued three years later on CD. The stage production toured through Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart, Adelaide, and Perth. This cast album was co-produced by Richard Hartley, and features Transylvanian Perry Bedden as Riff-Raff.

Perry (who also appears as one of Neely's cameramen in Shock Treatment) actually played Riff-Raff on stage for five straight years, in England, Germany, and finally Australia. Eventually the exhaustion of constant touring got to him, and he essentially retired from acting after this production. As is obvious from the front cover though, Daniel Abineri as Dr. Frank-N-Furter was the primary draw at the time. He was known then from his roles as Wilson in International Velvet (1978) and Father Neil Boyd in the ITV comedy series Bless Me Father. He gained later fame for portraying super villain Jake Sanders in the Australian drama series Return to Eden.

Some years later, both Daniel Abineri and executive producer Wilton Morley from this production are credited with giving latter day superstar Russell Crowe his professional stage debut as Eddie in the 1986 New Zealand tour of The Rocky Horror Show. In his own words: "The producer of that show, Wilton Morley, suggested that I was wasting my time in New Zealand. He told me 1) stop playing in a band and concentrate on acting and 2) come to Australia where he would have employment for me." This resulted in Russell Crowe performing as Eddie (and Dr. Scott) in several Australian touring productions through September 1988. "416 performances", he's said. He also understudied Dr. Frank-N-Furter in at least one production, and performed as Frank a (very) few times.

Both the original red vinyl and the CD reissue have the same tracks and front cover (excepting the "Mini LP" logo in the corner). Though technically speaking, the original vinyl release actually came in a clear plastic sleeve with just a cardboard insert which functions as the cover. A couple of misprints were added in the liner notes of the CD reissue, such as incorrectly crediting "Wilton Murphy" instead of Wilton Morley as executive producer.

Rocky Horror Show (1981 Australian Cast)
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Rocky Horror Show (1981 Australian Cast)
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Rocky Horror Show (1981 Australian Cast)
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PRODUCED BY RICHARD HARTLEY & MARTIN ERDMAN
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - CAST ALBUM - BRIAN de COURCY


CAST LIST (in order of appearance)

Usherette: Kerry Myers
Brad: David Frezza
Janet: Antoinette Byron
Narrator: Stuart Wagstaff
Riff-Raff: Perry Bedden
Magenta: Kerry Myers
Columbia: Gina Mendoza
Frank-N-Furter: Daniel Abineri
Rocky: Jay Hackett
Eddie: Steve J. Spears
Doctor Scott: Steve J. Spears
Backing Vocals: Terry Peck, Katrina Ballan, Peter Rees, Lisa Shipley

PRODUCTION

Musical Director/Keyboards: Phillip Scott
Tenor Saxophone: Mark Simmons
Bass: Steve Elphick
Guitar: Steve Brien
Drums: Phil Henderson

Stage Manager: Mark Batten
Assistant Stage Manager: Caroline Mackie

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Wilton Morley
Production Manager: John Kesl
Production Co-ordinator: Mary Ann Rolfe
Production Secretary: Eva Hucker