Friday On My Mind - Cover Versions

Cover Versions

The song has been covered many times, initially by the The Shadows, who did an instrumental version of the song on their 1967 album Jigsaw. The song was also performed by Romanian band Phoenix on their first EP, Vremuri ("Old times") in 1968. David Bowie recorded a version on his 1973 RCA covers album Pin Ups; for Harry Vanda, it was "the only cover I ever liked". The same year, San Francisco-based Earth Quake covered the song, which was released as the first-ever single on the Beserkley Records label.

Other acts who have covered the song include Chilly, Gary Moore, Peter Frampton, Peter Doyle, Richard Thompson (1000 Years of Popular Music), Ben Lee, The Busters, The Kursaal Flyers and the punk band London, whose version was recorded by producer Simon Napier-Bell in the same recording studios (IBC Studios in London) where The Easybeats had cut the original. In 1979, the "house band" of Sawmills Studio, the Golant Pistons (who later became Al Hodge and the Mechanics), covered the song, which was released on a 1980 punk rock compilation album of cover songs, entitled We Do 'em Our Way, on the MFP Ltd. label.

In 2001 Vanessa Amorosi and Lee Kernaghan recorded a version of the song that was used as the official NRL Friday Night Football theme, featuring on Channel Nine's weekly primetime broadcast of the Rugby League every Friday night at 8:30pm. The band Noogie covered the tune for the soundtrack of the film A Walk to Remember (2002). Moneen sampled the guitar in their song "The Passing of America" in 2006.

In 2011, punk rock supergroup Me First and the Gimme Gimmes recorded a version of the song on their all Australian covers EP, Go Down Under.