The Reels - Early Years

Early Years

Native Sons, consisting of John Bliss on drums, Craig Hooper on lead guitar and synthesiser, and Dave Mason on vocals, formed in the country town of Dubbo, New South Wales in 1976. Mason is the son of NSW parliamentarian, John Mason, who was the state's Liberal Party leader during 1978–1981.

Native Sons played in the Dubbo area for two years, mainly covers of current and classic hits. After moving to Sydney in 1978, the band added Paul Abrahams on bass guitar and changed their name to The Brucelanders. They developed an original repertoire of fast-paced, quirky pop and ska, and their energetic performances gained them a following on the east coast live music scene. They were given support in Sydney by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)'s rock radio station Double J—which moved to the FM band and became Triple J in 1980.

By 1979, The Brucelanders had secured a recording contract with the Australian branch of Mercury Records, changed their name to The Reels with the line-up of Abrahams, Bliss, Hooper, Mason, and Colin Newham on keyboards, saxophone and guitar. They released their debut single, "Love Will Find a Way" in October, which peaked into the top 40 of the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. Their self-titled debut album, The Reels, produced by Mark Opitz (The Angels, Cold Chisel) had appeared in November. With the follow-up single, "Prefab Heart" also appearing in November, combined with the band's distinctive image, they gained increasing attention with their music videos featured on the influential national ABC TV pop show Countdown from early 1980.

In February, The Reels were joined by another keyboardist, Karen Ansel (ex-Romantics), and released their third single, "After the News" in July. It marked a transition in their music—their songs took on a more serious lyrical tone—they dispensed with guitars, by using synthesisers as their main instruments, and were one of the first groups to use wireless headsets instead of traditional microphones.

During late July, the group undertook the innovative Reels By Rail Tour—using rail transport to destinations in the eastern states. At the end of the year, returning to their origins as a covers band, they released a five-track Christmas EP, Five Great Gift Ideas from The Reels, produced by Bruce Brown and Russell Dunlop, which included Jim Reeves' "According to My Heart", and Freda Payne's "Band of Gold". "According to My Heart" featured a folksy music video filmed at the farm of Australian country music star Smokey Dawson.