BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Description: Guitarist, Vocalist
Known For: Member of Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs and the Bee Gees
Instruments: Guitar
Music Styles: Pop/rock
Location: Australia
Date Born: 18 August 1945 (age 69)
Sydney, Australia
CONTACT DETAILS
Web Site: Vince’s Site
Other Links: See below:
YOUTUBE VIDEO
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
Vince Melouney (born 18 August 1945) is an Australian musician best known as the original guitarist for the Bee Gees and was the one of the three official Bee Gees members that was a non-Gibb brother. Before joining the Bee Gees he joined the groups such as Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs and Vince & Tony’s Two. As a member of the Bee Gees when it was a five-piece band from 1967 to 1968, his notable guitar work for the Bee Gees heard on their first four international albums until his departure in December 1968.
After leaving the Bee Gees, he joined the short-lived supergroup Fanny Adams and lead his own band the Vince Maloney Sect. Melouney was replaced by former Toe Fat member Alan Kendall as a member of the Bee Gees’ backing group as a lead guitarist.
Melouney was born in Sydney. He was a founder member of Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, playing with the band as lead guitarist from 1963 to 1965, which was followed by a short-lived duo with fellow Aztec Tony Barber, called Vince & Tony’s Two. In 1966, he released “I Need Your Lovin’ Tonight” and its B-side, “Mystery Train”; Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and Maurice Gibb sing backup vocals on both songs.
In 1967, after moving to the UK, he was invited to join the Bee Gees. He was the lead guitarist on their first three albums; Bee Gees’ 1st, Horizontal, and Idea. Idea features his only composition on a Bee Gees track, “Such a Shame” (the only track that was not written by one of the Gibb brothers). The song was released on the UK version of the album Idea, but on the US version, it was replaced by “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You”. Melouney prefers the Gibson ES-355 guitar and can be seen in several Bee Gees videos and live performances from 1967 to 1968. In November 1968, it was reported by the UK music magazine, NME, that Melouney’s final concert with the Bee Gees would be on 1 December, following the end of their current German tour.
Above: Vince centre of the photo with The Bee Gees.
After the Bee Gees
In 1969, he formed a short-lived supergroup, Fanny Adams, with Doug Parkinson on lead vocals, Teddy Toi on bass, and Johnny Dick on drums who recorded one album also called Fanny Adams.
Later years
In the summer of 1976, he met up with Bee Gee Barry Gibb and they wrote “Let It Ride” and “Morning Rain”, but both songs were not recorded. He rejoined the Bee Gees for the “One Night Only” Concert held in Sydney, Australia, in 1999, and rejoined Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs for a tour in 2002/3. At the completion of that tour, he completed his first solo album, released with the title “Covers” which had ten cover versions of songs, including Love Her Madly, Come Together, and Lay Down Sally.
In an interview with Melouney, he stated that his influence was The Band, through their album Music from Big Pink, as he explained: “I am influenced to the extent that I can see what they are doing and I respect that. I’ve let their ideas augment my ideas”. In 2015, Melouney contributed playing lead guitar on singer Paul Jones’ album Suddenly I Like It. and the forthcoming as-yet-untitled new Carla Olson album.
Discography
With Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs
“I Told The Brook” / “Funny Face” (1965)
“Twilight Time” / “My Girl Josephine (1965)
“Hallelujah I Love Her So” / “Baby Hold Me Close” (1965)
“Poison Ivy” / “Blue Day” (1965)
“Love Letters” / “Dancing in the Street” (1965)
With the Bee Gees
Bee Gees’ 1st (1967)
Horizontal (1968)
Idea (1968)
Odessa (1969)
LINKS:
- Vince’s Site
- Vince Melouney interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1970)
- Vince Melouney Interview
- Jump up ^ “Suddenly I Like It”. Continental Record Services. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- Jump up ^ Billboard – Google Books. Books.google.com. 12 August 1967. Retrieved 24 February 2011.