the Fourmyula

[Kiwigold]

Otaki,

[Kiwigold]

Many thanks to Martin Hope from the Fourmyula for sending through the following,

Gosh the Fourmyula days are so far back!
When I left primary school and went Heretaunga College in Upper Hutt I auditioned for the school band (they were all serior boys)I got the job and we played at school dances
At the end of the year the boys left and I had the job of recruiting to make a band,My 2 friends from primary school Les and James joined and a new pupil Frank Stevenson who had a great voice .We put a notice up on the school notice board for a key board player we had one reply ,Wayne Mason,we called ourselves the Sinewaves,Chris Parry joined when James left (from St Pats College)Les left, Ali joined ,Frank left for another band!Later we changed our name to Fourmyula with Wayne and I singing,but we soon found out we needed a proper singer and Cal joined,A school friend Perry Lennon managed us!
Perry came to UK with us on our first trip
I guess the hardest part or playing around Europe was carring those Marshall stacks,a PA, hammond organ and mini piano ha
In fact we bought so much Marshall gear that the shop owner intoduced to Jim Marshall and we had tour of the factory!
Frankie Stevens (new streamlined name)sent me a letter the other day! and I talked to Chris on the phone,we all keep in touch,cause they were glory days for all of us

Cheers Martin.

[Kiwigold]

Gee, what a nice tune !

Some excellent rare photos as well from Martin Hope, lead guitarist from the Fourmyula.

[marhope]

Hey guys Im new to this and wish you luck with the site!

Our old band the Fourmyula has a new single that will hopefully be played in NZ before Xmas
Chris our drummer produced it after our gig at Harcourt park in Upper Hutt a few years back
The song is called  "75" and all of the old band are on it and I hope the radio stations play it! or even remember the band!
Cheers M

[Kiwigold]

That's a hell of a nice tune, will it be released as a single or on an album ?

I think from memory a few years back the Fourmyula did a gig at Upper Hutt in Wellington, I had every intention of attending but became ill and was unable to attend, is there any chance of a similar event.

[marhope]

 This is a single Wayne thinks that radio wont play it but they might!

Yes we did play at Harcourt Park in Upper Hutt and it was the first time we had played many of the old
Fourmyula songs on stage and I wish we had played them years earlier instead of all those harder rock songs and covers Ha
It was an exciting day for me and Chris too ,I imagine........being back in Upper Hutt where we all started
Chris thought the 75 song would be a great choice and we had a lot of fun recording it in Wellington the next day
It was just like old times but for all the red wine that SOME of us drank!

[Skid]

marhope, "I'll Sing You A Song" absolutely ROCKS is there any history behind the writting of the song ?

S**t it's neat.

 

[marhope]

Hi Skid
Re "Ill sing you a song"
When Wayne and Ali came along with the song we spent a LOT of time arrangeing it and it was interesting as it is in 3/4 time ,the 12 string guitar took ages to tune(as they do!)Chris had the idea for the heavy kick drum in the chorus and we had fun with the cross rythm there as well ,Carl is singing with Wayne on the third and Ali on the top harmony,it has that La la  thing which Wayne did in many songs!

[Skid]

Thanks dude, was the song written about anything in particular ?

The "heavy kick drum" in the chorus is smart.

 

[Kiwigold]

Here's a nice tune, music by Martin Hope from the Fourmyula ,sung by one of Australia's finest, Mick Pealing from the Stars

[DeanNZ]

The only other act that comes close to the 'La De Das' oddity of 5 top 5 singles (One in each position) is:

The Fourmyula.
#1 - Nature (4weeks in 1970, first charted December 1969)
#2 - Come With Me (Stuck behind Hey Jude, even though Come With Me is far superior. However, Come With Me did last longer on the chart, and eventually outcharted Hey Jude)
#3 - I'll Sing You A Song (One of numerous hits from 1969)
#4 - Alice Is There (Interesting video)
But the next one is at #7
#7 - I Know Why, first charted same day as 'Alice Is There' a rarity, but not the first time this happened.
#7 - Lady Scorpio
#10 - Home. And this rounds out their top ten hits
Otako and Make Me Happy both charted top 20.
Lullaby and Start By Giving To Me didn't quite make it into the top 20.
Personally, I am very disappointed that 'Forever' never charted, it is a brilliant single.

[Kiwigold]

Come With Me was their first single release and got to #2 in August '68.

I vaguely remember an interview with Wayne Mason a few years back about this song, where he stated (don't quote me) they weren't that interested in the song originally because it was too much like a nursery rhyme.

Nature was their biggest ever hit ...

I agree about Forever, thats a very good song, love Home as well ... the list goes on 

These guy's were one of the very best Kiwi acts.

[vinylsol]

The band's second-to-last single, 'Turn Your Back On The Wind' has got to be one of the best records ever made by a New Zealand act - yet it didn't chart at all. It's a beautiful, soaring ballad with tasteful playing, a great vocal from Carl and a lush string arrangement. At the time, the group had a fairly low profile as they were in Europe but that's no excuse for this lapse in taste by the NZ public! There are (at least) two excellent other versions of this magnificent song as well - the Human Instinct (with Martin Hope on guitar) recorded a nice sparse arrangement on their 'Snatmin Cuthin' album and Wayne Mason did a new version on his second solo album, 'Same Boy', where he also re-recorded 'Nature'. (PS: The B-side to TYBOTW, 'Believe In Love', is a fantastic song as well and has never been released on CD).

[Skid]

I found this wee bit of info, here

"In 1969, The Fourmyula featured on every music chart of the year."

True or False, anyone know ?

Cheers.

[DeanNZ]

It's definitely false. The Fourmyula only (?) spent 37 weeks on the charts during 1969. The first 3 charts for 69 had both 'Alice Is There' and 'I Know Why' on the chart, while the last chart for 69 had 'I'll Sing You A Song' and 'Nature' on the chart, for their last week and first week respectively.
This is the full run for 69.
4 weeks on (Alice is There [3] & I Know Why [4]) 6 wks off, 8 wks on (Home), 9 wks off, 10 wks on (Lady Scorpio), 2 wks off, 11 weeks on (to end of year, I'll Sing You a Song [11] & Last week: Nature [1])

I remember reading that too, heaven knows where they got their info from. They were definitely the most successful Kiwi act of 1969. And 3rd overall.