PRESS RELEASE...

A Fortnight of Furore

The Who and the Small Faces Down Under

68 pages, A4 Softback. Mutley Press UK8.99

In Australasia, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are looked upon as being at the forefront of English groups from the '60's Beat Boom.

However, The Who and The Small Faces conjure up perhaps the most vivid memories of outrageous behaviour, both on and offstage, from their one and only riotous two-week visit there in 1968.

Now, some 30 years later, this problem-plagued tour has been immortalised in a new book written by Andrew Neill, who has co-authored books on The Rolling Stones and The Who, and is a frequent contributor to the globally distributed Record Collector magazine.

"I've really set out to chronicle what happened on this rock tour to end all rock tours, because in most biographies, it tends to get scant mention via a throwaway line or two, but in Australia at the time, it really was a big deal!"

"These days, nobody bats an eyelid at what so-called rock stars get up to. It's almost considered passe if a T.V. set gets sent out of a hotel window, but The Who and The Small Faces were the first, and it happened in, of all places, New Zealand!"

"I was too young to see the concerts, but ever since, the whole tour has never ceased to fascinate me. Two of the most vibrant bands from the '60's Mod movement being flown, uncomfortably I might add, to the other side of the world for the kind of package tour which was already considered old hat in England, and encountering this violent culture shock - violent, both metaphorically and literally!"

"Australia, the nation, was up in arms at what these long-haired monsters were supposedly up to. So much so, that the then Prime Minister, Senator John Gorton, sent a telegram to Pete Townshend requesting The Who never set foot in Australia again. Townshend shot back a colourful reply, and to this day has kept his word and never returned!"

"A Fortnight of Furore" contains: