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Bonnie’s Laurie
Allen Tribute The Jim Cooper Collection
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Laurie
and I met at ATA records in the early 70`s. We began working together
at the Texas Tavern in the mid 70 in a band called "Coopers Cannonball
Boogie Band". I played bass , Laurie on guitar
and Murray Wright on Drums. We later went on the road for almost a
year through country NSW with Niki
Bradley joining us on vocals. At the end of the NSW road show
we continued on south to do a short stint in several Melbourne
Hotels. It was Laurie who put togeather
the concept of the "Truck Stop" Album in 1975 with Col Joye, Bob Purtell and myself. He introduced me to my good friend
Mick Hamilton when Mick became the session guitarist on that
LP. In
1976 it was Laurie who gave me the single "Silver
Eagle" which, due to its success,became the LP and band of the same name.
Laurie helped produce the single, played acoustic guitar and was very
involved in the vocal arrangments with the Clair
Pool Singers on it. For the "Silver Eagle" LP Laurie once again
helped with vocals and found songs for me to record from his massive
collection of records that he kept adding to. On my 3rd LP
"Dynamite Run", he went digging again and helped find
songs to record, contributed to the production, co wrote "Puffin In The
Back Of The Wagon" with myself and Mick
Hamilton, played guitar, backing vocals and gave excellent advice. When
I wrote and recorded the theme for the "Great Sydney Harbour Ferry Boat Race " it was Laurie that helped me put it together
by supplying backing vocals, advice with arrangements and production. In the
production of 3 LP`s and ten singles I recorded during the 70`s and early
80`s, Laurie had a hand in almost all of them either directly or indirectly.With Lauries
passing, a light went out in the Australian music industry. He was one of a
kind and sadly I doubt we will see the likes of him again. Like dozens
of others in the industry I owe him a lot and will always be grateful
for his help and friendship of many years. He
was a good and close friend that I think of often and will always be in awe
of his talent... and more than once been the victim of his bad sense of humor!! Regards
Hi
Bonnie. I
have these old publicity photos of Laurie and I taken about 1976/77.I have no
one else to give them to. I am happy to pass copies of them on to you
if you would like them. There
are about 40 more on the proof sheet which I still have as well. The
first time I met Mick Hamilton. He and Laurie came over to my place for a
drink on a Sunday afternoon. I had just reported a large indoor plant
and had it sitting outside the back door. The afternoon went by in a
flash as we all played and
sang. Laurie was through the best part of a bottle of JD. Mick was
about the same on Jim Beam and I had 2 bottles of port slopping about inside
me when Laurie disappears out side for a leek. Mick had just gone out before
him and came back in to tell me Laurie was peeing in the pot plant. I dived
out the door and turned the hose on Laurie and almost drowned him. Mick
thought it was the funniest thing he`d seen in years, especially as Laurie
was innocent!! While Laurie and I are trying to get him dry Mick is still
rolling about the floor laughing. I grabbed Mick by the shirt
and heaved him and his new Guild Acoustic he was hanging on
to through a set of French doors that led into my bedroom so he proceed
to curl up on the bed and go to sleep. Laurie and I carried on drinking
for another hour and then went out to the kitchen to try and make a cheese
sandwich for him and a real one for me. Meanwhile Mick has woken up,
crawled back into the lounge, got hold of my address book and was ringing
every female in it saying.. Hi This is Jim... do ya wana F!@#$%^&*??.....
I never found out about it until a long time
later but Mick and Laurie though it was the joke of the year...
especially as every phone call got a very flat NO and I couldn't understand
why nobody was very friendly to me for a few weeks. To this day the Guild
still has the 2 chips out of the back.. . I
remember one of my birthdays. We were doing a show in I
got caught with the can of coke and the 99% JD mix in the studio when we
were recording Truck Stop. Once ,,, only
once... he never got me twice with that one. We
lost touch when he moved back to Cheers Jim
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