Mick Hadley (1942 - 2012)
Brisbane, traditionally the most conservative of Australia's state capitals, has fostered some of this country's most anarchistic rock bands from the Purple Hearts
Obituary - Sydney Morning Herald
The Coloured Balls - Brisbane television appearance performing "Song For Jeffrey" (circa 1970)
MICK HADLEY
Blues man inspired future rockers Sydney Morning Herald
In January 1965, Brisbane band the Purple Hearts were a support act on the Rolling Stones' first Australian tour
and Stones guitarist Keith Richards congratulated singer Mick Hadley on a good show.''You guys,'' Richards said, ''sure picked the right name.''
Purple hearts were amphetamine pills, consumed in quantity by London mods, who popularised Carnaby Street fashion and the furious beat of rhythm and blues. This was the music Hadley brought from London to Australia in the early 1960s, converting Brisbane band the Impacts from covers of Cliff Richard and the Shadows to furious R&B. A guitarist with blistering finger speed, Barry Lyde (later renamed Lobby Loyde) joined.
''We needed a new name and Purple Hearts just popped up,'' said Hadley, who eschewed drugs. ''We were a high energy band.''
The Purple Hearts proceeded to tear Brisbane apart. The legal drinking age was 21, so the band played unlicensed venues, their stronghold being the Primitif Coffee Lounge in central Brisbane. It was patronised by a young bohemian set who, like London mods, demanded everything they heard be maximum R&B.
The Purple Hearts relocated to Sydney, then Melbourne. Their influence on other musicians was intense. Vince Melouney (Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, the Bee Gees) recalled: ''I'd never heard anything like the Purple Hearts. Mick was the whole package; blond hair, tall, skinny, a great singer, a great performer.''