Chapter 1

Who are Alberts?

The Albert Music story begins when Jacques Albert migrated to Australia from Switzerland in 1884. He set up a watch repair store in Newtown in Sydney and would entertain folks every afternoon by playing violin. The store then moved into instrument repairs and selling sheet music and musical instruments.

He knew to ask people, he didn't try to make it up himself, he had the nous to go to other people and give them the freedom to create what they wanted. Jane Albert, author

In the 1890s, Jacques boarded a boat to New York City where he met with and signed a number of Tin Pan Alley recording artists. He brought the rights back to Australia with him and began importing their music.

Jacques' son Frank joined the family business in the latter part of the 19th century. He took the company into radio in 1929, starting the Australian Broadcasting Company, only to have it taken back in 1932 by the government who had issued him the license in the first place. They renamed it the Australian Broadcasting Commission.

Frank's son Alexis joined the family business and went into the television business in 1956. Alexis' son Ted, a keen musician, joined in 1959 and in the '60s came up with the idea that the company could start writing and recording their own music. Albert Productions was established as something of an experiment in 1964.

"Ted was very into music, it was in his blood and his bones," says Jane Albert, Ted's niece and the author of House of Hits, a book written all about her famous family. "Ted played any instrument he could lay his hands on; he was very adept at it. It's just in the blood."

Ted was a keen entrepreneur and set about establishing a music company, despite not having many connections in the industry.

Jane Albert, author of House of HIts

Ted had a listen to them, they're called The Easybeats, and he, in Ted's way, said 'I think we might have something here, do you blokes mind if we give it a go? Jane Albert

"He didn't necessarily know that many people in the pop world," Albert says. "But people like George Young have always credited Ted with the fact that he knew to ask people, he didn't try to make it up himself, he had the nous to go to other people and give them the freedom to create what they wanted.

"They started with Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs who were signed to someone else at the time. He just gave them a go and that was the first record to come out of Alberts Productions.

"Tony Barber was the first export on the Alberts label. The next is this group of immigrants who were jamming in the laundry at Villawood Migrant Hostel. Ted had a listen to them, they're called The Easybeats, and he, in Ted's way, said 'I think we might have something here, do you blokes mind if we give it a go?"

Chapter 2

The Alberts Sound

Had the honour of jamming at Fleet Studios for a few years and Snowy Fleet (The Easybeats drummer) is a true legend who once said to me "I like you kid". Gentleman. Jon Hammond via Facebook

The Easybeats were a huge success in the short amount of time they were together. They had 18 charting singles in just five years and three of them were number one hits. Their most well known song, 'Friday on My Mind' (1966) also charted in the US, UK and throughout Europe, selling over a million copies.

But they were only the beginning of what would become a hugely successful rein of rock music dominance, the likes of which is yet to be seen again. AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, The Angels, Billy Thorpe, John Paul Young and Easybeats frontman Stevie Wright were among the many artists to have hits on the Albert Productions label, thanks largely to what was referred to as "the Alberts sound".

In 1982, Angry Anderson of Rose Tattoo and Doc Neeson of The Angels were interviewed by triple j in support of a tour the two bands were about to kick off with opening act Choirboys.

"The three toughest rock'n'roll bands in Australia," Anderson said of the bill. "I've always been a big fan of [The Choirboys] which is why we always worked with them on our tours. But I've just heard a couple of their recorded tracks. Have you heard them?" Angry asked Doc, who hadn't. "They've got... you know that sound? They've got it."

"George and Harry?" Neeson shot back.

They've got... you know that sound? They've got it. Angry Anderson, Rose Tattoo

"It's that studio," Anderson confirmed. "You know, we're all indelibly stamped with it."

"All three bands have come through Alberts at one stage or another and there's a certain kind of school of sound that comes out of that," Neeson continued.

"Those guys [Vanda and Young] have just got a real feel for rock'n'roll and when you work with them long enough it rubs off, fortunately. That studio has a sound, it's a real dirty rock'n'roll studio. You go into EMI or even Paradise, they're very clean studios. It's like the difference between an IC amp and a valve amp. Albert is a valve amp of studios."

"That's poetically put," Anderson quips."I never would have thought of that. It's the valve amp of studios – fuckin' oath! I'll use that. I'm always looking for colourful little superlatives and that's a beauty. The valve amp of studios, what a fuckin' beauty!"

Wayne Connolly, sound engineer and producer.

Producer Wayne Connolly, who now operates out of Alberts' Neutral Bay studios, explains what he considers the Alberts sound to be.

"It's a very driving rock sound, a lot of it is based around the groove of a song," he says. "The riff or a basic drum groove would be very propulsive. You can hear that a lot in The Easybeats initially and it seems to me that George and Harry then drummed that into all the bands they worked with."

Albert is a valve amp of studios. Doc Neeson, The Angels

"Angry Anderson refers to it more as the thumping bass sound, the Malcolm Young sound, that thumping rock'n'roll that not many bands since have had and that bands have tried to emulate," Jane Albert says. "But I also think it was the sound that came out of the King St studios, which was so made up as they went.

"George Young talks about taping up black curtains to cover windows and putting mirrors on drums. Ted would constantly be on his hands and knees in his jeans and his business shirt crawling around just playing with things. This incredible sound came out of the King St studios called the Albert sound because they kept making hits with these bands like Rose Tattoo, AC/DC, The Angels."

It was a combination of Ted Albert's obsession with sound and audio gadgetry and the genius songwriting and production talents of Harry Vanda and George Young that brought this Alberts sound to life.

"He was quite a gadget fiend, Ted, he'd be going around with different microphones and different amps experimenting with sound," Jane Albert says. "I think that was one of his best assets, that he created what they have since referred to as the Alberts sound."

Ted Albert hired Harry Vanda and George Young to write and produce for Albert Productions when the duo returned from the UK in 1973. They had initially moved to the London with The Easybeats, but stayed for a further three years after the band split up.

As a 17 year old seeing Doc Neeson late afternoon climbing the scaffolding at the Showgrounds - on a day when Jimmy Barnes, Choirboys and Johnny Diesel & the Injectors ALL DELIVERED BIG TIME - well, Doc Neeson just blew me away with his stage presence. John P Conlan via Facebook

"When we came back here and listened to some stuff on the radio, I couldn't get over how sterile it was sounding," Vanda told triple j in 2009. "When you saw the same bands like, they were great bands. What happened? These guys are fucking fantastic! It was all being sterilised, no needles could go in the red, it was all very pristine. That's not rock'n'roll, is it?"

While Vanda and Young were a crack songwriting team, their focus was on bringing out the best in the bands that Alberts had on its roster. Bands were encouraged to pen their own material with the assistance of the two highly skilled writers.

"They nurtured the artists in a way that they helped them in the songwriting, which is what their strength was, structuring the songs," former Alberts CEO Fifa Riccobono told Myf Warhurst earlier this year. "So every artist that started working with us, starting with AC/DC and Rose Tattoo and The Angels, all these artists were encouraged to write for themselves with George and Harry's assistance."

Importantly, musicians felt comfortable working at Alberts.

"It's one of the first studios that I've ever been in [since I've been] in the music business that I've looked forward to going there," Bon Scott told Double Jay in 1975. "Like, anywhere else I've been scared. But here it's just so relaxed."

Chapter 3

Three Big Hits

Albert Productions have had countless hits over the past 50 years. We've selected three very different, very successful songs from the 1970s and uncovered a few stories about each.

AC/DC – 'Jailbreak'

By 1976 AC/DC were starting to become a seriously big band. Their first two records, High Voltage and T.N.T., were well received in Australia and the band had begun to attract international attention.

'Jailbreak' was the first single and the final track from the band's third album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and came accompanied by a video clip that employed the use of explosives and fake blood – a rare sight for the time.

Apparently they tried to keep [Bon] off the booze, but he was drinking lots of cups of tea – I think he'd been having either rum or vodka in his tea. By all accounts, when he came to do the line 'With a bullet in his back', he literally fell backwards. Wayne Connolly

According to Jesse Fink's book The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC, the single did not go down well with the band's American record company. In it, former A&R boss Jim Delehant says Atlantic Records left 'Jailbreak' off the US release of the album because it was “too horrific for teenage consumption”.

While the sessions were well and truly before his time, Wayne Connolly has heard a story about what was going on when the band cut the now classic track at Alberts almost 40 years ago.

"There's one maybe apocryphal but probably true story about Bon Scott recording 'Jailbreak', " he begins. "Apparently they tried to keep him off the booze, but he was drinking lots of cups of tea – I think he'd been having either rum or vodka in his tea. By all accounts, when he came to do the line 'With a bullet in his back', he literally fell backwards.

They all looked over the glass to see where he was, they were like 'where has he gone?' They went in and he was lying flat on his back, he'd collapsed backwards whilst doing his vocal. There certainly probably were some wild times but they aren't widely publicised."

Stevie Wright – 'Evie (Parts 1, 2 & 3)'

Stevie Wright's solo breakthrough hit 'Evie (Parts 1, 2 & 3)' broke all the rules of pop songwriting. Clocking in at 11 minutes long, the song goes through a gamut of different shades of rock'n'roll from the big, riff-heavy opening track to Wright's sensitive croon over the delicate piano and strings of the second part and the theatrical flourish that ends it.

Lyrically, the song tracks three separate stages of a relationship and ends tragically. A post on the Alberts website describes the three parts as follows:

‘Evie (Let Your Hair Hang Down)' captures the initial courting phase of a relationship

‘Evie' describes a wonderful life together

‘Evie (I'm Losing You)' is the emotional loss during childbirth

It got a big hammering on the radio and I've always had my suspicions that they played a full 11 minutes because it gave them a breather, they could piss, have a cigarette. Harry Vanda

It's an impressive piece of songwriting and one which connected immediately with the Australian public, shooting to the top of the charts in 1974 and resurrecting the career of The Easybeats' former frontman.

"I still can't figure it out, to tell you the truth," Vanda said of the song's success. "It was alright. It's a good rock riff."

Vanda backs up this faint praise for the smash hit by floating a conspiracy as to why it was so popular on radio upon its release.

"It got a big hammering on the radio and I've always had my suspicions that they played a full 11 minutes because it gave them a breather, they could piss, have a cigarette," he laughed.

While he'd never earmarked the song as a hit, he remained in awe of his former band mate Wright and his ability to turn an audience on.

"Having said all that, for me it wasn't the sort of song that would set the world on fire, but when he was together, Jesus, I can't think of a better showman than Stevie," he said. "I've never seen anybody that could radiate that type of charisma when he really had his act together. He could just generate excitement."

In 2004 a group of Australian musicians came together, at the insistence of Jet's Nic Cester, to record all three parts of 'Evie' for a special one-off single.

The band called themselves The Wrights and featured Cester, Chris Cheney (The Living End), Davey Lane (You Am I), Kram (Spiderbait), Pat Bourke (Dallas Crane), Daniel Vandenberg, Bernard Fanning (Powderfinger), Warren "Pig" Morgan (Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs), Phil Jamieson (Grinspoon) and Dan Knight and the sessions were produced by Vanda.

@DoubleJRadio "Down Among the Dead Men" should be getting a lot more "Classic Rock" airplay. Harry V's son played at my 30th birthday! - Reynardo the Fox (@Reynardo_red) November 6, 2014

"We went into the studio and started jamming the song and then recorded it with the one and only Harry Vanda, which was probably the highlight of the whole thing," Kram tells Double J about the sessions. "He's an absolutely awesome, larger-than-life character who was brilliant to work with.

"I loved the recording session and getting to know Harry. He demanded that we all smoked in the studio – we weren't allowed to but we just did it anyway. Then he kept getting me to go and buy packs of Camels and he'd rip off the filters because they weren't strong enough. He was singing with us and then he'd throw the cans on the floor, he was just loving it and we were loving his company, we were in awe of him, really."

John Paul Young – 'Love is In the Air'

A long way from the bad boy tales and thick, punchy riffery of AC/DC comes 'Love Is in the Air', a romantic ode set to a disco beat that captures a very specific, and popular, part of the sound of 1977.

John Paul Young, no relation to the Youngs of Easybeats and AC/DC fame, had his first hit with the moderately successful Vanda and Young song 'Pasadena' in 1972, had an almost two year run as Annas in a hugely successful Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar and by 1975 had cracked the top ten with 'Yesterday's Hero'.

This was to be nothing in comparison to the success that lay ahead with the enormous 'Love Is in the Air'. The song was a top ten smash hit all over the world and, more than anything, showed just how versatile Vanda and Young were as songwriters.

They ended up with about 50 different takes – a shoebox full of cassettes. They were so immersed in it that they couldn't possibly work out which one was the best. So they sent the box of cassettes up to Ted Albert and within an hour or so he came down and said 'yep, this is the one'. Jane Albert

"They are amazing," John Paul Young said of Vanda and Young when speaking to triple j earlier this year. "George Young famously said 'you can write a song about anything'.

"I've only had one [song] in the charts that wasn't theirs, which was 'Soldier Of Fortune' back in '83."

'Love is in the Air' has been covered countless times, by everyone from Kamahl to Tom Jones to Brazilian rock band The Fevers and even Colin Firth and Rupert Everett. Young remains pleased with how his version stacks up.

"I don't think my version is creepy, but some are."

When researching her book, there was a story about Ted Albert's involvement with 'Love is in the Air' that particularly grabbed Jane Albert's attention.

"Harry and George were looking for a follow up to 'Walking in the Rain' and kicking around ideas. They had the basic music idea for 'Love Is in the Air', but they didn't have a song title for it. Harry and George had a book of song titles where they jot down names every time they thought of something. George said 'here's one, 'Love Is in the Air', let's try this'.

"They noodled around with that for a little while and came up with the tune, brought JPY in to record it and that was good, but they ended up with about 50 different takes – a shoebox full of cassettes. They were so immersed in it that they couldn't possibly work out which one was the best. So they sent the box of cassettes up to Ted Albert and within an hour or so he came down and said 'yep, this is the one'. That went on to become this extraordinary international hit which has been re-recorded a million times. That was one of Ted's abilities was to be able to pick a hit."

Chapter 4

Conclusion

From an outsider's perspective, it appears as if Alberts is built on a number of different principles.

The songwriting talents of Harry Vanda and George Young meant the music that came from the label was second-to-none.

"They were a powerhouse of creativity," former Alberts CEO Fifa Riccobono told Myf Warhurst earlier this year. "They had a great mentor in Ted who had a lot of faith in them and confidence in their ability who gave them free reign to go out and do what they did best, which was create and bring bands in to the company and he's set up the studios for them."

Alberts' loyalty and belief in their artists has also contributed to their success. AC/DC, one of the biggest bands on the planet for decades now, have remained connected with Alberts due to the way the company treated them as an emerging band.

@DoubleJRadio @albertmusic BTW.. My only fond memory from school was a trip to Alberts in 77. Can still see it now. - Jennie Geerdink (@jdink) November 6, 2014

"I think Alberts is extraordinarily fortunate to have maintained that relationship with AC/DC," Jane Albert says. "I always think it's worth remembering that Ted Albert did support AC/DC for seven or eight years, which is what it took for them to turn a profit with any of their albums.

"The fact that they have maintained loyalty to Alberts is terrific and we're very, very grateful for that. They are very loyal, the Young family, to themselves and to Alberts and we are hopefully to them as well."

There will always be a lot that we don't know about Alberts. That's just the way they operate.

"There's always been a certain privacy and secrecy around what Alberts do," Wayne Connolly says. "Because for them they've always just focused on the music and let it speak for itself, they don't really want to tell the stories behind it."