Tully

Tully formed in late 1968, after a large section of hardworking R’n’B show band Levi Smith’s Clefs broke away to focus on more adventurous material. By early ‘69 they’d become easily the most hyped band in Australia, feverishly acclaimed for their towering rock dynamics and extended flights of jazz-inspired improvisation. Richard Lockwood's flute and sax explorations, paired with Michael Carlos' masterful work on organ and Moog, were the band's centerpiece.
In 1969 they were handpicked as Sydney house band for tribal love-rock musical Hair in 1969, starred in six-part ABC TV series Fusions, and performed Peter Sculthorpe's rock opera Love 200 at the Sydney Town Hall. By 1970, when they released their self-titled debut album, Tully were rock stars of a very rare order in Australian music, feted by highbrow critics and teenage groupies alike.  

Within a year, however, almost everything changed. Showstopping drummer Robert Taylor departed the band, swiftly followed by vocalist Terry Wilson, and the remainder of Tully joined forces with members of gentle, exploratory folk group Extradition. Suddenly Tully were rockers no longer. By the time 1971's solemn surf soundtrack Sea Of Joy came to be recorded, they were a drummer-less, contemplative folk-psych outfit, dedicated to spiritual guru Meher Baba.
Sadly their spiritually-driven transformation left many fans scratching their heads. Audiences declined steadily, response to the Sea Of Joy soundtrack was muted, and by the end of 1971 they realised they could no longer continue. Still, they had one more album owing on their record contract, and decided to make a final statement before going their separate ways. The result was the luminous swansong Loving Is Hard.