KEEP ROCKIN’ – BILLY THORPE
Celebrating an Australian music legend
Lynn Thorpe & Dino Scatena

Shane Pinnegar

Essentially a scrapbooking homage to the pint sized Mancunian who became THE most Australian rocker, who played a huge part in inventing the Aussie pub rock sound, and without whose influence and inspiration to join a band we simply wouldn’t have many of our rock icons.

Lynn, raw though she undeniably was following Thorpie’s untimely passing in 2007, shared all manner of private and family photos, recollections and love for this celebration of her partner of 36 years’ life.

“Keep Rockin;” allows us to travel from Billy’s birth in the old dart, his migration with his beloved parents, his early career as a child pop star (as Little Rock Allen!, which somehow circumvented age restrictions on public performances for the 14 year old Billy), his pop band career with the orginal Aztecs and the Mark II Aztecs, then his reinvention as a hairy hard rocker with the Sunbury Aztecs. Moving forwards, of course, Thorpie moved to America, released a clutch of space-rock concept albums, became a toy developer and seller, scored TV shows, then came home to Australia to a rave reception and formed a new band, as well as reformed both versions of the Aztecs for the Long Way To The Top tour (which he was involved with as a promoter as well as a performer).

In his last few years Thorpie was consumed by the “Tangier” project, which would only see the light of day three years after his passing. [Read my review of this amazing album HERE] His inspiration for the melding of traditional Moroccan rhythms and instruments with rock n’ roll guitar and vocals stemmed from a trip to Morocco to celebrate his wife Lynn’s 50th birthday.

To read these pages, and then Lynn’s honest recollections of the night of 28 February 2007, is to share in the pain which she and the rest of Thorpie’s family felt at his passing.

I shed many tears and I am doing so again now as I write this. Lennon, Zappa, Harrison, Thorpe – the rock stars I have shed tears on hearing of their passing.

If you give a fuck about Thorpie, about Australian rock music, or about popular culture… this book will open your eyes. If you’re a fan, it’s indispensible. If you’re not… you should be…