Mike Rudd, The Heaters - Live at the Sydney Myer Music Bowl (Remastered) (1982) Hi-Res

Mike Rudd:
b New Zealand. Rudd relocated to Australia with the Chants R‘N’B in 1966. In 1968 he joined another similar combo, Party Machine, containing future members of Daddy Cool. This band evolved into an ‘underground’ experimental band - the short-lived Sons Of The Vegetal Mother in 1969. Forming his own band Spectrum that same year, Rudd teamed up with long-term collaborator, bass player Bill Putt, and wrote most of the material. Rudd led the band (and their alter-ego, Murtceps), through the blues orientated heavy rock music period in Australia during 1971-73. Next came Ariel (1973-74), a band which was a more exotic spectacle comprising weird and wonderful costumes, exotic light shows and smoke bombs. Instant Reply followed (1978-79), who later changed their name to the Heaters. As trends changed, the Heaters become Rudd’s post punk, new wave band, touring frequently during 1979-1982 but not achieving any commercial success with Unrealist. Rudd briefly returned to his roots with the Living Legend Blues Band, subsequently forming W.H.Y. in 1983, which toured and recorded in Germany, and was a more experimental outfit, as was the similar Mike Rudd’s No. 9. He now performs in the Suburban Blues Band, a good-time cover band. He later briefly re-formed Spectrum in early 1990. His song, ‘I’ll Be Gone’, recorded by Spectrum, remains one of the most recognizable Australian hits of the early 70s.

The Heaters:
During the late '70s, the Los Angeles-based trio the Heaters were tipped to have a breakthrough. Straddling the line between mainstream rock and the new wave, they opened for both Van Halen and Cheap Trick, but struggled in the studio. They released an eponymous debut in 1978 on Ariola and leaped to the majors in 1980 for Energy Transfer, but neither record garnered much attention. Lead vocalist Mercy Bermudez and sisters Maggie and Missy Connell kept working, acquiring a four-track PortaStudio and recording on their own, emphasizing their girl group inspirations. These recordings garnered some attention in Los Angeles -- Phil Spector became a fan and Rhino wanted to sign the band but they turned down the deal and eventually disbanded. The PortaStudio recordings were finally released in 2016 on Omnivore Records as American Dream: The PortaStudio Recordings.