Richard Brewster

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Richard Brewster
Birth nameRichard Brewster-Jones
Born1952 or 1953 (age 71–72)
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
GenresRock
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, guitarist, singer
Years active1970–present

Richard Brewster-Jones (born 1952 or 1953), who performs as Rick Brewster, is an Australian guitarist who has played in a number of Australian rock bands, including the Angels (1974–2000, 2008–present). That group were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1998. As a songwriter Brewster was inducted into the Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008.

Biography[edit]

Richard Brewster-Jones,[1] was born in 1952 or 1953,[2] in Adelaide as the younger brother of John (born 1949). Their father Arthur (born 1916)[3][4] and grandfather Hooper Brewster-Jones (1887–1949)[3][5] were classical musicians.[6] Brewster attended St Peter's College for secondary education. In 1970, as Rick Brewster, with his brother and Bernard Neeson on lead vocals (p.k.a. Doc Talbot, later Doc Neeson), he formed an acoustic covers band Moonshine Jug & String Band.[7][8] For that group he provided violin, washboard, jug, guitar, backing vocals and percussion.[7][8] They released a four-track extended play Keep You on the Move (1973) via Sphere Organization, which was popular in Adelaide.[7][8] John Woodruff was their manager and the label's owner.[7]

Moonshine Jug & String Band evolved into the Keystone Angels, a rock band, with Brewster on lead guitar, in 1974.[7][8][9] According to Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane they were "playing 1950s rock'n'roll/R&B material on the pub circuit."[7] An appearance at the 1975 Sunbury Pop Festival in January, resulted in a tour supporting AC/DC and then working as Chuck Berry's backing band.[7] The Keystone Angels issued a single, "Keep On Dancin'/Good Day Rock and Roll" (1975).[8] By the end of that year they became the Angels.[7][8][9] Other members have included Chris Bailey on bass guitar and Brent Eccles on drums.[7][8][9] At the ARIA Music Awards of 1998 the Angels line-up of the Brewster brothers, Bailey, Eccles and Neeson were inducted in the ARIA Hall of Fame alongside the Masters Apprentices.[10][11]

As a songwriter Brewster has co-written the Angels' top 20 original singles, "Into the Heat (1981)", "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again" (live, 1988), "Let the Night Roll On" and "Dogs Are Talking" (both 1990).[12][13] Brewster was inducted into the Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame by ASAI (Australian Songwriters Association Incorporated).[14] Over the history of the band from 1974 to 2000 (when the Angels disbanded) and since 2008 (they reformed), Brewster is the only mainstay – his brother had left in 1986 to join the Party Boys but returned in 1992.[7][8] As from December 2022 Brewster is still a member of the Angels and when not touring with the band he works on side-projects with his brother.[15]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Australian Songwriter's Hall of Fame[edit]

The Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 2004 to honour the lifetime achievements of some of Australia's greatest songwriters.[14]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2008 himself Australian Songwriter's Hall of Fame inducted

SA Music Hall of Fame[edit]

Rick was inducted into the SA Music Hall Of fame on 16 May 2014 alongside his brother John, Redgum's John Schumann and Rose Tattoo's Rockin' Rob Riley.[16]

References[edit]

General
  • McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Whammo Homepage". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 5 April 2004. Retrieved 4 January 2010. Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
  • Spencer, Chris; Zbig Nowara; Paul McHenry (2002) [1987]. The Who's Who of Australian Rock. Noble Park, Vic.: Five Mile Press. ISBN 1-86503-891-1.[17] Note: [on-line] version established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition.
  • Rick Brewster profile by Monica Davidson
Specific
  1. ^ "The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)". ASCAP. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
  2. ^ "In Brief Guitarists Charged". The Canberra Times. Vol. 57, no. 17, 285. 25 January 1983. p. 3. Retrieved 26 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ a b O'Shea, Tim (26 August 2021), "The Angels Rock Saints", St Peter's College, Quote: "Their father was head celloist [sic] of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and their grandfather was conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and founding member"
  4. ^ "Symphony of Angels at Festival Theatre". FasterLouder.com.au. April 2010. Archived from the original on 7 April 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Mr Brewster-Jones". State Library of South Australia.
  6. ^ Gibberd, Joyce (1983). "Biography - Hooper Josse Brewster Jones". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry for 'The Angels'. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Australian Rock Database entries:
    • Moonshine Jug and String Band: Holmgren, Magnus; Senatore, Tony. "Moonshine Jug and String Band". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
    • The Keystone Angels: Holmgren, Magnus; Senatore, Tony. "The Keystone Angels". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
    • The Angels: Holmgren, Magnus; Senatore, Tony. "The Angels". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
    • Graham Bidstrup (1976–81): Holmgren, Magnus. "Graham Bidstrup". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
    • The Party Boys: Holmgren, Magnus. "The Party Boys". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
    • Jimi Hocking (1988, touring): Holmgren, Magnus. "Jimi Hocking". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
    • Gimme Ted (2003): Holmgren, Magnus. "Gimme Ted: The Ted Mulry Benefit Concerts". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Nimmervoll, Ed. "The Angels". Howlspace – The Living History of Our Music. White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd (Ed Nimmervoll). Archived from the original on 28 July 2006. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  10. ^ "ARIA Awards – History: Winners by Year 1998: 12th Annual ARIA Awards". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  11. ^ O'Grady, Anthony. "The 11th Annual ARIA Music Awards". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 1 November 2001. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'Into the Heat'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 3 November 2022. n.b. To find other works, click on "Search and filter" and then enter song title.
  13. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. n.b.: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
  14. ^ a b "Hall of Fame". asai. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  15. ^ Peters, Kris. "Drawing from the Well of Rarities with Rick Brewster from the Angels". Heavy Magazine. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  16. ^ "South Australian Music Hall Of fame website". South Australian Music Hall Of Fame. Adelaide Music Collective. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  17. ^ "Who's who of Australian rock / compiled by Chris Spencer, Zbig Nowara & Paul McHenry". catalogue. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 4 January 2010.

External links[edit]