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Rabbitt a South African rock band in the mid 70s was spawned from a band called Conglomeration. Trevor Rabin, Neil Cloud , Ronnie Robot and Duncan Faure were the first real pop stars South Africa had ever had. On 16 June 1976, Rabbitt made it to the top of the South African charts with their hit song Charlie. In 1978 Rabbitt disintegrates.1 Musicians
- Trevor Rabin (born 13 January 1954): Vocals, lead guitar, keyboards
- Duncan Faure (born 16 December 1957): Vocals, guitars, keyboards
- Ronnie Robot (Ronald Friedman) (born 5 October 1954): Bass guitar
- Neil Cloud (born 3 September 1955): Drums
2 Timeline
- 1968 The Conglomeration is formed with Trevor on guitar, Allen Rosenberg on guitar, Ronnie on bass, and Neil Cloud on drums
- 1971 Despite winning the South Africa Battle Of The Bands, The Conglomeration dissolves
- 1972 Rabbitt recorded their first single, a cover of Jethro Tull's Locomotive Breath It was an instant hit and stayed on the charts for 14 weeks!
- 1973 Rabbitt dissolves
- 1974 Rabbitt regroups and begins playing various clubs around South Africa
- 1975 Rabbitt does a nine-month residency - five nights a week and one matinee - at a run-down club called the Take It Easy club
- 1976 Rabbitt releases its first album, Boys Will Be Boys . Album becomes a gold record faster than any other South African record. Rabbitt wins a Sarie award , the South African equivalent of a Grammy award, for Best Contemporary Pop Music.
- 1977 Rabbitt's second album, A Croak And A Grunt In The Night is released. It is the first time any South African album has achieved gold status immediately upon its release. Plans are made for a tour of the United States and Great Britain. Plans for the tour fall through, outside pressures take their toll on the band. Trevor leaves Rabbitt and heads for London.
- 1978 As a trio, Rabbitt records one more album, Rock Rabbitt, but disbands shortly after their tour.
3 The Rabbitt Albums
3.1 Boys Will Be Boys
Tracks:
1. Something's Going Wrong With My Baby (Rabin) [4.45]
2. Savage (Rabin) [4.43]
3. Lifeline (Rabin/Van Blerk) [6.00]
4. Locomotive Breath (Ian Anderson) [3.35]
5. Hard Ride (Rabin) [4.05]
6. Baby's Leaving (Rabin) [2.20]
7. Eventides (Rabin) [2.34]
8. Looking For The Man (Rabin/Van Blerk) [4.00]
9. Death Of Tulio (Rabin) [0.22]
10. Charlie (Rabin/Van Blerk) [2.35]
Musicians:
- Trevor Rabin: Vocals, guitars, keyboards, producer, arranger
- Neil Cloud: Drums, percussion
- Duncan Faure: Keyboards, lead vocals on 'Hard Ride'
- Ronnie Robot: Bass
- Patric van Blerk: Producer
- Julian Laxton: Producer, engineer
- Strings by Pro Arte, led by Bram Verhoef
- Solo violin on 'Hard Ride' by Godfrey Rabin (Trevor's father)
Release information:
South Africa: 1975, Jo'Burg Records, TJL 13008
USA: 1975, Jet Records, 2310463
West Germany: 1989, Line Music GmbH. (CD)
USA: 1989, Jet Records, 900859 (CD)
3.2 A Croak And A Grunt In The Night
Tracks:
1. T.C. Rabin In D-Minor (Rabin) [0.24]
2. I Sleep Alone (Rabin) [2.52]
3. A Croak And A Grunt In The Night (Rabin/van Blerk) [2.37]
4. Everybody's Cheating (Rabin/van Blerk) [4.10]
5. Sugar Pie (Rabin) [3.22]
6. Searching (Rabin) [4.13]
7. Working For The People (Rabin/Robot/Faure/Cloud) [4.21]
8. Pollyman (Rabin) [2.23]
9. Schumann (Trad. arr. Rabin) [0.21]
10. Hold On To Love (Rabin/van Blerk) [4.06]
11. Dingley's Bookshop (Faure) [2.10] theme from a TV series
12. Never Gonna Ruin My Life (Rabin) [0.56]
13. Tribal Fence (MacKay) [3.51] featuring Margaret Singana
14. Gift Of Love (Rabin/van Blerk/Robot) [3.44]
15. Lonely Loner Too (Faure) [3.35]
16. Take It Easy (Rabin) [3.40]
17. A Love You Song (Faure) [1.46]
Musicians:
- Trevor Rabin: Vocals, guitars, piano, electric piano, harmonica, tubular bells, string arrangements, producer
- Neil Cloud: Drums, percussion
- Duncan Faure: Vocals, rhythm guitar, organ, piano
- Ronnie Robot: Bass
- Margaret Singana: Guest vocals on 'Tribal Fence'
- Patric van Blerk: Producer
- Julian Laxton: Remix engineer
- Peter Thwaites and Greg Cutler: Engineers
Release information:
1977, Jo'Burg Records, TJL 13014
1977, Capricorn (USA/Canada), CP 0190
3.3 Rock Rabbitt
Tracks:
1. Rush Hour Scores
2. Mr. Muso
3. Love In My Heart
4. Within These Words
5. Rock 'N' Roll Part I & II
6. Getting Thru To You
7. I've Been Aware
8. Without Her Love
9. Hello And Welcome Home
10. Goodbye And So-Long
Musicians:
- Duncan Faure: Vocals, guitars, keyboards
- Ronnie Robot: Bass
- Neil Cloud: Drums
Release information:
1978, JoBurg Records, TJC(X)13025
