''Easyfever'' by Australian rock and roll group

the Easybeats The Easybeats were an Australian Rock music, rock band that formed in Sydney in late 1964. They enjoyed a level of success that in Australia rivalled The Beatles. They became the first Australian rock act to score an international hit, with th ...

was their fourth official

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

. It was issued to coincide with the band's departure for the United Kingdom. It appeared in August 1966 and reached number one on the Australian singles charts, something that had only been achieved once before by an EP. The songs on the EP did not appear on any of the Easybeats' official studio albums, however, they were included as bonus tracks on the 1992 CD reissue of their ''

It's 2 Easy ''It's 2 Easy'' is the second studio album by Australian rock band the Easybeats. Released on 24 March 1966, the album featured four hit singles; "Wedding Ring", "Sad and Lonely and Blue", "Women (Make Me Feel Alright)" and "Come And See Her". ...

'' album.

Background

''Easyfever'' was named for fan reactions at

appearances, à la Beatlemania, which Australian musicologist,

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the ''Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist h ...

described, "During the mid-1960s, amid scenes of screaming teenage girls and mass hysteria ('Easyfever'), The Easybeats managed to issue a legacy of fine beat pop." Easyfever was organised by the group's talent manager, Mike Vaughan in collaboration with "radio, TV and teen magazines." The hysteria escalated after "

She's So Fine "She's So Fine" is a song written by Stevie Wright and George Young. It was originally recorded by the Australian rock Rock music in Australia, also known as Oz rock, Australian rock and Aussie rock, is rock music from Australia. The nation ...

" (May 1965) reached number three on the national singles chart. To maintain their teen appeal, Vaughan had a tight grip on the group's image; he directed that "Snowy

leet Leet (or "1337"), also known as eleet or leetspeak, is a system of modified spellings used primarily on the Internet. It often uses character replacements in ways that play on the similarity of their glyphs via reflection or other resemblance ...

s age was 'trimmed' by 5 years, Snowy and Harry

anda Anda or ANDA may refer to: Places China * Anda, Heilongjiang, a city in Heilongjiang, China * Anda railway station, a railway station in Anda, China Iran * Anda, Iran, a village in Fars Province, Iran Norway *Anda, Norway, an island in Øksnes ...

s marriages were concealed; visits to or from wives/girlfriends were strictly controlled, sometimes even forbidden." According to Duncan Kimball of ''Milesago'' website, "Fans followed them everywhere, routinely mobbing them at airports, hotels and venues. On several occasions the group had genuine reason to fear for their safety." In early 1966, while the group were touring Australia, Vaughan flew to New York City to secure an American recording contract with

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

. The group left for the United Kingdom on 10 July 1966. In August their label

Albert Productions Albert Productions, a division of music publishing and recording company Albert Music, is one of Australia's longest established independent record labels to specialise in rock and roll music. The label was founded in 1963 by Ted Albert, whose ...

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 19 ...

released the four-track extended play, ''Easyfever'', which had been recorded before the group had left. It was produced by

Ted Albert Edward Frank Albert (1937 – 11 November 1990) was an Australian early pioneer independent record production and founder of Albert Productions (part of his great grandfather's company Albert Music). In recognition of his contribution to the m ...

and reached number one on the Australian singles chart. Its most popular track, "I'll Make You Happy (Just Like Your Mama Wants)", was co-written by band members

Stevie Wright Stephen Carlton Wright (20 December 1947 – 27 December 2015) was an Australian musician and songwriter who has been called Australia's first international pop star. During 1964–69, he was lead singer of Sydney-based rock and roll band the ...

and

George Young George Young may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Young (filmmaker), Australian stage manager and film director in the silent era * George Young (rock musician) (1946–2017), Australian musician, songwriter, and record producer * Geor ...

, and reached number one on the local radio chart in Sydney and number seven in Melbourne.

Track listing

All songs written by

and

except as noted.

Charts

References

{{The Easybeats 1966 EPs Parlophone EPs