MPD Ltd or M. P. D. Limited were an Australian pop music band formed in 1965 by core members Mike Brady on lead vocals and guitar, Pete Watson on bass guitar and lead vocals, and Danny Finley on drums. They used their first initials to provide the name. Their popular singles were "

Little Boy Sad "Little Boy Sad" is a song written by Wayne Walker and performed by Johnny Burnette. The song reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart and #17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1961. The song appeared on his 1961 album, ''Johnny Burnette Sings''. The ...

" (July 1965) and "Lonely Boy" (October). MPD Ltd issued an album, ''The Best of MPD Ltd'', in 1966 on Go!! Records before disbanding in 1967. Pete Watson died of an illness on 30 April 1972.

History

MPD Ltd were formed in 1965 two months after Mike Brady on guitar had joined Melbourne instrumental group, the Phantoms, alongside Pete Watson on bass guitar. Brady and Watson left to perform beat pop music in the footsteps of the Beatles by adding vocals and were joined by Danny Finley (ex-Saxons, Sonics) on drums in May 1965. Three weeks later they supported United Kingdom visitors,

the Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark was the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964, they had their first UK top-ten single, ...

, and local artists, Tony Worsley and the Fabulous Blue Jays on an Australian tour. The trio were signed to Go!! Records by July 1965 to release their debut single, "

". It is a cover version of

Johnny Burnette John Joseph Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, Johnny, his brother Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison, formed the band that became ...

's 1961 hit. MPD Ltd's rendition reached No. 1 in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, No. 5 in Sydney and top 10 in Adelaide. They appeared on TV pop programmes, ''The Go!! Show'' and ''Saturday Date'', as well as touring Australia. According to 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 ...

, their performances "left their fans screaming for more. It revolved around a frantic, non-stop, 20-minute barrage of songs, Brady and Watson's carefully choreographed gymnastics and Finley's flamboyant drumming antics." The second single, " Lonely Boy (October 1965), was a cover of Paul Anka's 1959 single. It reached No. 3 in Melbourne and Perth. In 1965 they also issued a four-track extended play, ''Little Boy Sad''. " Walkin' in the Sand" (February 1966), a cover version of

the Shangri-Las The Shangri-Las were an American girl group of the 1960s, consisting of Mary Weiss, her sister Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss and twin sisters Marguerite "Marge" Ganser and Mary Ann Ganser. Between 1964 and 1966 several hit pop songs of theirs docu ...

1964 hit was MPD Ltd's third single, which reached the top 10 in Melbourne. They released their debut album, ''The Best of MPD Ltd'' in 1966. The group's following singles "No Regrets" (June 1966) and "Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder" (August) did not chart. From August to December of that year they relocated to the UK but "made little headway and decided to return home." The line-up was expanded in 1967 by Phil Blackmore on piano (ex- Normie Rowe and the Playboys),

Wayne Duncan Wayne Duncan is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Jonathon Sammy-Lee. He made his first screen appearance as Wayne during the episode broadcast on 4 February 1993. Wayne joins the teaching staff at Er ...

on bass guitar and Gary "Dick" Howard on drums. They issued a second four-track EP, ''MPD Ltd'', in 1967 and their final single, "Paper Doll" in March. However the group had broken up by that time. Early in 1967 Watson formed Rockhouse with

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

on lead guitar and vocals, when Finley joined on drums in late 1968 they were renamed MPD Ltd and undertook a tour of

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

, returned to Australia but split up soon after. Watson became ill during the late 1960s and died in Perth on 30 April 1972. Brady and Finley had been members of

Johnny Young Johnny Young (born Johnny Benjamin de Jong, 12 March 1947, Rotterdam, Netherlands) is an Australian singer, composer, record producer, disc jockey, television producer and host. He had a number-one hit with the double-A-sided single, "Step Bac ...

's backing band, Kompany, during 1967. In August Blackmore, Finley and Howard formed Wickedy Wak with Springfield. In the 1970s and 1980s Finley was the talent manager of his then-wife,

Colleen Hewett Colleen Hewett (born 16 April 1950) is an Australian singer and actress. Hewett's top 40 singles on the Kent Music Report include " Super Star", " Day by Day" (both 1971), " Carry That Weight" (1972), "Dreaming My Dreams with You" (1980 ...

. Brady turned to writing ad jingles and sporting-themed works including, "

Up There Cazaly "Up There Cazaly" is 1979 song by Mike Brady, written to promote Channel Seven's coverage of the Victorian Football League (VFL). It was first performed by the Two-Man Band, a duo of Brady and Peter Sullivan, and has since become an unofficial ...

" (1979).

Discography

Albums

* ''The Best of MPD Ltd'' (1966) – Go!! Records * ''The Wild Side of Life – The Musical Adventures of Mike, Pete and Danny!'' (1982) – Raven Records * ''M.P.D. Ltd: The Legendary Go!! Recordings'' (1996) – Canetoad Records

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MPD Ltd Musical groups established in 1965 Musical groups disestablished in 1967 Australian pop music groups Musical groups from Melbourne