The Lighthouse Keepers were unique among the many independent music bands that were emerging or converging in Sydney in the early 1980s by espousing a loosely rehearsed casual ethos along with C&W humour, punk DIY attitudes and pure pop song craft. Evolving out of Tex Truck and the Semis,a student Talent Quest party band, three members originally migrated from Canberra ACT. Juliet Ward, Greg Appel and Stephen 'Hairy' O'Neil (the latter two having played together in The Grant Brothers and Guthugga Pipeline) were augmented by Michael "Blue" Dalton on national steel slide guitar and harmonica bringing an authentic country/blues style to arrangements as a foil to multi instrumentalist Stephen O'Neil's melodic and nifty bass/guitar/drums/ and C melody sax playing, perfectly complimenting the rich timbre and vocal ability of Juliet with Greg's understated but skillfully rendered jangling Maton 12 string guitar .For some time all members including Juliet were rotated to bass playing duties on stage and in the studio to facilitate various song arrangements. Early cassette recordings include a live performance of a Tim Spencer song "Cigareettes and Whuskey" originally recorded by The Sons of the Pioneers (replete with Juliet's dog "Chaos" contributing back up vocals) and also recorded by Willie Dixson's Big Three Trio as well as Red Ingle. A "demo" version of the country standard I Fall to Pieces imortalised by Patsy Clyne recorded late 1982 on a Sony 4 track and mixed to cassette featured vocals by Juliet accompanied by Greg playing guitar who then overdubbed bass and slide. LHK's first single was a 3 song 7 inch vinyl 45rpm released independently in 1983 on their own Guthega pipeline label. Sporting hand drawn cover art and disc labels the A side, the "Australian Gothic" styled "Gargoyle" featuring vocals by Juliet, was backed by another two songs which were sung by Greg; the Rockabilly influenced "Demolition Team" and a 12 string groove driven "Quick Sticks". All three original compositions written by Appel were laid down initially with Greg playing guitar and Stephen "Hairy O'Neil playing on a borrowed drum kit. Bass guitar was then overdubbed along with some deft harmonica and slide contributed by "Blue". Doubletracking of Juliet's vocals and also Greg's compressed 12 string dramatically expanded the mix on Gargoyle. Recorded at Dream studios Mk2 for $50 on a TASCAM 1/2 inch, 8 track reel to reel analog tape recorder running at 7 1/2 ips and mixed to 1/4inch 2 track 15 ips the audio engineer in keeping with the prevailing autodidactic DIY Zeitgeist sent the band off to purchase their own blank tapes and encouraged them to follow the production process including mastering by Don Bartley at EMI's 301 studios located in Castlereagh St Sydney and "test pressing" at the EMI Burwood record plant.Production costs were financed independently by the band. As if seemingly tumbling out of someone's 78 rpm record collection The Lighthouse Keepers' repertoire was initially steeped in Country, Blues folk Pop and Jazz which infused the melodic and lyrically engaging songs of Greg's melded with the intriguingly beautiful heartfelt vocals of Juliet. Along with song subjects of love and interpersonal relationships were instrumental contributions from O'Neil and Appel as well as a sprinkling of cover versions highlighting their musical influences such as St James Infirmary Blues and Big Noise from Winnetka. Other diverse influences included Australian legend Chad Morgan, songs such as A Dear John Letter by Ferlin Husky, and Rockabilly artists including Narvel Felts, as well as "the two Elvis's" and British pop music. LHK as they were becoming known recorded a second outing in mid 1983 with the addition of drummer/manager Steven Williams (along with Hairy, previously members of Sydney post punk pop band The Particles). The 12 inch 45rpm 6 track mini-album/EP Exploding Lighthouse Keepers showcased another five of Gregs songs and a Bo Carter classic "Whisky and Gin" (recorded direct to analogue 15 ips 2 track in the bathroom of a Redfern Terrace using Dream studio's equipment). All other tracks were again recorded at Dream studio Mk2 in an old warehouse, home to the band Non Fiction and a loose collective of aspiring musicians, singers, artists, illustrators, dabbling Super 8 mm film maker, screenprinters, writers, and artisans in the historic Haymarket area of Sydney. Contemporaries of Wet Taxis, Laughing Clowns and The Triffids, Hot Records released LHK's first album "Tales of the Unexpected" which was ably recorded and mixed by David Price one of the "house engineers" at Paradise Studios, a superb 24 track facility featuring Westlake Audio monitors, MCI Tape Recorders, Harrison mixing console and "state of the art" acoustics. "Tales" was both recorded and mixed at 30ips during ten midnight to dawn sessions Produced by the Lighthouse Keepers and John Basset, additional musicians played Mandolin, Banjo, Baritone Sax, Trombone and Trumpet. The band rose to the challenges of working at a fully professional level and took the opportunity to further develope their unique sound and music direction. Favorably reviewed by a local rock press (On the Street, Ram, and Juke) generally supportive of Australian Indie bands, LHK received airplay through the alternative radio stations 2SER, 2JJJ and similar community radio networks interstate. LHK also received a glowing review in the British music journal NME. Building up a loyal following whilst performing regularly along the East Coast of Australia along with treks across the Nullabour Plain to Perth WA, they released several more increasingly confident recordings (eg Seven Years) culminating in a low key tour of Europe in 1985 which included an outdoor festival in Rotterdam as well as gigs in Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Austria, returning to England support the Triffids in London. On return to Australia a travel weary LHK split after a 3 year career in 1986 holding a farewell show to a record attendance crowd at the Graphics Arts Club in the inner-city of Sydney. Appel and Ward went on to the shortlived Rainlovers, which evolved into the culmination of Appel's various musical outings, The Widdershins in 1987, including drummer Peter Timmerman, guitarist James Cruikshank (who subsequently joined The Cruel Sea), and bassist Barry Turnbull (ex- John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong). Widdershins had a good following around Sydney in the late 1980s, gained airplay on radio station Triple J and had music video clips played on the ABC's weekly late-night program Rage. Following the demise of Widdershins, Greg and his younger brother Steve Appel gigged occasionally with Ward, Timmerman and others in a loose-knit outfit called Hammerhead, before forming the semi-regular group One Head Jet ca. 1992, playing in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and other towns until about 1997. The fluid lineup included Timmerman, the youngest of the Appel clan, David (vocals, trumpet, percussion) and on occasion, in the latter stages of the band, guitarist Brendan Gallagher, later of Karma County. After the demise of One Head Jet, Steve Appel formed the Sydney-based trio King Curly. Greg Appel has limited his involvement in music since One Head Jet although he has contributed to his brother's recordings. Appel has worked for the ABC for many years and his long friendshhip with senior producer Paul Clarke led to him directing the landmark ABC music documentary series "Long Way To The Top". Amongst other projects of his currently in development is a musical set in a Caravan Park. The fourth Appel brother, Robert, is the founder of the pioneering and highly successful internet music retail website ChaosMusic (http://www.chaosmusic.com). Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.