BEATHOVEN - Live At Pasco Vale High School 1977 BEATHOVEN

Beathoven At Pascoe Vale High School 1977 is a previously unreleased live album from the legendary Tasmanian ’70s pop revivalists/power pop precursors Beathoven, who later turned into The Innocents. Loved by the current generation of indie power poppers, including The Lemon Twigs, Beathoven appeared some years ahead of the punk/new wave-inspired power pop explosion of ’78 with a sound that was equal parts Cavern Club and later-day Beatlerock like Badfinger and Rockin’ Horse, and briefly rose to prominence alongside the emerging punk scene. They only released three singles in their day, but they recorded numerous demos, some of which were released on an ’80s Raven Records Beathoven/Innocents collection.

An essential addendum to that release, Beathoven At Pascoe Vale High School 1977 sounds not unlike The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl transposed to a ’70s suburban Melbourne high school.

Recorded in stereo courtesy of two mics taped to the front of the stage, and with nearly as much screaming as there is music, this is a raw, raving snapshot of a young band living out their big beat fantasies for the world to see and hear.

Once described by Kim Fowley as the Bay City Rollers of Tasmania, Beathoven were a mid-’70s phenomenon on the Apple Isle, genuine hitmakers and heartthrobs, and they moved to the Australian mainland in ’77, on the back of two local hits, hoping to break nationally. Somewhat unsuited to the pub circuit, the band decided to play high schools to get themselves heard. It worked; this very recording helped them get a deal with EMI.

Bizarrely though, the label wanted them to ditch the early Beatles style, and they sat on their hands while the band amassed a legion of school-age fans to rival what they had at home. After one single and a Best New Group nomination on TV’s Countdown Awards, which caused a small riot when another group won, Beathoven were cut loose. They were still label-less when Fowley met up with them in Melbourne around Christmas ’78, and the next chapter began.

Beathoven At Pascoe Vale High School 1977 is at once a time capsule of more innocent times and a breathless blast of rampant rock ’n’ roll pop hooks. It is an essential listen for students of power pop history and the Australian rock scene alike.