New World (3)

An early version of the group was called The Folksingers, which consisted of John “Fuzzy” Lee (guitar, baritone vocals), who was born on 9 March 1944, Ashtead, Surrey, England, and Mel Noonan (guitar, bass vocals), who was born on 10 November 1943, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Lee was a former carpenter and Noonan had been a television technician. As The Folksingers they performed around Brisbane clubs. In 1965, they added Robert Elford (guitar, tenor vocals), who was born in Townsville, Queensland, on 13 April 1932. For three consecutive years, they partook in the national TV talent quest show, "The Holden Showcase", finishing in the finals. In 1966 as The New World Trio, they recorded a David Kirkcaldie composition "What the World Needs" b/w "A Wise Proverb" which included narration by [a7111243]. Attracting the right attention, it was printed as a 45 r.p.m. record distributed by RCA. Selling for a dollar, the proceeds went to the Australian Freedom From Hunger Campaign.

Around 1968, Elford was replaced by John Kane, who was born on 18 April 1946, Glasgow, Scotland. The band signed with EMI and headed into the Albert Music studios in Sydney to where they recorded their their debut single "Try to Remember". They later relocated to the UK. They did well on the charts with "Tom-Tom Turnaround" being their biggest hit.