THE PURPLE HEARTS

The Purple hearts relaxing at Brisbane’s Primitif Junior, 1966. N.B. A young Lobby Loyde

The Purple Hearts was a major Brisbane band formed during the early 1960s. The brainchild of bass-player, Bob Dames, and featuring the vocal talents of Mick Hadley, plus the amazing guitar playing of a man who would become one of Australia’s true legends of rock ’n' roll, Lobby Loyde.

The picture was shot at Primitif Junior, in Piccadilly Arcade, Brisbane, where the band played regular daytime Saturday gigs, before the heavy-duty Saturday night events at venues such as the Red Orb. On the left of the picture is singer Mick Hadley, third from left is Lobby Loyde, and fourth from left is Bob Dames. Second from right is rhythm guitarist, Fred Pickard. On the right, in the Columbia shirt, is drummer Tony Cahill, who went on to join The Easybeats.