Report: Greg Phillips. Photos: Jason Rosewarne.
In mid-April this year, we received the terrible news that New Zealand-born bass great Roger McLachlan had died of complications from pancreatic cancer. Not many knew of Roger’s recent struggle as he wished to keep it private. Roger is known to many as Little River Band’s original bass player and the guy who laid down the wonderful fretless bass parts of John Farnham’s global hit ‘You’re The Voice’, as well as playing with progressive jazz outfit Pyramid, country rock band Stars and Geoff Achison and the Souldiggers to name a few.
Last Thursday 12th of June, family and friends gathered at Memo Music Hall in St Kilda to celebrate his life. The room was packed and included the who’s who of the Australian musician scene. At the back of the stage a stark black and white photo was projected on a screen. At the front left of stage, his bass sat alone in a stand, while a neon sign beamed out his nickname Noddy.
Roger’s sister Cheryl was first to speak and reflected on his life, telling us that his propensity to nod along to music as a child was how his nickname Noddy came about. Roger’s close friend and keyboard player John Grant then explained that for all musicians, there’s a ritual at any gig where musicians tinker with their instrument to warm up just after they arrive at a venue’s green room. John came to know Roger’s bass quirks well and knew that he was in the house when he heard a familiar slap, bend, or a signature McLachlan bass groove. Another amusing tale John related was about Roger’s pet peeves, one being when other musicians were taking up too much of the ‘bass space’, something Roger called ‘Low note violation’!
Next up was Academy Award nominated musician composer David Hirschfelder, who played with Roger in Pyramid. David revealed that Roger was a great teacher and was happy to share his significant knowledge with other musicians. Following David Hirschfelder, Australian drum legend David Jones spoke softly but deliberately about Roger’s immense talent. Jones and Hirschfelder, two of the world’s most respected musicians then came together to play a beautiful, delicate improvised piece.
Roger’s daughters Rachel and Bianca came to the podium and related many stories of their father taking them to concerts, including the famous Farnham Whispering Jack tour but also their special family time at home watching the cricket or going to the Boxing Day test with their dad at the MCG. Roger’s wife Desley then spoke about the amazing fun they had together and expanded on the quirkiness of her husband. Desley suggested that Roger had recorded a whole album worth of silly material written by the couple that they used to sing to their cats.
One of the day’s most poignant moments was seeing Geoff Achison and the Souldiggers on stage without their colourful bass stalwart Roger McLachlan. Nina Ferro took to the stage to sing a heartfelt version of Roberta Flack’s ‘The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face’, backed by Geoff on guitar, Gerry Pantazis on drums, Richard Tankard on keyboards and Chris Paraha on bass. Kudos to Chris for playing this weighty gig.
A collage of Roger Mclachlan photos was then presented before Stars arrived to play one of Australian music’s most evocative songs ‘Ocean Deep’, a song made famous by Broderick Smith, who performed it with Stars at the Andy Durant Memorial concert in 1980.
A one minute standing ovation was then summoned by the celebrant as The Souldiggers, fronted by Nina Ferro returned to the stage to play two songs that the band had performed at Roger and Desley’s wedding, Al Jarreau’s ‘We’re In This Love Together and The Bee Gees “How Deep is Your Love’. Richard ‘Tank’ Tankard then took over vocal duties on the uplifting ‘Gravitate Toward You’.
With that, the official proceedings were complete and the crowd merged to share their own Roger stories and who knows how much longer that part of the celebration went. It was a fitting send off for a great Australasian musician and character of the music world. We’ll certainly miss Roger McLachlan but at least we still have his music to listen to and remember him by.
My own personal reflections of Roger.
The first time I saw Roger play was in 1975 while I was in my fourth year at Fawkner Technical School. The school board had allowed our Student Representative Council to present lunchtime concerts and we were blessed to have Little River Band perform for us during the band’s first week of existence. Not to be outdone our rival school, Fawkner High had booked AC/DC for a night time gig but that’s another story. I recall being taken aback by the solid groove generated by the rhythm section of Roger McLachlan and drummer Derek Pellicci. Over the next five decades I experienced Roger’s solid groove and interesting notes choices on numerous occasions, from seeing Stars on Countdown or live at Bombay Rock to Australian jazz pioneers Pyramid at The Grainstore Tavern and of course hearing that iconic bass intro to ‘You’re The Voice’ on every radio station you turned the dial to.
Later when I was involved in the running of the Melbourne Guitar Show with the show’s producer Rob Walker, Roger would not only perform with the awesome Geoff Achison and the Souldiggers but he’d also stick around for the all-star jam. I remember acclaimed American blues guitarist Dennis Jones coming off stage after the jam and saying “Wow, who is that bass player. He’s something else!”
In 2019 Australian Musician was pleased to be present at The Firefly in St. Kilda where Roger presented his Past, Present and Future showcase, in which he took centre stage and performed music from the bands and artists he’d either been involved with or influenced by. It was also a chance to give his solo album Roger This, Roger That the launch it deserved but never really received when it was released back in 2012. It was a memorable night of vibrant music from an exceptional musician.
Also in 2019, as part of our Melbourne Guitar Show coverage we were fortunate to be invited to Roger’s home for an in depth interview about his carer and gear. Roger was quite candid about his career and opened up about his band experiences and of course we discussed his bass gear. You can view the interview HERE
Then just last year we recorded another interview with Roger and Stars singer Mick Pealing about the band’s Paradise Revisited Album. As expected, Roger was his cheeky, animated self. That interview can be viewed HERE.
I think the last time I spoke to Roger was at the Melbourne 10cc concert, where we briefly discussed the merits of the bass solo on the song ‘I’m Not In Love’, which features one of the world’s most famous bass solos. Of course another of world’s most famous bass solos is the one Roger laid down for John Farnham’s ‘You’re The Voice’, one of the many legacies that Roger has left behind. Vale Roger McLachlan.
At time of posting, a livestream of Roger’s celebration was available HERE