WARREN WILLIAMS - AUSTRALIAN ROCK N ROLL PIONEER

THE WILLIAMS BROTHERS were born with music in their blood. Their father Warren Williams is known as one of the true pioneers of Rock n Roll music in Australia.

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Born in Sydney in 1940, Warren Sr was a boy soprano, trained by his mother, a classical piano teacher, with the ambition of one day becoming an Operatic Tenor. This all changed when at the age of 15 he went along to see the movie “Blackboard Jungle” a film about teenage rebellion which featured the Bill Haley song “Rock Around the Clock”. From that moment on he knew he was going to be a Rock n Roll Singer.

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He formed a group called The Squares in 1957 and began to play local youth halls and surf club venues. The group released their debut single "My Teenage Love" in December 1959 on the Festival Label charting across Australia. This was quickly followed by further national hits including "Kath-a-Leen" and the self written “Where My Baby Goes”.

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Making his first television appearance on “Six O’clock Rock” hosted by Johnny O’Keefe in July of 1959 he was voted amongst the top 5 artists on the show. This was followed by a featured spot on Lee Gordon’s “Big Rock n Roll Show” at Sydney Stadium along with fellow local stars Johnny O’Keefe, Col Joy, Lonnie Lee, Johnny Devlin, and The Deltones, headlined by American movie star Fabian.

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By the end of 1960, Williams left the Squares to pursue a solo recording and television career. He became a household name as one of the key performers on Australia’s most popular television show of the time Brian Henderson’s “BANDSTAND”.

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Several Top 40 hits followed. His popularised versions of Classical songs “A Star Fell From Heaven” and “Girls Were Made to Love and Kiss” earned him a loyal fanbase and a reputation as one of the country’s best singers of the era.

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Song writing continued producing further successful recordings including “Just Like A Child”, “Too Proud To Cry” and “It’s Party Time”, the later recorded by Petulia Clarke in French becoming a Number 1 across Europe.

 

With the emergence of The Beatles in 1963, Rock n Roll as we knew it saw a decline in popularity in the years that followed, and it was here that Williams focused on live performance. His charisma and ability to connect with his audience enabled him to become one of the first Australian rock stars to establish a long lasting career as a cabaret performer.

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Singing was a natural part of life in the Williams household. Warren Jr, Darren and Andrew grew up listening to and singing the harmonies of their favourite performers, everything from old Rock n Roll, Disco Classics, Simon and Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, The Beatles and of course Andrew’s favourite KISS were on their nightly playlist. But it is without a doubt that The Bee Gees had the biggest impression on their love for singing together.

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In 1985 they first began to perform professionally together along with their father, and it was here where THE WILLIAMS BROTHERS musical career was born.

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THE WILLIAMS BROTHERS have a magic chemistry of harmony and stage presence that only brothers can produce. They were truly born to entertain!