In May 1965, local youth rebelled against what they thought were long boring speeches by the Mayor and other local notables, and demanded to hear their newest,
favourite rock band, instead. They pushed them aside shouting "We want Ray ..." Brown and the Whispers. Local authorities decried their actions as being a "youth riot".
Better Things To Do On a Cold Sunday
It's a cold Sunday afternoon in May 1965 at High Cross Park, Randwick. I was amongst hundreds and more school kiddies dressed in our winter school uniforms being
herded into school and class groups by teachers ready to march us down Coogee Bay Road towards Coogee Oval. Local dignitaries and a public audience had gathered to
celebrate the 1965 Commonwealth Youth Day. It was a day civic leaders thought up to instil the ideals of the British Commonwealth of Nations into our young minds.
And, boy, were we excited about that! Not really, because the dis-interest in the cause of a British Commonwealth was palpable. What held our interest was the promise
of a performance at the end of the proceedings by the latest top rock and roll band: Ray Brown and the Whispers.
Ray Brown and the Whispers
Ray and the Whispers had exploded onto the local Australian music scene a few months previously in 1964 with their smash hits 20 Miles, Devoted To You,
Fool Fool Fool and Pride. They were a reasonably talented group and vied with Normie Rowe, Stevie Wright and the Easybeats,
Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs in popularity among young music fans. Although clean-cut by today's standards the group, like any emerging popular or rock music
figures, were looked on with distrust by those in authority. Even at that young age, we all wondered what got into the minds of the good burghers or Randwick
to book the Whispers for the event.
Long Speeches
By the time we reached Coogee Oval, we were all tired, cold, thirsty and in need of toilets. But instead of relief we had to stand in neat rows listening to
what seemed to be interminable speeches about the messages from the Queen, the greatness of the British Commonwealth of Nations, and how we held the future of
this great institution in our hands ... The speakers were all middle-aged men in grey suits (although the Mayor of the time, Bill Haigh, (1924 - 2017)
was somewhat younger than his peers, had a full head of hair, and wore a nicely tailored and fashionable black, tight suit.
The dignitaries sat on a temporary covered stage with microphones on the western side of the oval flanked by groups of school army cadets and school bands on either
side. Ray and the Whispers stood waiting on a low temporary podium, with their equipment, on the eastern side of the oval.
Teenagers Rebel
Before long the neat ranks of uniformed children began to bend and wave, and heads began to bob as attention moved away from the speeches and to the band standing
silently on podium.
After a while, a murmur of younger voices started demanding "Ray", which turned into full throated calls for "We want Ray!, We want Ray!"
The Mayor did his best to try and quieten things down, but my lasting memory is of him throwing his hands in the air. This seemed to be a signal
for the young crowd to rush towards the band.
Before long the podium was surrounded by a cheering crowd of teenagers. One of the Aldermen grabbed a microphone and began shouting "Get back, get back!" When
this failed to have any effect, he raced to one side of the stage and started waving and yelling to the school army cadets "Get them back, get them back, move now".
Which must have been the only time in Australian history when an elected official tried to engage a uniformed military unit into action against a civilian crowd. The
army cadets rushed towards the band's podium only to join the chorus of "We want Ray!"
Ray and boys quickly seized up the situation, gathered their instruments, and to the cheers of the teenagers, starting belting out a familiar four/four beat and
twangy electric guitar riff:
Twenty miles from my house to your house
Twenty miles and I'm walking all the way
Twenty miles when you're in love is nothin'
And I've got to see my baby every day.
Never Invited Again!
Come Monday, and the Sydney press highlighted what they said was a riot by youth at Coogee Oval. I went to school that day with intrepidation about what the
Brothers would say, especially since we were wearing school uniforms, but their reactions were strangely muted. Oh well, said the Principal, there was
a disturbance at the Coogee event, but it was caused by "other schools". When I talked later to friends from those "other" schools involved, they reported similar experiences. Their
schools also shifted the blame to "other schools". However, I don't think there was Commonwealth Youth Day the next year, and Ray Brown and the Whispers never played at
another Randwick Council event.
