Mark Kennedy

Mark Kennedy (born 20 August 1951) is an Australian musician who has been the drummer for several artists including Spectrum (1969–70), Doug Parkinson in Focus (1971), Leo De Castro (1971–73), Ayers Rock (1973–76), Marcia Hines (1976–83), Men at Work (1985), Renée Geyer (1985–86, 1995–96) and Jimmy Barnes (2005).

Mark Kennedy was born on 20 August 1951 in Melbourne, Victoria and grew up there.

Kennedy was trained in classical piano at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music for six years.

In 1968 he was the drummer for Gallery, alongside Bill Putt on lead guitar.

Putt recalled that they had "Three girl singers in real short dresses, me on guitar, a bass-player and Mark Kennedy on drums."

In April 1969 Kennedy and Putt, now on bass guitar, formed a progressive rock group, Spectrum, with Lee Neale on organ (ex-Nineteen87), and Mike Rudd on guitar, harmonica and lead vocals (ex-Chants R&B, The Party Machine).

Brian Cadd had wanted Kennedy for his group, Axiom, "He had the sort of funky, slinky, laid-back style we were looking for."

Rudd remembered meeting Kennedy and Putt for the first time "Bill, of course being enormously tall, and Mark actually being a tiny little fella – he must’ve been around 5'3" or 4" or something… there was an astonishing kinda disparity between the two."

In September 1970 Kennedy formed King Harvest as a progressive rock group with Leo De Castro on vocals and guitar, Jimmy Doyle on guitar (Silhouettes, Aesop's Fables, Moonstone), Duncan McGuire on bass guitar (Phantoms, Epics, Questions, Doug Parkinson in Focus, Rush) and Steve Yates on keyboards (Rush, Expression).

Billy Green on guitar (Doug Parkinson in Focus) replaced Doyle; Green, in turn, was replaced by Rob MacKenzie, and then by Ray Oliver (The Light).

Kennedy remained with Spectrum until they recorded their debut album, Spectrum Part One (March 1971), in August 1970.

He had "lost patience" as the group "struggled for gigs (promoters found them 'too progressive')."

Rudd described Kennedy's impact on Spectrum: "[he] really carried us through the first year because people would say 'Wow, look at that drummer, they must be a good group'... He used to play things like drum solos!, but he was very good. By the same token, I was almost relieved to get away from that 'cause the emphasis swung back to the material and the band in general rather than one player."

Nevertheless, the group's debut single, "I'll Be Gone" (January 1971), which had been recorded while Kennedy was still a member, reached No. 1 on the Go-Set National Top 60 singles chart.

In January 1971 King Harvest issued a cover version of "Wichita Lineman", which peaked at No. 35 on the National Top 60.

By March 1971 Kennedy and McGuire had left King Harvest to join Doug Parkinson in Focus, which were a pop rock group led by Parkinson on vocals.

Due to legal disputes Parkinson found difficulties in recording at that time, although they released a single, "Purple Curtains" (September 1971).

Also during that year Cadd invited Kennedy and McGuire to work on Russell Morris' album, Bloodstone (August 1971).

By December Kennedy and McGuire had joined Leo De Castro & Friends.

The initial line-up included MacKenzie, Tim Martin on saxophone and flute, and Charlie Tumahai on vocals and percussion (Healing Force, Chain).

Friends appeared at the inaugural Sunbury Pop Festival in January 1972.

In August 1972 Friends released a single, "B-B-Boogie", which rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, described as "exceptional hard rock".

Duncan Kimball of MilesAgo website felt it was a "solid boogie-rock number."

The track was co-written by Kennedy with de Castro, McGuire and Tumahai.

Kimball preferred the B-side, "Freedom Train", which he opined was a "driving, prog-jazz" track that "became their signature tune", it was "one of the best Australian progressive recordings of the '70s."

McFarlane noticed that it was a "jubilant jazz-tinged" work.

Friends appeared at the Sunbury Pop Festival in January 1973 as a six-piece – Kennedy, de Castro, Green, Martin, McGuire and Oliver.

Three of their performances "Lucille", "Bird on a Wire" and "La La Song", were recorded for a live 3× LP album, Sunbury 1973 – The Great Australian Rock Festival (April) by various artists on Mushroom Records.

Soon after Green, Martin and Oliver left and, in April, Ray Burton joined on guitar (ex-Delltones, Executives).

In June a four-piece line-up of Kennedy, Burton, de Castro and McGuire performed "Freedom Train" and McGuire's newly written track, "Lady Montego", at one of the final concerts at The Garrison venue.

The tracks were issued on the live album, Garrison: The Final Blow, Unit 1, by various artists on Mushroom Records.

Burton, McGuire & Kennedy all left de Castro in June 1973 to form an eponymous trio.

They added Doyle in August and became Ayers Rock, a jazz fusion, progressive rock group, by September.

That group's lead single was a cover version of "Lady Montego", which also appeared on their debut album, Big Red Rock (November 1974).

Also late in 1974 Ayers Rock members, including Kennedy on drums and percussion, were session musicians for solo singer-songwriter, Jim Keays, debut album, The Boy from the Stars.

Solo singer, Marcia Hines (ex-Daly-Wilson Big Band), provided backing vocals.

At the January 1975 Sunbury Pop Festival, Keays performed most of the album live, with three Ayers Rock members (Brown, McGuire and Kennedy) joining the ensemble to record, "Nothing Much Left" and "Urantia".

Ayers Rock also performed at that festival.

From July to September they promoted Big Red Rock in the United States and Vancouver.

At the end of that tour they recorded their second album, Beyond (April 1976), in Los Angeles.