Editing Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs (section)

===1963–1968: Beginning===
Originally a four-piece instrumental group called The Vibratones’ who had released a Surf instrumental single, "Expressway" b/w “Man of Mystery”, they formed in Sydney in 1963. With the advent of the Merseybeat sound, they added a lead singer, [[Billy Thorpe]]. His powerful voice and showmanship (which eventually made him one of the most popular and respected rock performers in Australian music), completed the original line-up, which consisted of drummer Col Baigent, bassist John "Bluey" Watson and guitarists Brian Bakewell and [[Vince Maloney]] (who as Vince Melouney, later became a member of [[The Bee Gees]]). Brian Bakewell left the band shortly after [[Billy Thorpe]] had joined and was later replaced by Tony Barber.

The group broke through in mid-1964 with their cover of the [[Leiber and Stoller]] classic "[[Poison Ivy (song)|Poison Ivy]]", which famously kept [[The Beatles]] from the No. 1 spot on the Sydney charts at the very moment that the group was making its first and only tour of Australia—a feat which resulted in Thorpe being invited to meet the Fab Four at their hotel. Over the next twelve months the band reigned supreme as the most popular 'beat' group in Australia, scoring further hits with the songs "Mashed Potato", "Sick and Tired" and "[[Somewhere Over the Rainbow]]", until they were eclipsed by the emergence of [[The Easybeats]] in 1965. The band's recording success confirmed [[Albert Productions]], their recording company, with its worldwide distribution deals through EMI and Parlophone, as one of the most important in Australia's embryonic pop industry.

During 1965 the original Aztecs quit after a financial dispute, so Thorpe put together a new five-piece version consisting of drummer Johnny Dick, pianist Jimmy Taylor, guitarists Colin Risbey and Mike Downes and NZ-born bassist Teddy Toi. This group performed until 1966, scoring further hits with "[[Twilight Time (1944 song)|Twilight Time]]", "Hallelujah I Love Her So", "[[Baby, Hold Me Close]]", "Love Letters" and "Word For Today".

Thorpe went solo in 1967 and for a brief time hosted his own TV show, ''It's All Happening'', but personal problems and a widely publicised bankruptcy brought this phase of his career to an end in 1968.