TERRY BRITTEN

In the mid-1960s Terry Britten gained national fame in Australia as the lead guitarist and main songwriter for The Twilights, one of the top pop Aussie bands of their day. In the late 1960s, around the time that the group split up, Terry began to establish himself as a writer and producer for other artists. His first credited work as a producer was for the band Zoot, writing and producing their early 1969 single "1x2x3x4", which was a moderate hit for them. He also wrote two other tracks for the band ("Yes, I'm Glad" and "She's Alright"), which were included on their debut LP Just Zoot and he presumably produced both these recodings as well.

Just after the breakup of The Twilights, Britten released a solo single, "2000 Weeks", a song inspired by the landmark Tim Burstall film of the same name. He then moved back to his native England, where he teamed up with old friends  Kevin Peek, Alan Tarney and Trevor Spencer (ex-James Taylor Move) in the band Quartet. They released one single, "Now" on Decca before disbanding in late 1969; a much-touted Quartet album, Joseph, never saw the light of day.

Terry then briefly partnered with Brian Peacock (ex-Procession) in the band Homer. Terry then concentrated on honing his craft as a songwriter, sometimes working in collaboration with Tarney and/or Spencer and B.A. Robertson. In the 1970s Terry established himself as one of the leading pop writers of the period, penning major hits for artists including Cliff Richard ("Devil Woman", We Don't Talk Anymore"), Tina Turner ("What's Love Got To Do With It") and Countdown discovery (the late) Christie Allen.

Among his many stellar credits, Terry wrote "Just Good Friends" with Graham Lyle, which was included on Michael Jackson's mega-selling Bad album. Finally, too, he fulfilled his long-time ambition to secure a film soundtrack song, winning a Grammy for his theme to the movie Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome, Tina's hit song "We Don't Need Another Hero".

These days, Terry continues to compose from his home base in rural England, although he has returned to Australia on several occasions for reunion performances by The Twilights.

Production credits

Zoot
Jan. 1969
"1 x, 2x, 3x, 4" / "Sailing" (Columbia DO-8605)
Produced by Terry Britten


Terry Britten (solo)
1969
"2,000 Weeks" / "Bargain Day" (Columbia DO-8711)
Composed, performed and produced by Terry Britten

References / Links

Ian McFarlane
Encyclopedia of Australia Rock & Pop (Allen & Unwin, 1999)

Beeb Birtles official website