Growing up in the States I only knew ''Friday On My Mind'' by The Easybeats. Then I heard the rest of this man's music when I moved down under in 1979. My Aussie girlfriend (now my wife) and I spent a week in Sydney and managed to get caught up with this crowd. We couldn't walk our way out, we just stayed the whole day and got to experience this incredible event. I remember this like it was yesterday.

Just an outstanding song - every aspect of it is timeless.

Always loved Stevie Wright. Such a ball of energy. Like a comet, he flared bright then burned out. Very sad fate, but here he looks healthy and performs wonderfull. Bless you Stevei RIP

This song was written by Vanda and Young, not Stevie Wright. Evie died in childbirth, nothing to do with drugs, a line in the song said it was a one in a million thing that went wrong. The band was amazing. The two sisters singing backups were an act called Cheetah, the guitarist in the orange shirt was Malcolm Young from ACDC, and I think most of the others were musicians connected to Albert Studios, sort of an All Star band.

The 1st part is about meeting her. The 2nd part is a gentle love song about how much he loves her & their future child. The last part is about losing her in childbirth, which is why it seems so crazy & manic. He's losing her & there's nothing he can do to stop it. Nothing to do with drugs at all.

Evie was written by Harry Vanda and George Young. They were from Stevie's previous band The Easybeats. George Young and Harry Vanda were also Flash & The Pan and their song ''Hey Saint Peter'' was one of my favourite 70's songs. It'd be nice if you listen to it sometime.

Stevie was great! But by God look at our harbour and the Opera House. It's always been magnificent.

This guy knows how to perform. I would have liked to see him live.

I'm one of the figures on stage, but in the background. I had to do some work for that concert. My ears were ringing for weeks after. RIP Little Stevie Wright

The Concert of the Decade, October 1979. I was there with about 200,000 other Sydney siders. It was a great day, with all the biggest acts in Australia from the 70s performing their biggest hits of the era. A free concert put on by radio station 2SM.

I am not sure you got the song meaning. Evie Part I was about meeting and falling in love, Part II about expecting a baby together, and Part III is all about the anguish and pain of losing the one he loved in childbirth. In Part 3, it stated that in the morning when he woke, he felt like he was the King of the World. He was excited about the birth of his child. Most men in this time were not allowed in the room with their wives and partners. He was told to wait and basically that childbirth is a natural thing…….but every now and then something happens ie something goes wrong, and with each passing minute the one he loved was slipping away from him. He was begging for help, and he then thought it would have to be a bad dream, and he wanted to wake up from the nightmare 😢😢 I don’t know about anyone else, but I always get tearing up in part II. Lyrics - I got some money in my pocket, I got the car keys in my hand I got myself a couple of tickets, to see a rock′n rollin' band Come on girl just get on your shoes, we′re gonna hear some sounds Come on babe you know there ain't no time to mess around-round-round... Evie, Evie, Evie let your hair hang down Evie, Evie, Evie let your hair hang down Evie, Evie, Evie let your hair hang down Evie, Evie, let your hair hang down You got the body of a woman, the way you move it like a queen You got the face to raise a riot, and still you're only seventeen But little girl you′re oh so shy, you hardly make a sound Come on babe you know there ain′t no time to mess around-round-round... Evie, Evie, Evie let your hair hang down Evie, Evie, Evie let your hair hang down Evie, Evie, Evie let your hair hang down Evie, Evie, let your hair hang down Aaaahhhhhhh So won't you try it baby, I′ll take you by the hand 'Cause there′s a world out there for you, you're goin′ to understand You've got the chance so take it, you've just gotta pick and choose Why don′t you give it just one try, I know you can′t lose The body of a woman, you nearly make me lose my breathe You know you give me such a feeling, you almost scare me half to death ow! But little girl you're so reserved, you hardly make a sound Come on baby, don′t you be so shy, don't mess around (round, round, round, round) Ow, Evie, Evie, Evie let your hair hang down (yeah, yeah, yeah) Evie (yeah), Evie, Evie let your hair hang down (Aaaahhh) Evie, Evie, Evie let your hair hang down Evie, Evie, let your hair hang down Let your hair hang down, let your hair hang down.(fade to end) (Come on baby, there′s a world out there for me and you to share. Try it girl, let your hair hang down) Evie, There seems so much to say But if you know me well you'd understand the way I do Evie, Must be a better way to say the things I feel The love I only know with you But I don′t know what it is that makes me feel the way I do Oh Evie, I'm nothing without you Evie, The sun is shining now My eyes are open now, I see so much I never knew Evie, I want to thank you now for giving me this child So much a part of me and you But I don't know what it is that makes me feel the way I do Oh Evie, Oh Evie, Ohhh Evie So much in love with you When I woke this morning I was king of the world Longing to know if we had a boy or a girl Yes I had a feeling as proud as any man Could ever hope to be Without any woman I don′t know where I am It seems so unreal That I just can′t understand With each passing minute The one that I love Is slipping away from me Before I know it I'm losing you (yeah yeah) Losing you, Losing you (I′m losing you) Before I know it I'm loseing you (yeah yeah) Losing you (ah) Losing you There′s no need to worry I can still hear them say (still hear them say) For every minute every hour every day (every day) So just you relax Take the weight off your back There's nothing you can do For how could they know this simple thing could go wrong For once in a million It just happens along (happens along) I can′t understand it I can't think at all I don't know what to do Before I know it I′m losing you (oh oh) Losing you, Losing you (I′m losing you) Before I know it I'm losing you (losing you) Losing you (ow), Losing you Yeah, I′m losing you I can't believe this is happening I can′t believe this is real I don't believe I can take anymore I can′t carry on, no, I can't carry on When I had the faith well I'd go down on my knees Will somebody help me Won′t somebody please So tell me I′m sleeping Just tell me I'm dreaming I wake up again Before I know it I′m losing you (losing you) Losing you, Losing you (I'm losing you) Before I know it I′m losing you (oh yeah) Losing you (yeah) Losing you Before I know it I'm losing you (losing you) Losing you (losing you) Losing you (yeah) Before I know it I′m losing you (losing you) Losing you (yeah) Losing you (I'm losing you) Losing you I'm losing you (losing you) I′m losing you (losing you) Yeah yeah I′m losing you I'm losing you This was written by his former band mates, Harry Vanda and George Young. Epic. PS whilst it is well known that Stevie had issues with drugs, he was injured in electric shock treatment in Rehab. It ruined his life and career. Such a shame, as he was a superstar, who started as lead singer at just 16 years of age. Just like my favourite artist Jimmy Barnes. RIP Stevie🕊️🕊

Great performance by the whole band not just Stevie Wright.

Flash And The Pan - Hey, St. Peter - Official Video 1976 - Remastered Austech

Also, and it's probably mentioned earlier in the comments but one of the writers of this rock opera and Easybeats and Flash in the Pan members, George Young, had two younger brothers. Malcolm and Angus, both the driving force behind AC/DC, though both George and Malcom are dead now, having left this mortal coil less than a fortnight between each other.

I got to see Stevie Wright twice. First time was in London in 1966 when he fronted The Easybeats, and The Easybeats reunion in 1987. He had a lot of faults, but professionalism wasn't one of them. He gave it his 110%.

The Easybeats were a first-rate 1960s Australian rock group that specialized in especially catchy and energetic songs. The band was first formed in 1964 in Sydney, Australia. The members were Stevie Wright (vocals), George Young (rhythm guitar), Harry Vanda (lead guitar), Dick Diamonde (bass) and Gordon "Snowy" Fleet (drums). The Easybeats soon amassed a large following in their native Australia. In fact, they were so enormously popular that their substantial fame was dubbed "Easyfever". From 1965 to 1966 the group enjoyed a steady succession of excellent and exciting Australian radio hits that include "For My Women," "She's So Fine," "Wedding Ring," "Sad and Lonely and Blue," "Come and See Her," "Women (Make You Feel Alright)," "I'll Make You Happy," and "Sorry." They scored a massive international smash with the fabulously punchy and thrilling working-class anthem "Friday on My Mind"; this song not only was a #1 hit in Australia, went to #6 in England and cracked the US Top 20 at #16, but also was a Top 10 hit in Germany, Holland, France and Italy. The record ultimately sold over a million copies worldwide. The group capitalized on the song's meteoric success by touring with The Rolling Stones in Europe and also in America. Peace out.

There are three people that really make the entire 20 minutes of this video a worthwhile experience. Stevie Wright. The lady host in the green top. The happy young sheila in the pink grinning ear to ear at Stevie on the lip of the stage. Thanx for the reaction. I've subbed.

Love the way you are so respectful of the songs you review even if you don't particularly like them great channel.All the best from Australia.👍🇦🇺

best ozzie song ever written and performance. Evie dies in childbirth. It's not a song about drugs , it's a song about young love and young death and total inexplicable loss. Thanks for your great content.

The Easybeats vs. Divinyls - I'll Make You Happy (Audio + Video merge 2024) This could make a good comparison video. Both versions are merged in video title above.

Epic!

I was there, off to the east of the opera House, up near the fences for the Domain. Great concert.

I was at that concert; I was 4 rows back from the stage. Thanks for showing the video & thank you for the memories. RIP Stevie

What a day that was! November 4th of 1979. The 2MS Roctober ''Concert Of The Decade'' concert at the Sydney Opera House. I was there with my mates, somewhere in the front row. It had been a good decade for home grown music, and as a regular concert goer and gig rat, it was great to see the multitude of names come on stage and perform their hits. When Stevie Wright was announced, a lot of us thought nothing of it because he was a has-been.. But he blew us away as you can see in this video, and we all thought the future would be bright and peachy for him and the rest of us. Six weeks later, the decade was concluded on New Year's Eve with bottles and objects being hurled at performers at the Sydney Opera House, including The Angels, who were forced to stop after singer Doc Neeson, and bassplayer, Chris Baily, got a hit on the head with bottles. It was funny when it happened to Rolf Harris, but not The Angels. Can't say much more. RIP Stevie Wright

We all loved the song: all three parts 🎉

Holy moses, I was at this concert! Ted Mulry Gang, Dragon, Split Enz, Radiators, Richard Clapton, Sherbet and a lot more. I was so distant that I could only enjoy the music and the stick figure doing karate kicks.

Driving home late at night it would come on the radio and cars would start to pull over. You would very rarely hear pts 1,2&3 played, just pt1., was just too long during the day. Keep it up.

Well, now it seems you know the real story from all the very informative comments here. This was the first 3 part rock song ever, which I thought was pretty amazing. I love a good story in a song, even one as tragic as this one. As you've already been told, this was written by Harry Vander, lead guitar of easy beats and George Young, rhythm guitar from easy beats, plus older brother of Malcolm and Angus from AC/DC. You might like to explore one more song from Stevie Wright, called black eyed bruiser. Then explore Vander and Young's own band Flash in the pan. They do a song called walking in the rain, made famous by Grace Jones, which would be a great comparison song to do. Also check ou0t down among the dead men, their only almost hit song from the 80's and hey St Peter. Cheers! So glad you got around to this one, great reaction too, even though you didn't quite get the gist. Stevie always gave it everything, that's what made him so great 😘💖

Another of Stevie's later hits was Giitar Band, about a young guy wanting to be in a guitar band, great rick with, of course, great guitar work.

Thank you for checking this out. The song was written and produced by George Young and Harry Vanda. Vanda and Young were the guitarists and songwriters of The Easybeats. After the group dispanded in 1969, Vanda and Young became hit writers and producers for Sydney label Alberts Productions. Alberts had a strong roster of talent, including George Young's younger brothers and their band, AC/DC. The success of Harry and George afforded them to have their own studio product called Flash & The Pan. Below are essential Flash & The Pan videos that should be checked out. Flash And The Pan - Hey, St. Peter - Official Video 1976 - Remastered Flash And The Pan - Down Among The Dead Men - Official Video - 1978 Flash And The Pan - Welcome To The Universe - Official Video 1980 - 4K Remastered Flash and The Pan - Media Man (1980) Antipodes Flash And The Pan - Waiting For A Train (full clip) stereomusicvideo Flash And The Pan - Where Were You stereomusicvideo Flash And The Pan - Midnight Man stereomusicvideo Flash And The Pan - Ayla (1987) ClassicVideos80s

Childbirth took Evie from Stevie.

Me and a few mates saw him and his band down at the Vauxhall Inn in Paramatta in the western suburbs of Sydney in the early 1990's absolutely brilliant 👍 We played pool most of the night but we always stopped after every song and gave them a round of applause. If I had my time again I would have stopped playing pool and sat down and watched the entire show, another regret in life. Fantastic pub gig!

Written by his former band-mates Vanda and Young - the "Lennon-McCartney" of Australia They were all 'new Australians' and met around a migrant transit camp in Villawood in SW-Sydney. (This place is now called Villawood Immigration Detention Centre)

Evie part 1 is one of the greatest songs ever, I always have the studio version in my car's random mix and turn it up whenever it comes on.

Great reaction guys. I have not met a person yet who doesn’t like this song. Sad to say though, the song is about death in childbirth. Stevie Wright was always an energetic performer, with his heart & soul. At 4.45, have you ever seen anybody else do a front flip in tight denim jeans & Cuban heels? Cheers.

One of the best songs of all time!! I still have the 45 that I bought when I was 14. Stevie Wright still a legend to so many of us!

I’ve never heard of the man , don’t know any of his work nor his struggles , nor why this was a comeback and his back story , it’s an ok piece of music and I’m quite happy on this occasion to sit back and read our Aussie cousins comments n piece together the story from that and listen to the testimony from those there at the time . ✊ 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

addendum, as concerns Stevie's drug addiction. He was addicted to Heroin early on and seeking treatment to escape the clutches of the drug he entered therapy at Chelmsford Private Hospital where he was treated by Dr Harry Bailey, a psychiatrist, with a controversial deep sleep therapy with placed the patient into a coma while undergoing Electro Therapy. Virtually all of the patients suffered brain damage from the treatment and after the public fallout from the treatment Dr Bailey committed suicide. Stevie died on the twenty seventh of December 2015 at the age of sixty-eight from Pneumonia. He struggled with his addictions most of his life and was wheelchair bound for the last few years of his life. He reached the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in his life He is an Australian icon and a Rock icon, and he was a black belt in Karate. He was much more than a druggie.

I'm sure half of Sydney was at this concert. Tee hee! I was there, and I got very drunk on whatever was in the goon bag.

Love this. Also brilliant cover of this song by a ba d called The Wright's. A massive super group full of Australia's top artists

Evie part 1 was also covered by Suzi Quatro. It was written by Stevie's 2 Easybeats band mate Harry Vanda and George Young . They become a Australia's biggest songwriters and producers in the 70's and 80's. If you didn't pick up it was about some falling in love with Evie them falling pregnant and her dieing in child birth.Shout out to the Neville nobody and George Yonger's, younger brother who George asked him to play rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young co-founder with younger brother Angus of AC/DC RIP Malcolm. Vanda and Young also wrote Guitar Band and Blackeyed Bruiser for Stevie wright as well as wrote some songs for AC/DC and produced thier first 5 Albums as well as The Angels and Ted Mulry Gang and Rose Tatoo and John Paul Young, no relation. Harry Vanda and George Young also had a band in the 70's and 80's called Flash in the Pan and were mentioned in Dire Straits song Sultanas of Swing they are guitar George and Harry doesn't mind. Malcolm and Angus's nephew Stevie replaced Malcolm when he died. Stevie is Malcolm and Angus's elders brothers Alex Young son.

This was an 11 minute epic that radio didn’t know what to do with….. but they got behind it and played every bit of the 11 minutes….. and a legendary song was born…. This song is about teenage pregnancy and death in childbirth….. Vanda / Young became in house producers and songwriters for Alberts Music….. if you know Love is in the Air ….. a Vanda / Young song and so many more.

Backing vocals next level 🔥👍

awesome! i got to see him in 1988 and he put 100% into the performance. RIP Little Stevie.

I was at this concert. Fantastic day with great music, and Stevie was the highlight. I was Easybeats crazy in the 60's, and adored Stevie Wright. Even thought I was a little disturbed by his bearded appearance, I was happy to see him back. Considering all that he had been though, I say he had a good innings when he died at 68.

Ace !!! Performance !!! I was about 11 or 12 and with my parents and sister. I hadn't heard ''Evie'' in five years when Stevie came jumping on the stage and reminding me of this classic. Living in England during the second half of the 70's deprived me of hearing this song, but Stevie came to remind me. Everybody else (Dragon, Sherbet, TMG) were also good.

This was massive back in the 80s....

I’m devastated now I know what the song is about. I caught some parts early on but I didn’t get some until I read the comments on some videos of the song

Thank God you didn't do a ''Who Did It Better'' on this one! Part 1 has been covered by Suzie Quatro and Pat Travers, and all three parts was covered by The Wrights. And the studio recording of this tune is also killer.

try and find the tribute band - The Wrights - they did a fantastic version of evie I, II, III. The band is made up of lots of Aussie 90//2000's rock legends

Stevie Wright and The Radiators owned that day in my opinion. I was there and I could barely move from where I was. Kudos to the people that managed to get themselves hanging from the lip of the stage. Like Kaitlyn Batt mentioned, the crowd were less positive on New Year's Eve a few weeks later. Unfortunately, I was at the NYE festival where the performers were pelted with objects, which led to Doc Neeson of The Angels getting his head hit by a bottle

From what I can tell, it's the boys from Sherbet who are the backing band. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I can appreciate the performance..

Any chance of Stevie Wright's Black Eye Bruiser? Next

I was there!! It was radio 2SM's big concert, I think it was called Rocktober. It was a big show, Think Lizzy and Wha-koo were the over seas acts (Wha-koo had a great song, Fabulous Dancer). Lots of Australian talent too.

One day in the distant future, there should be a ''Who Did It Better'' for Evie. The original recording vs Suzi Quatro (1978) vs Pat Travers (1978) vs The Wrights (2005?)... There's a video clip for the original Evie that has a much younger Stevie Wright. Seems like people are wanting the original recording. Stevie Wright - Evie part 1,2,3 *nzoz1974*

Yeah, not too shabby

Malcolm Young from AC/DC played guitar on the original recording of this. Gotta love Chrissie & Lyndsay Hammond from Cheetah on backing vocals too as they are really intergral to making it work.

Yep, sad story....but what a classic. The man could sing. RIP. The studio version is just as good as this one. Big hit down here. The two ladies on backing vocals are a duo called 'Cheetah' who were great singers, cool and a teenagers crush :) Oh, one final note. That band is on point. Tasty.

First time I heard this was in the 70's. I was baffled because I thought the second part was a different song, and was wondering what was with the name Evie that two different songs need the name in the lyrics. 11 minute song in 3 parts on the top of the charts was not a usual thing in the mid 70's. George Young and Harry Vanda were geniuses.

This song was # 1 in Australia when I was 9, and I thought part 3 was about her dumping him and taking off with the kid. I was a little upset when I found out what part 3 was really about. This was a triumphant performance and could have relaunched him. Cheers, Hayley

Great Aussie music.

I was so in love with this song when I was young. I went to a concert to see him sing it but unfortunately he couldn’t perform because of his substance issues. Still Hush And first look at Skyhooks made it worthwhile

I prefer the studio version

Whilst the live version is wonderful, you really need to listen to the studio version. It's just amazing and part 2 is much better imho.

Stevie Wright although a drug user was a victim of Chelmford hospital sleep therapy where they drugged the patient so they slept through the withdrawal and then electric therapy was given with many receiving brain damaged...This become a huge scandal....Stevie did break his ankle while on tour and had to sit on a stool to complete the schedule.

I was there and it was hard work getting close to the stage. Stevie was great, Dragon was fine, Sherbet were professional, The Radiators were new, Richard Clapton was boring.. and the Johnny O'Keefe allstar tribute was a good end of the night. One day give Stevie Wright's ''Black Eyed Bruiser'' a play. It's an early concert clip where he looks 20 years younger and messed up.

He lost her because she died in childbirth. The upbeat tempo kind of masks the very sad message of part III. Also, whoever transcribed the lyrics didn't do the best job.

Choice between his baby and wife at birth

Stevie Wright's performance was where it's at But one is trying whilst the other is a little flat There are some facial expressions I would rather not see The last Models and Jona Lewie react video particularly It's more than just the music Some people are just wanting to share a little of themselves Take it as a hint...

Not the radio DJ, then?

Age of consent in Straya is 16 if u worry about Evie being *17

Part 3 isn't about him losing Evie because she got sick of his issues.

Not about drugs rather child birth were she dies

He lost the love of his life while she was giving birth to their child due to a medical complication. So is it fair to blame the drugs, or is it more likely he lost himself in drugs because he couldn't cope with such grief?

The studio version is much better

🤔 Part 3: He woke up that morning feeling very proud about becoming a dad. And to celebrate this occasison he takes drugs! But this simple thing goes wrong, one in a million a bad trip just happens along, and all his mates are telling him ''take the weight off your back, man. There's nothing you can do! Just enjoy the trip, man''. But Evie, who Stevie dearly loves, is embarrassed that the father of her first child is running around the streets naked, screaming about how if he had faith, he'd be down on his knees because he can't believe this trip is happening, he can't believe it is real! In the meantime, Evie packs up her shit and leaves him. Evie: The Ballad of a druggy that loses everything. Such a sad song! Edit: I'm being sarcastic. I loved the days before the internet when I didn't have to mix with dense people. The dull-minded were often left out of the conversations in pubs full of laughter.

Couldn't you of gotten rid of the subtitles?

I've never been a fan of the easybeats , or Steve wright or this song particularly parts 1-2-3 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿✌️

I think this is an inferior version of Evie. There is a clip of the sound check for this concert and that was much better. Great song. Wasted talent.

noise pollution

totally missed the point of the songs