Little River Band is an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1975 and named after a road sign for the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong. They were the first Australian rock group to enjoy sustained commercial success in the United States. During their career the band have sold more than 25 million records and scored 13 American Top 40 hits. While fronted by singer John Farnham from 1982-1986, the band's original members were Glenn Shorrock (vocals), Graeham Goble, Beeb Birtles and Ric Formosa (guitars and vocals), Roger McLachlan (bass) and Derek Pellicci (drums). ...show more

Little River Band is an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1975 and named after a road sign for the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong. They were the first Australian rock group to enjoy sustained commercial success in the United States. During their career the band have sold more than 25 million records and scored 13 American Top 40 hits. While fronted by singer John Farnham from 1982-1986, the band's original members were Glenn Shorrock (vocals), Graeham Goble, Beeb Birtles and Ric Formosa (guitars and vocals), Roger McLachlan (bass) and Derek Pellicci (drums).

The group evolved from the harmony-rock group Mississippi in 1975. Prior to that, Birtles had been the bassist in 1960s pop band Zoot (which also included singer-guitarist Rick Springfield), and Shorrock had been the lead singer of leading Australian 60s pop band The Twilights and early 1970s country rock band Axiom. They found immediate success in Australia, but individual members had greater ambitions. Like many other Australasian groups of the period, both Axiom and Mississippi had tried to break into the UK record market without success.

Remembering the indifferent reaction they had received in the UK, they decided the new band would focus on establishing themselves in the United States. A key factor in their eventual success was their manager Glenn Wheatley, who had been the bassist in the highly-regarded Australian rock band The Masters Apprentices. Wheatley's first-hand experiences of the rip-offs in the 1960s music scene, combined with his subsequent experience working in music management in Britain and the United States in the early 1970s, enabled him to help LRB become the first Australian group to enjoy sustained commercial and chart success in the United States. Fuelled by a very successful Australian hit single "Curiosity Killed The Cat", the band began making promotional visits to the US in 1976. ...show less