G. Wayne Thomas

G. Wayne Thomas
Birth nameGraham Wayne Thomas
Also known asWayne Thomas

G. Wayne Thomas is a New Zealand-born Australian-based musician, producer and songwriter. His 1974 single, "Open Up Your Heart"/"Morning of the Earth", reached #21 on the Australian singles chart.

Thomas was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He moved to Australia in 1968 and started writing music for commercials. He signed with Warner Bros. Records, released a single in 1971, and started working as a producer. He produced the soundtrack to the surf movie Morning of the Earth, changing what was going to be a Tamam Shud album into a "various-artists" record. It featured Tamam Shud, Terry Hannigan, Brian Cadd, John J. Francis and Peter Howe, as well as three G. Wayne Thomas tracks. The soundtrack was released in 1972 along with a single from the album, "Open Up Your Heart"/"Morning of the Earth".[1]

In 1972, Thomas put together a band called "Duck", to record an album. The band originally comprised Jon English, Bobbi Marchini, John Robinson, Bobby Gebert, Larry Duryea, Teddy Toi and Steve Webb. They released an album of covers, Laid, which was produced by Thomas.[2]

Thomas started his own label, Warm & Genuine, and released a self-titled album in 1973. He followed that up with a soundtrack for the 1973 Australian surf film, Crystal Voyager, putting together a studio band called the Crystal Voyager Band, comprising Thomas, Bobby Gebert, Mick Liber, Rod Coe and John Proud. Thomas's last release on Warm & Genuine was in 1975, after which he signed with Polydor.[1]

In 1979-80, he worked in a duo with Peter Bailey and together they released an album, Missing Persons, as well as four singles.[1]

  1. ^ a b c McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'G. Wayne Thomas'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 23 August 2004.
  2. ^ McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Duck'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 6 August 2004.