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On this day, 17 July 1968, Australian rock band The Easybeats, played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens.
Formd in Sydney in late 1964, they are best known for their 1966 hit single "Friday on My Mind", which is regarded as the first Australian rock song to achieve international success; Rolling Stone described it as "the first international victory for Oz rock".
One of the most popular and successful bands in the country, they were one of the few Australian bands of their time to foreground their original material; their first album Easy (1965) was one of the earliest Australian rock albums featuring all original songs.
The five founding members, all migrants from Europe, met at the Villawood Migrant Hostel in Sydney in 1964. They rose to national prominence in 1965 with the song "She's So Fine", which reached number three in Australia.
Their concerts and public appearances were marked by an intense fanaticism frequently compared to Beatlemania; this phenomenon was subsequently dubbed "Easyfever". They relocated to the UK in 1966, where they recorded "Friday on My Mind".
Following its success, the band struggled to maintain international recognition. Compounded by financial and contractual issues, drug use and the increasing independence of guitarists and songwriters Harry Vanda and George Young, they returned to Australia in 1969 amid declining popularity back home and subsequently disbanded.
