His Master's Voice
Autobiography Australian Cultural History Adult Nonfiction Australian Music History Rock & Roll Memoir 1960s–70s Pop Culture Music Industry Insider
Jim Keays’ His Master’s Voice is a rare 1999 first-edition Australian memoir that charts the wild ride of the front-man who took The Masters Apprentices from suburban Adelaide dance-halls to the top of the nation’s charts. Written in Keays’ unmistakable voice—equal parts larrikin wit and sharp cultural observer—this 222-page paperback is a time-capsule of the late-’60s/early-’70s Australian music explosion: the migrant-fuelled R&B clubs, the TV talent quests, the brutal tours down the Hume Highway in a tar-painted Bedford bus, and the moment when “Turn Up Your Radio” blasted out of every transistor in the country. Readers looking for the real story behind mushrooming record labels, pirate radio, and the birth of Festival Records will find the inside scoop here, delivered with the authority of someone who lived, played, and occasionally bled it.
Beyond the amps and groupies, Keays weaves a broader cultural history: how a post-Menzies Australia discovered its own soundtrack, how British beat and Motown fused with local garage energy, and how a generation of Aussie kids realised they didn’t need to imitate anyone. The book doubles as an autobiography of survival—charting Keays’ battles with industry sharks, his 1980s fight with cancer, and the hard-won wisdom that followed. Young musicians, cultural-studies students, and baby-boomer nostalgics alike will value the candid take on fame, art, and the Australian identity.
Collectors prize this Allen & Unwin first printing for its scarcity; copies in “very good” condition—smooth spine, no inscriptions, no page tanning—rarely surface in the second-hand market. At 9781865081854, it is the edition documented by Australian bibliographers and the one that retains the original 1999 page layout and photo insert. Whether you’re completing a Sixties-Oz music shelf, sourcing local-history primary material, or hunting the perfect gift for a vinyl-loving dad, this copy offers the tactile pleasure of a well-kept vintage paperback and the living voice of one of Australia’s true rock pioneers.
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