Stephen Carlton Wright (20 December 1947 – 27 December 2015) was an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. Called Australia's first international pop star, he is best known for being the lead singer of the Easybeats, who are widely regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the 1960s.
Born in Leeds, Wright migrated with his family to Australia at the age of nine, living in Melbourne and later Sydney at the Villawood Migrant Hostel, where he met his future bandmates and formed the Easybeats. Their early hits were co-written by Wright with bandmate George Young, including top ten hits such as "She's So Fine", "Wedding Ring", "Sorry" and "Women (Make You Feel Alright)". He was lead vocalist on their only international hit, "Friday on My Mind", which peaked at number one in Australia in 1966, the top ten in the United Kingdom, and the top twenty in the United States and Canada.
After the Easybeats disbanded in 1969, Wright fronted numerous groups including the Stevie Wright Band and Stevie Wright & the Allstars; his solo career included the 1974 single "Evie (Parts 1, 2 & 3)", which peaked at number one on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart. Wright had problems with alcohol and drug addiction. By 1976 he was hospitalised and undertook methadone treatment. In the late 1970s he was treated at Chelmsford Private Hospital by Harry Bailey, who administered deep sleep therapy with a combination of drug-induced coma and electroshock.
Wright's life was detailed in two biographies, Sorry: The Wretched Tale of Little Stevie Wright by Jack Marx (1999) and Hard Road: The Life and Times of Stevie Wright by Glenn Goldsmith (2004). On 14 July 2005, the Easybeats, with Wright as a member, were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
Wright was born in Leeds, England, in 1947 to George Wright and Dorothy Wright (née Longden). His family migrated to Melbourne, Australia, when he was nine. They moved to Sydney in 1960 and lived in Villawood near the Villawood Migrant Hostel. He was lead vocalist for local band The Outlaws, and by 1964 had formed Chris Langdon & the Langdells, which initially played The Shadows-styled surf music but converted to beat music under the influence of The Beatles.
After a Langdells performance, Wright met the Dutch-born Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg (later Harry Vanda), who was staying at Villawood Migrant Hostel, and his compatriot Dingeman van der Sluys (later Dick Diamonde). This introduction was arranged by their first manager, Alan Kissick. The pair convinced Wright to form a band with Vandenberg's friend and fellow hostel resident Scottish-born George Young. Together with another Englishman, Gordon "Snowy" Fleet, they formed the Easybeats in mid-1964. The initial line-up of the Easybeats was Diamonde on bass guitar, Fleet on drums, Vanda on guitar, Wright on vocals and Young on guitar.
During his time with the Easybeats, Wright was popularly and affectionately known as "Little Stevie". Early hits for the Easybeats were co-written by Wright with bandmate Young, including "She's So Fine" (No. 3, 1965), "Wedding Ring" (No. 7, 1965), "Women (Make You Feel Alright)" (No. 4, 1966), "Come and See Her" (No. 3, 1966), "I'll Make You Happy" (track on Easyfever EP, No. 1, 1966), and "Sorry" (No. 1, 1966).
He was lead vocalist on their only international hit, "Friday on My Mind", which peaked at No. 1 in Australia in 1966. It made No. 6 in the UK, Top 10 in Germany, the Netherlands, France and Italy and Top 20 in the US in 1967. In 2001, the song was voted the Best Australian Song of All Time by the Australasian Performing Right Association, Wright was renowned for his energetic stage performance, which included acrobatic back-flips and mod dance moves. The Easybeats disbanded in the UK in 1969 with Vanda & Young becoming freelance musicians, songwriters and producers.
Aside from tracks for the Easybeats, Wright and George Young also wrote "Step Back" for Johnny Young (no relation) and his band Kompany, released in May 1966, which peaked at No. 1.
After the break-up of the Easybeats in 1969, Wright returned to Sydney from the UK, and he formed a backing group, Rachette. He produced the debut single for local band Bootleg, "Whole World Should Slow Down", in 1970. By late 1971, he was in Perth, and joined Likefun with Ray Hoff on vocals (ex-Off Beats), Morri Pierson on vocals, Shirley Reid on vocals, John Tucak on bass guitar and Alan Wilks on organ. He soon returned to Sydney and from mid-1972 took the role of Simon Zealotes in the Australian stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Also in 1972, he joined Black Tank with Rory O'Donoghue on guitar and vocals (ex-The Pogs), Ken Firth on bass guitar (Tully) and Greg Henson on drums (Levi Smith Clefs).
Wright signed with Albert Productions label in late 1973, which reunited him with former bandmates Vanda and Young, who had returned from the UK and were now staff producers and songwriters. Wright formed Stevie Wright & the Allstars for live performances; the line-up included, Johnny Dick on drums (ex-Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs), Tim Gaze on lead guitar (Tamam Shud, Kahvas Jute, Ariel), and Warren Morgan on piano (Chain, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs). In April 1974 he released his debut solo LP, Hard Road, which featured the single "Evie (Parts 1, 2 & 3)" released in May. The song was written and produced by Vanda & Young. It became a hit—the first 11-minute song to chart at No. 1 anywhere in the world— and is now regarded as an Australian rock classic. Part 1 is subtitled, "Let Your Hair Hang Down", and part 3 is "I'm Losing You".
Wright performed three concerts at the Sydney Opera House with backing by Vanda, Young and AC/DC's Malcolm Young (George Young's brother). Another Vanda & Young-produced LP, Black-eyed Bruiser, followed in 1975, but it failed to chart in the Top 50. By mid-1975, the Allstars had transferred to John Paul Young (no relation) and Wright formed the Stevie Wright Band with Tony Bolton on drums (Aesop's Fables, Country Radio), Larry Duryea on percussion (Tamam Shud), Russell Johnson on guitar (Mississippi, Country Radio), Billy Rylands on bass guitar (Lotus) and Peter White on keyboards.
By 1976, Wright was addicted to heroin, which he had reportedly begun using during his time in the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar. He was hospitalised and undertook methadone treatment. His mental health suffered further after his self-admission to Chelmsford Private Hospital. A psychiatrist, Harry Bailey, administered a highly controversial treatment, deep sleep therapy, which was alleged to treat drug addiction by a combination of drug-induced coma and electroconvulsive therapy. Many patients, including Wright, suffered brain damage and lifelong aftereffects. The scandal was later exposed, and Bailey died by suicide.
In 1982, Wright joined Vanda and Young in their studio band, Flash and the Pan, to provide vocals on their album Headlines and the related singles, "Where were You?" in July, and "Waiting for a Train" in December. The same year, there was talk of an Easybeats reunion. Wright told Juke Magazine in 1983 that they "had our lawyers working out the deal" because there was a venue interested in having them "but at the last minute they tried to change the venue and we just said 'forget it'."
In 1983, there was talk of a solo album with work involving Vanda and Young again. Wright said the album would best be described as "classy rock 'n' roll", and the songs were about "a wide spectrum of all the experiences I've been through". He said the love songs he had were optimistic. The interview discussed how Wright worked in the studio with Vanda and Young:"Well, it's a three way thing. They'll sit down and say 'we've got this sort of song' and we'll discuss how we'll approach it. Obviously after this long we do have a very strong bond. I've written a couple of songs but since they're far better at it than I am, I'll let them handle that." According to the Juke Magazine article it was "due for release later that year"; however, this never happened.