Earlier days The formative stages of the new group occurred in late 1972 – early 1973, and involved several notable players of the day. After
Company Caine broke up in October 1972, singer/lyricist
Gulliver Smith linked with Wilson and Hannaford. They worked for several months on getting a new band together, but Smith moved on to launch his solo career at the end of 1972. At the start of 1973 Hannaford and Wilson got together with guitarist Tim Gaze (
Tamam Shud,
Kahvas Jute) and drummer Nigel Macara (Tamam Shud), but after about a month of rehearsals Gaze left and Macara followed. who had been off playing in the touring version of G.Wayne Thomas' studio 'supergroup' Duck. For a new drummer, Hannaford and Wilson turned to
Ray Arnott, who announced in March that he was leaving his current gig with
Spectrum to join the new band (which also reunited him with Russell Smith, his former bandmate from the last days of
Cam-Pact and the early Company Caine). Unfortunately, Arnott's departure triggered the break-up of Spectrum, as founder
Mike Rudd felt that it wouldn't be possible recruit a new member and maintain Spectrum's special chemistry. Spectrum played their farewell concert in mid-April 1973 Gaze and Macara hitched up with the remaining members of Spectrum (Rudd and Bill Putt) to form
Ariel. Regrettably the group never really gelled, and Wilson stated in a 2007 interview that it lacked the chemistry that made Daddy Cool such a successful group. Mighty Kong had already split up by the time the album and its accompanying single, "Callin' All Cats" / "Hard Drugs (Are Bad For You)" were released in December 1973, but without a band to promote them, the records made no impression on the charts. In early 1973 Wilson and Hannaford bowed to financial pressures, the split of Daddy Cool had left them with large debts so they reformed Daddy Cool for what was meant to be a one-off performance at the 1974 Sunbury Festival. It was rapturously received, and prompted a full reformation, with more touring and recording; this incarnation of the band lasted until September 1975.
Post Mighty Kong Ray Arnott moved on to a short stint in
The Dingoes, replacing original drummer John Lee for several months; then followed his own bands One Nite Stand and the Ray Arnott Band, as well as a stint in
Cold Chisel in the 1980s, during the period when Steve Prestwich had left the group. Ross Hannaford played with a success of fine bands through the 1970s and 1980s, including Billy T, Heavy Division (with Russell Smith) and a stint in
Goanna. In the 1990s he was at the Esplanade Hotel, St Kilda, where he had a long-running residency with his band Diana'a Kiss. the Foreday Riders, Heavy Division (where he reunited him with Smith and Hannaford) and The
Renee Geyer Band (1978). Tim Partridge died in late 2020. Russell Smith went on to Metropolis, followed by the re-formation of Company Caine in 1975, then Billy T, Heavy Division and Goanna (1983). These days he resides in Perth and is a member of Jeffrey St John & The Embers. Ross Wilson endured a hiatus in his recording career due to a dispute with the Wizard label that resulted from Daddy Cool's abortive attempt to record a new album in 1974. Late that year 1974 he launched his highly successful career as a producer, overseeing three LPs for
Skyhooks, including their debut
Living in the 70s, which broke the previous sales record for an Australian album, set by Daddy Cool. In 1976 he was briefly reunited with Hannaford for the soundtrack to the Chris Lofven film Oz. In 1978 he formed
Mondo Rock which became one of the most successful Australian bands of the 1980s. Wilson and Hannaford reformed Daddy Cool in 2007 to play support for Australian tour by
Mike Love's
Beach Boys and
Christopher Cross. Aztec Music announced that it would re-issue Mighty Kong's album,
All I Wanna Do Is Rock, on a CD format in 2008. ==Discography==