The Pink Finks formed in early 1965 when 16-year-old
R&B fanatic Ross Wilson joined forces with Rick Dalton and Ross Hannaford's schoolboy outfit The Fauves, which played mainly covers of
The Shadows and
The Ventures. They were a part-time band, since the members were all still at school at the time. Hannaford, who was only 14 when the band formed, was often driven to concerts by his mother, and had to be sneaked in and out of the licensed venues they played at because he was underage. Money was short and Hannaford played on a low cost acoustic guitar fitted with a Moody sound hole pick-up (without controls) through a Burns Tri-Sonic amplifier provided by Wilson. Inspired by the onslaught of English groups like
The Rolling Stones,
The Pretty Things, and
The Yardbirds, the young band's repertoire was chiefly R&B and blues covers. David Cameron replaced original rhythm guitarist Rick Dalton in early 1965, with Dalton later joining Running Jumping Standing Still, which included
Andy Anderson and
Doug Ford, both formerly of
The Missing Links and Ian Robinson on drums. The Pink Finks released four singles during their brief career; their first, released on their own Mojo label, was a raunchy version of
The Kingsmen's "
Louie Louie" and it gave them an early taste of success when it became a local hit (#16) in Melbourne in June 1965. These were followed by covers of
The Shirelles' "Untie Me",
Howlin' Wolf's "
Back Door Man" and
Spencer Davis Group's "It Hurts Me So". Franklin, Cameron and Ratz left to go to university in early 1966. It appears from the information in ''Who's Who of Australian Rock'' that they were replaced, by Kinman (bass), Lansdown (drums), and Niven (keyboards). Michael Edwards was added on trumpet and sax in August 1966. Jimmy Niven was later a member of the
Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band (1973–76) and
The Sports (1976–80).
Richard Franklin later became a successful feature film director; his Australian credits include
The True Story of Eskimo Nell,
Fantasm,
Roadgames and
Patrick. After moving to Hollywood he directed
Psycho II,
Cloak & Dagger,
Link and
FX2: The Deadly Art of Illusion. In the 1990s, he returned to Australia where he directed
Hotel Sorrento,
Brilliant Lies and
Visitors, before he died of cancer in 2007. David Cameron graduated from
NIDA and became an actor, beginning with a role in the
ABC's
Bellbird, in 1969 and since appeared in string of Australian TV series, miniseries and feature film appearances, including
Against the Wind,
Dawn!,
Water under the Bridge (for which he received a
Logie nomination),
My First Wife and
Mad Max. In 1995, he turned to directing television, commercials and corporate documentaries, including
Stingers,
SeaChange,
Good Guys Bad Guys,
State Coroner,
Fergus McPhail,
The Wayne Manifesto (for which he won an
AFI award),
Life and
Dogwoman. Cameron is currently a teacher at The Australian Film & Television Academy (TAFTA). Wilson and Hannaford moved on to notable bands such as
The Party Machine,
Sons of the Vegetal Mother,
Daddy Cool, and
Mighty Kong. Chris Kinman returned to
Brisbane in the late 1960s and turned to making guitars. In 1996 he founded his own pickup boutique, Kinman Guitar Electrix. Leigh Lansdown and UK arriviste Duncan Fry formed local band "The Harris Tweed Band" in 1965 which is still performing mainly in Melbourne's southern suburbs. == Personnel ==