Formation and early years Tin Tin was formed in 1966 in Melbourne as a beat pop group, the Kinetics, with a line-up of Steve Groves on vocals, guitar and harmonica, Ken Leroy on bass guitar, Ian Manzie on drums, piano and banjo, and John Vallins on guitar, drums and clarinet. In September they released their debut single, "Excuses", which reached #19 on the local charts, and followed up with two further singles which were unsuccessful.
Bee Gees member
Maurice Gibb introduced the duo to
Robert Stigwood and they signed a one-album contract with
Polydor Records. which bore a marked resemblance to the tight harmonies of the Bee Gees. The lead single, "Only Ladies Play Croquet", was issued in May 1969 but did not chart. In May 1971 Vallins joined the line-up. The dreamy ballad, with lead vocals by Kipner, was belatedly released as a single in mid-1971 in the US, and it reached #20 on the
Billboard Hot 100. The song featured just eight lines of
nursery rhyme-like lyrics repeated over a distinctive "vibrato"
piano (achieved by manipulating the recorded tape reel) and
electric guitar backing. The song gradually builds in intensity adding
acoustic guitar,
bass guitar,
drums, a
string orchestra, and finally
brass instruments, and is Tin Tin's best-remembered song. The album appeared on the
Billboard 200. After their unexpected success, Tin Tin toured with The Bee Gees on their 1972 American tour. Non-album singles, "Talking Turkey" (1972), "I'm Afraid" and "It's a Long Way to Georgia" (both 1973) followed but did not chart. which was performed by
Marty Rhone to win the Australian Popular Song Contest. Groves formed his own group, Steve Groves Band, and released his version of "On the Loose (Again)" in November 1976. ==Discography==