Town Criers (band)

The Town Criers were an Australian pop band formed in 1964.[1] By 1967 their line-up was Andy Agtoft on lead vocals, Mark Demajo on bass guitar (ex-Gemini 5), Sam Dunnin on lead guitar (ex-Gemini 5), Chris Easterby on drums, and George Kurtiss on keyboards.[2] Their first single was a cover version of the Kinks' album track, "The World Keeps Going Round", which was issued in 1965 but did not chart.[3]

They released a cover version of American singer, Robert Knight's "Everlasting Love", as a single in February 1968, which reached No. 17 on the Go-Set National Top 40 alongside United Kingdom's Love Affair's rendition which peaked at No. 23 on the same chart at the same time.[4] Kurtiss left the group in May 1968 and was replaced on keyboards by John Taylor (ex-Strings Unlimited).[2] Their next single, "Unexpectedly", did not reach the top 40.[2]

Agtoft was replaced early in 1969 by Barry Smith from Adelaide and Taylor left without being replaced.[2][3] Town Criers released further singles, "Any Old Time (You're Lonely and Sad)" (March 1969), "Love Me Again" (October 1969) and "Living in a World of Love" (May 1970), before disbanding in 1972.[2][3] Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, opined, "[they] made a name for themselves with a melodious, commercial pop sound and squeaky-clean teen idol image... By the end of 1971, [their] sound had become outmoded, and the members went their separate ways."[2]