Don’t Let Go. A Memoir – Rob Griffiths (Swerve/Off The Hip)
He readily confesses to not being a household name but if fervent enthusiasm for rock and roll and a back catalogue of should-have-been-hits counts, Rob Griffiths should be.
Best-known as frontman for onetime Melbourne mod torchbearers Little Murders, Griffiths is one of the most underrated songwriters in the country, and now adds author to his c.v.
The autobiographical “Don’t Let Go” is a ripping ride that cranks up in Melbourne music’s underground of the mid’70s and continues well beyond - as told by an immigrant Pommy kid who jumped in at the deep end.
Griffiths’ first band The Fiction shared stages with Boys Next Door/Birthday Party, News and JAB in a short but noisy existence. Punk was only a starting point: the did wear suits (briefly, at the end) and it was a hint of things to come. Griffiths makes the point well that the lines between genres in Melbourne are, and always were, heavily blurred.
His ‘60s influenced Little Murders rose from The Fiction’s ashes, soaring in popularity on the back of the burgeoning mod movement of the early ‘80s. When both band and the “Quadrophenia” trend foundered, Griffiths became a club DJ, a small-time record label chief and band manager, often in tandem with a day-time career as a schoolteacher.
Little Murders’ revival with a series of rotating line-ups eventually cemented their presence, thanks in large part to support from the Off The Hip label. The subsequent reformation of The Fiction has proven that you just can’t keep a rock and roll obsessive down.
Griffiths is just one character in his own story. Dig in and you’ll come across encounters with Neil Young, Joe Strummer, seminal Melbourne scene figure Bruce Milne (who’s central to the history of Little Murders), Spencer P Jones, Rowland S Howard and countless others.
The story continues into contemporary times with Little Murders and The Fiction both touring Japan. The Fiction were poised for a return visit when the fog of COVID descended. That wrong has since been righted.
Like a live vocal, “Don’t Let Go” isn’t note perfect. It contains a few howlers (Radio Birdman had a song called “Yeah Hup”?) but they’re no big deal. Griffiths captures the spirit of the times in clear-eyed, matter-of-fact style.
“Don’t Let Go” had its genesis in an online blog its author used to maintain. “100 Songs” (the title paraphrased from one of his songs) was a series of essays on pieces of music that caught Rob’s ear. The soundtrack of his life, as it turns out. The same thread runs through his memoir.
“Don’t Let Go” is in large soft cover format and its 172 pages are generously illustrated with scores of live photos, album, single and poster artwork.
