Since the 1965 Proby tour my work colleagues had nicknamed me "P.J. Proby" which was often shortened to "P.J.", or  "Proby", or just "Probe". I didn't have a pony tail nor a bow in my hair but I guess I wore tight trousers like most 17 year old males at the time.

Anyway, the nickname stuck and even my in-laws called me 'Probe" or "Proby" from the day we met till the day they each passed away and I'm sure there were a few work colleagues in those early years who had no idea that my name wasn't really Proby.

Shortly after his 1965 Australian tour the real P.J Proby had a Top 10 hit song here with his awesome cover version of "Maria" from West Side Story. That record received saturation air play from Sydney radio stations and in the mornings as my Dad drove me down Eastern Valley Way on our way to work in his trusty old Ford Consul I could often hear "Maria" played three times during the short trip by switching the dial between the stations and still had time to listen to Sammy Sparrow on 2UE, which wasn't cool but at least it pacified my Dad who'd get a bit annoyed by my constant switching between stations. Similar these days to sitting down to watch TV while someone else has the remote control.

"Maria" was deserving of the No. 1 spot but peaked at No.8 on the charts and after that things went a little quiet for Proby fans, then out of the blue news broke that P.J. would headline an Australian tour with Wayne Fontana, Eden Kane and Dinah Lee as support acts.

That news was music to my ears as I had held doubts after the '65 tour that I would see P.J. again as it was hard to believe that anyone could maintain such a physically demanding concert performance for any length of time. Not to mention the strife he seemed to get himself into according to the press reports we'd read from overseas.

Following announcement of the tour Go-Set magazine carried the following article in their 7th September, 1966 edition.

d                 (Many thanks to Bonnie Griffiths for the above Go-Set Magazine page).

Below is the first advertisement for the 1966 tour to appear in the Sydney newspapers.

Englishman Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders had a hit with "The Game Of Love" before Fontana split in 1965 to go solo & had another hit with "Come On Home" in 1966. Fontana and The Mindbenders each had their biggest hits after they split, Fontana in 1967 with "Pamela Pamela" and The Mindbenders with "A Groovy Kind Of Love" in 1965. All of these songs were big hits in Australia.

Indian born Eden Kane's biggest hit here had been "Boys Cry" (1964) and he was also very popular here with the teenage girls who admired his movie star good looks.

New Zealand mod Dinah Lee was the other main support act at all the Australian and New Zealand concerts. Dinah had appeared on the 1965 Aussie Proby Tour and was a popular choice once again as she was the top female performer in Australia and New Zealand at the time and could really belt out a song. She was also a trend setter and her biggest hits included "Reet Petite", "Do The Blue Beat" and Don't You Know Yokomo" which had all rocketed up the charts in 1964.

When tickets went on sale for the 1966 Sydney concert I joined the queue in Wynyard arcade and managed to get two seats in the second row. That's what they called "ringside seats" at the old stadium and it would be the first and last time I was ever that close to the "ring" / come stage, at that venue.

Upon reflection it seems that this second P.J. Proby tour must have been decided on in a hurry and may not have been particularly that well organised. In 1965 there had been large posters (at least one yard which is now a metre across and longer in height) in a combination of bright pink, black and white colours everywhere in Sydney advertising the concerts. They were virtually non existent this time.

But surprisingly, when I purchased the tickets there was a stack of posters, much smaller in size than the previous year, about two to three inches deep, which would have been hundreds of posters, just sitting on the counter. I asked if I could have one and was told "Yes, help yourself". I replied "Thanks" and although they were there for the taking I took just ONE poster and left happier than a mudlark as P.J. would say. In hindsight, I wish I'd taken enough to be able to send one each to the dedicated Proby fans who I know exist out there. It would seem that in 1966 the promoter either ran out of time or the money to have someone plaster them all over Sydney which was the customary way for concert advertising then and in fact remains so today. Not that it would have cost much. But I guess that maybe it could also have been the duty of the ticket offices to distribute them and perhaps they may have taken the easy way out.