The Sports were an Australian rock band which performed and recorded between 1976 and 1981. Mainstay members were Stephen Cummings on lead vocals and Robert Glover on bass guitar, with long-term members such as Paul Hitchins on drums, Andrew Pendlebury on lead guitar and vocals, and Martin Armiger on guitar. Their style was similar to both 1970s British pub rock bands (such as Brinsley Schwarz) and British new wave (such as Elvis Costello). The Sports' top forty singles are "Who Listens to the Radio", "Don't Throw Stones", "Strangers on a Train" and "How Come" . Their top 20 releases on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart are Don't Throw Stones (February 1979), Suddenly (March 1980) and Sondra (May 1981).

In October 2010 Don't Throw Stones was listed in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.

History

The Sports were formed in 1976 by Stephen Cummings who had been the lead singer of Melbourne rockabilly group, The Pelaco Brothers, (which also comprised Joe Camilleri, Peter Lillie and Johnny Topper). The original line-up was Cummings and ex-The Pelaco Brothers bandmate, Ed Bates, on guitar, Robert Glover (ex-Myriad) on bass guitar, Jim Niven (ex-The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band)

They supported Thin Lizzy at the iconic concert in front of an estimated 100,000 people at Sydney Opera House in October 1978.

In November, they started work on their second album, Don't Throw Stones, with Pete Solley and Dave Robinson producing.

Members

  • Stephen Cummings&nbsp;– lead vocals <small>(1976–1981)</small>
  • Andrew Pendlebury&nbsp;– guitars, backing vocals <small>(1976–1981)</small>
  • Ed Bates&nbsp;– guitars <small>(1976–1978)</small>
  • Jim Niven&nbsp;– keyboards, backing vocals <small>(1976–1980; died 2012)</small>
  • Robert Glover&nbsp;– bass <small>(1976–1981)</small>
  • Paul Hitchins&nbsp;– drums <small>(1976–1980)</small>
  • Martin Armiger&nbsp;– guitars, backing vocals <small>(1978–1981; died 2019)</small>
  • Red Symons&nbsp;– keyboards <small>(1980)</small>
  • Iain McLennan&nbsp;– drums <small>(1980)</small>
  • Freddie Strauks&nbsp;– drums <small>(1980–1981)</small>

Discography

Studio albums

  • Reckless (1978)
  • Don't Throw Stones (1979)
  • Suddenly (1980)
  • Sondra (1981)

Live albums

  • Missin' Your Kissing (1987)

Awards and nominations

King of Pop Awards

The King of Pop Awards were voted by the readers of TV Week. The King of Pop award started in 1967 and ran through to 1978.

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| 1978

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| Most Popular New Group

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TV Week / Countdown Awards

Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.

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| 1979

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| Most Outstanding Achievement

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References

  • Sports Discography
  • RAM magazine - 29 June 1979