It is with great sadness that we publish news of the passing of one of Newcastle’s musical elite, Peter de Jong.
For over five decades, Pete de Jong has played a pivotal role in Newcastle’s music scene.
Brought up in the country, the de Jong family came to live in Toronto in Lake Macquarie. It was here, while at school, that Peter’s love for music began.
He first burst upon the scene in 1971 when his band Armageddon won the Newcastle Battle of the Sounds for two consecutive years. Initially a 3-piece band, Armageddon consisted of de Jong, Paul Matters on bass and, in Pete’s words, the very “cool and creative” Les Gully on drums.
It was at the final for the Battle of the Sounds that Peter met Mark Tinson, member of the band Bluegrass and someone with whom Pete would not only form a band but forge a life-long friendship.
In 1977, he teamed up with Tinno, bass player Jim Porteous and drummer Phil Screen to form what was to become one of Newcastle’s most famous bands. Heroes built a huge following around the region, playing a tight set of incredible covers and original tunes. They gained national notoriety when they were the band playing at the Star Hotel on the night of its closure in 1979.
The Heroes had just finished playing ‘Action’ by The Sweet as their encore. The police decided the band had to finish, so the song was cut short and the crowd went from energised to restless to very, very unhappy.
After their last set, the band decided to venture out of the dressing room. They pushed their way through the pub crowd to see what was happening outside.
Here’s what Pete had to say about that night in a recent interview he did with local music historian Jack Hodgins:
“There was so much energy in the room that we probably played harder and better than we usually did just because of the circumstance,” recalled Pete. The band closed the night with Star And The Slaughter before an encore of The Action by Sweet; meanwhile, outside a riot was brewing.
“We had no idea of the extent of what was going on until we finished the gig and then went out into King Street. That’s when we went, ‘oh, this is something else,’” Pete said. And as the band mingled, it started to get heated.
“I was a couple of metres away from where they rolled the police car over and set that on fire, the guys dragging their mates out of the paddy wagon, fighting with the coppers—the whole thing.”
The next day the riot hit front pages around the world and, here in Australia, the spotlight shone brightly on Heroes.
In his book, Too Much Rock ’n’ Roll, Tinno recollects that Pete copped the brunt of the attention:
“Because the riot had been so well documented by the media, the police had photos of some of the more active participants in the fracas, and they were searching for them to “help with their enquiries”.
One person who did help with their enquiries was Heroes’ frontman, Pete de Jong. He was arrested and charged with inciting a riot. His crime was to say, ‘We’ve got to go, because when the pigs say you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go’ as we finally exited the stage. This original charge, which could have attracted a long prison sentence, was eventually commuted to “acting in a manner likely to cause a reasonable person serious alarm”. This only attracted a $200 fine, which the band gladly paid on Pete’s behalf. Eventually, more than 40 people were charged with various offences.”
On the back of all the publicity, the band signed a record deal and recorded their debut self-titled album with mega-producers Harry Vanda and George Young at the famous Albert Studios, the home of AC/DC.
The album was full of great songs like ‘Baby’s Had A Taste’, ‘Back To The Love’ and ‘The Star And The Slaughter’ (written well before the night of the riot).
‘Baby’s Had A Taste’ was the first single from the album. It was a song written by Pete. According to him, it was one of the easiest songs he had written – “it just fell out”, he said. The end result was a song that is still regarded today as one of the best power-pop songs ever released in Australia. It went to #2 on the local charts, kept out of the top spot, much to Pete’s amusement, by Genghis Khan’s ‘Moscow’.
Then something happened that further elevated Heroes above every other Newcastle band of the day.
Heroes appeared more than once on the hugely popular TV show Countdown, performing both ‘Baby’s Had A Taste’ and ‘Star And The Slaughter’ – clips of both are here to view.
There was subsequent talk of a second album with Alberts.
The 2nd album, however, was eventually released in 2015. It contained ‘Mistaken Identity’, one of Pete’s songs originally presented to Vanda & Young back in the early ‘80s.
Due to the band’s enduring popularity, Heroes reformed several times in the 21st century, playing one particular show at Cardiff Workers Club that showed the band still had what it took.
More recently, Pete played in a duo called Two Smarts with long-time bandmate and friend Jim Porteous, and he also performed solo as Big Pete.
Looking back over his stage career, Peter de Jong not only wrote some truly great songs but he shared his passion, talent and skill as a showman.
Whether he was performing on Countdown to an audience of millions or to hundreds at a local pub or club or to smaller crowds as a solo artist, the fact is that his music has touched countless numbers of us.
This writer remembers a private party one New Year’s Eve at a house in inner-city Newcastle. The night had been going well as everyone present enjoyed the food, the drinks and the banter. Later on, someone handed Pete a microphone. It was a moment when Pete’s power as a performer became obvious as he captivated the guests with an impromptu song and, with his magic, took the event to the next level. The man had charisma, talent to burn and a way of taking everybody in that room on his musical journey.
Peter de Jong’s place in Newcastle’s music history is significant. He fronted a band that gained national exposure on Countdown, and he wrote songs that charted and are still played today.
Pete and his Heroes bandmates paved the way for those acts that followed in pursuit of greater success, including The Screaming Jets and Silverchair.
He has entertained literally millions of people through his performances in venues and on TV and radio.
He provided advice and encouragement to young musicians trying to find their way into the industry and made many true lifelong friends.
His place as a man, a husband, a father, a son and a friend is just as significant. He was an extraordinarily devoted family man – they were the centre of his universe.
We will all miss him.
Our thoughts are with Pete’s loving wife, Andre and his daughters, Olivia and Nicola.
Farewell, Peter de Jong, and thank you for all that you gave and all that you shared.
Your memory, like your music, will live on in the hearts and minds of us all.
