Lotus

Lotus were formed in Sydney in 1970 with Ian Every on bass, Kim Dawson on guitar, Shane Hewitt on vocals, Ray Smedley on drums and Warwick Wilkes on organ. Lotus 1 (I’ll Be Gone) was the only single they ever made, and it was originally going to be called I’ll Be Gone, but they had to change the name so as not to confuse it with a Spectrum single of the same name. The band did an incredible cover version of Reach Out and performed other great songs by Led Zeppelin, etc. In 1971, Lotus made an appearance at the Myponga Music Festival (Adelaide) and lived on the Myponga farm owned by organiser and backer Hamish Henry. However, circumstances went sour and a month later Lotus broke up.Dawson and Wilkes moved to Melbourne and played with The Ash for a time. By the end of 1971, Dawson, Wilkes and Smedley had returned to Sydney and reformed Lotus with newcomers Norm Roue on slide guitar (ex Gutbucket) and bassist Billy Rylands (ex Freshwater). That lineup was short lived and by early 1972, Roue and Rylands had joined Wolfe. Ian Every returned to Lotus and the Dawson/Wilkes/Smedley/Every lineup kept active until August 1973. Their single Lotus 1 (I’ll Be Gone) was re-released on the compilation albums Made In Australia (1987 EMI), Golden Miles (1994 Raven Records) and Keep On Rockin’ – Australian Pop of the 70s Volume 5 (2014 Sony Music).​