During the mid 1970's Carol Lloyd was the toast of the Queensland rock scene. She had a string of hit singles, a swag of awards, a legion of fans ...and a daytime job!

          It was mid 1975 when Carol Lloyd began having major throat problems during the last southern tour with Railroad Gin. She even missed what was supposed to have been her farewell performance with the group. Her tonsils were causing excruciating pain, every tooth in her head ached, and at times she was unable to swallow. It was only when her jaw locked that she wrote a note for one of the roadies to fetch a doctor. Rumours were rife that her career was at an end when the news leaked that she was scheduled to have major throat surgery which could adversely affect her singing voice.
          Before the year was out not only was she back in fine voice, but she had managed to convince some top notch studio musicians to join with her to become "The Carol Lloyd Band" and together they had signed a two year world wide recording contract with EMI Records. Colin Peterson, former member of the Bee Gees, was the man responsible for negotiating the contract and it was he who produced their first single "Storm In My Soul" / "Blue McKenzie". This song was a major hit, particularly in Queensland where Carol's fan base was strongest. It also afforded them the opportunity to appear on the national tv pop show "Countdown" to perform the song in front of a live studio audience and a viewing nation of pop music devotees. All other album tracks were produced by Clive Shakespeare including their second single "All The Good Things" which was released in Sept 1976. The album "Mother Was Asleep At The Time", having taken only nine days to record, was released on Oct 18, 1976. Censors had a field day over-reacting to the original cover artwork for the album which showed a bowie knife severing the umbilical cord of an unborn feotus. The album was only permitted a release date once the offending knife was removed from the picture. Released in 17 countries the album sold quite well and it was therefore a huge surprise to everyone when less than a year later the band announced that it was splitting up.

Above: Carol sings 'All The Good Things' with the Carol Lloyd Band (Copyright: Debra Mayes)

Above: Mark Moffatt letting rip with a mandolin solo on stage at the Warwick Showgrounds Saturday April 02, 1977 during the days of the Carol Lloyd Band (Copyright: Debra Mayes)