Thanks to Kelvin Fleming who rescued an 1978 1/4" tape recording of Rum Jungle made in Adelaide at Peppers studio. Kelvin meticulously transferred the crumbling old tape to the digital realm, and Jon Lemon our sound guy from back in the day (now he's one of the worlds top live sound engineers currently working with Beck,The Smashing Pumpkins and Ray Lamontaigne) stepped up and mastered them for us. We will put all four tracks up for FREE DOWNLOAD here on Soundcloud over the next few weeks before our show at GOUD in March.  Help you get in the mood and relive the music from those days at the Lord Melbourne and the Tiv. 

Vocals & searing guitar solo- Phil Colson 
Funky R&B Saxophone - Bruce Sandell
Rhythm Guitar - James Black
Bass- Rod Cornish 
Drums- J.J. Hackett 
Recorded by Colin Freeman



Ain't No Use

recorded  in   the 70's  a song written  by  Mark Pengilly and performed by  Rum  jungle!!!  Enjoy

224 4000

224 4000 mastered  by  jon  lemon

For a time in the late seventies, Rum Jungle was the most popular band in Adelaide. A long running residency at the Lord Melbourne Hotel became their home. Frontman Phil Colson, from Sydney’s Foreday Riders, gathered a fine collection of local players to perform a mixture of blues, R&B and funk - all about the groove and dancing. James Black (keyboards and guitar), Bruce Sandell (tenor sax), Ian McDonald and Rod Cornish (bass) and local king-of-the-skins JJ Hackett.

The high point for the band was a trip to Thailand in 1978. Sadly, the band never returned to The Lord Melbourne. Ian left to join Stars, while JJ and James moved to Melbourne to join Mondo Rock. James went on to play in Gangajang, The Black Sorrows, Men at Work and is musical director of Rockwiz. Bruce returned to Melbourne and is Australia’s best exponent of the King Curtis style. Phil lives on the central coast of NSW still playing his wild blues and watching with pride the astonishing success of his daughter, Sia Furler. 

Nearly forty years later, Rum Jungle are coming back together to play a power-packed set of the music they love at the Garden of Unearthly Delights. 

224 4000 mastered by jon lemon

Rum Jungle

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Nigel Lawrence 1

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