Vince Melouney (born August 18, 1945) is an Australian guitarist. He is most known for his work with Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs and The Bee Gees.
Biography[]
Vince Melouney's career began in the mid 1960s when he co-founded the instrumental groups The Vibratones, which soon became The Aztecs. After losing their vocalist as well as a guitarist, Melouney, along with Tony Barber and Billy Thorpe, formed the group Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs in 1964. They released three singles and an album. After Melouney and Barber left the group in 1965, they started their own group, called Vince & Tony's Two.
Melouney joined Tony Worsley & The Fabulous Blue Jays in 1965, recorded an album, and went on an Australian tour. In 1966, he started his own group, The Vince Melouney Sect, and released a single which was a moderate hit. Melouney headed off to London in October that same year to further his career. The Bee Gees followed a few months later, after signing a contract with Robert Stigwood. When Melouney heard that they were in town, he contacted them, and they invited him to join the band as lead guitarist. When he helped complete the album Bee Gees 1st, he became the 5th official member of the group. Melouney stayed until 1968 to complete two more albums, Horizontal and Idea. After the release of Idea, he felt his guitar playing was needed, since the brothers wanted to play more ballads and he felt better with rock'n'roll. Melouney left the group in late 1968.
After the Bee Gees, Melouney became briefly involved with several other groups, such as Fanny Adams, The Cleves, Flite, Barrie McAskill's People, and the New Seekers.
Vince Melouney reunited with the Bee Gees for a One Night Only concert in Stadium Australia, Sydney, in 1999.