Disclaimer
For some curious reason, Whammo has changed address and dropped almost any reference to Spectrum, The Indelible Murtceps and Ariel etc. Thanks to Martin Finnegan for pointing this nasty turn of events out to me - I shall ring Ian McFarlane and see what the story is. Fortunately the Milesago website steadfastly maintains the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth - so Spectrum (and Ariel) still feature prominently in the context of the history of Oz Rock. I'll eventually get round to writing some idealised version of what really happened, but you'll get an impression of what's occurred in some sort of order by referring to the Milesago links below.. (Be patient - I can't get you directly to the page you want - you'll have to find it on the menu). You should have a look at the Spectrum reference on Ed Nimmervoll's Howlspace site too.
Anyway, I think you'll enjoy the pics, some published for the first time. And, while you're here, why don't you check out The Legend..

The Spectrum and The Indelible Murtceps stories

As readers will have guessed, Spectrum is one our favourite Australian bands, and one of our missions here at MILESAGO is to prosecute the cause of this outstanding group. During their brief but illustrious career Spectrum were in the vanguard of progressive rock in Australia, and they left a legacy of innovative and imaginative music, too little of which is currently available on CD.
The central figure in Spectrum was singer/songwriter/guitarist Mike Rudd, one of the many outstanding expatriate NZ performers who have contributed so much to the Australian music scene. Mike arrived in Australia in 1966 as rhythm guitarist for the NZ group Chants R&B. [For the full history of this great band, please visit the Chants R&B page on Bruce Sergent's excellent New Zealand Music of the 60's and 70's website.]
Chants only lasted a short time after they arrived in Australia, but Mike remained in Melbourne, where he soon teamed up with young singer/songwriter Ross Wilson and guitarist Ross Hannaford. Their first band The Pink Finks (which had also just broken up) worked in a similar vein to Chants, and had already had some local chart success in Melbourne. Mike was invited to be the bass player in a later lineup of their next band, the short-lived but legendary Party Machine (1967-69). This was followed by the more experimentally-oriented Sons of The Vegetal Mother (1969-71) read more

See Mike & Bill's historical interview with Bill Brown at the 2010 Wagga Wagga Jazz & Blues Festival

Dave Graney's bro' Phil, and Melbourne identity Bruce Milne, share some thoughts of their impressions of the early careers of Spectrum and Ariel (reproduced without permission from Dave Graney - but I'm sure he won't mind..)
check them out

1) Mike, Bill, Lee Neale & Mark Kennedy 2) Mike, Mark, Bill & Lee (Richard Rudd)
3) Mike at Sebastians (Peter Carolan) 4) Mike with son Chris as Bat-boy 5) Mike with maxi-beard - (see pics)

6) Spectrum TV Week '71 (check large pic) 7) Mike makes the front cover '71 (see large pic)

8 ) David Porter shot in '71 (see more) 9) Spectrum with Ray Arnott & John Mills TV Week '73

The Ariel and the Instant Replay stories

The original lineup of Ariel was a genuine 'supergroup', combining key members from two of Australia's leading progressive bands of the period: Rudd, Putt and Mills hailed from Melbourne's legendary Spectrum, Gaze and Macara from Spectrum's esteemed Sydney peers Tamam Shud. Lead guitarist Tim Gaze, regarded as one of the hottest players on the scene, had also joined Shud at just 16 and by the time he joined Ariel he had also been a member of Kahvas Jute, and played on their only album, the brilliant Wide Open.
Like its predecessor, Ariel was primarily a vehicle for the talents and vision of singer, songwriter and guitarist Mike Rudd, and his longtime bass-player and musical partner, Bill Putt. Like Spectrum, the band began strongly, but lineup changes, record company problems and the changing nature of music in the mid-70s meant that they never achieved the level of success they deserved, and Ariel proved to be Mike Rudd's last really high-profile outfit, although he remains one of the most respected figures in the music scene. read more

1) The Ariel logo 2) The last EMI version of Ariel with Glyn Mason 3) The Goodnight Fiona version of Ariel

4) Instant Replay at the Arkaba

The Mike Rudd & the Heaters, WHY, The Living Legends Blues Band, Nuclear Dog, The Mike Rudd Quintet, No. 9 and The Fez stories

In July 1979, Rudd changed the band's name to Mike Rudd and the Heaters. The band played a mix of pub rock and pop (with quasi-new wave overtones) and was popular on the Melbourne scene. The band signed to Mushroom Records and issued its debut single, `Australian Girl'/`Talking to the TV' (February 1980). In June 1980, The Heaters line-up became Rudd, Putt, Tony Fossey (keyboards) and Robert Dillon (drums; ex-Kid Gloves). The band's debut album, The Unrealist (January 1982), produced three singles, `I'm an Animal'/`Head Job' (October 1981), `Laser Love'/ `Keeping Your Distance' (January 1982) and `Love Comes and Goes'/`Models' (April 1982). The records were not successful and The Heaters broke up in June 1982.
See more on Nuclear Dog and The Fez

1) Mike Rudd & the Heaters with Robert Dillon and Tony Fossey 2) WHY with John Moon

3) The infamous Nuclear Dog

The Party Machine and The Sons of the Vegetal Mother stories

The enterprising Ross Wilson was the driving force behind the innovative Party Machine. Wilson and Ross Hannaford first worked together in Melbourne teenage R&B outfit The Pink Finks. At the beginning of 1967, the two Rosses formed the altogether more radical The Party Machine. Chris Kinman replaced original bass player Joe Gorski not long after formation.
In June, Mike Edwards left to join The Ram Jam Big Band and Kinman also left. His place was taken by ex-Chants R&B guitarist Mike Rudd, who switched to bass. For the material he was writing with The Party Machine, Wilson drew on Frank Zappa and Howlin' Wolf for inspiration. The band issued the now impossibly rare single `You've All Gotta Go'/`Gentle Art' on EMI/Columbia in early 1969. The Party Machine found notoriety rather than success, in particular when the Victorian Vice Squad deemed the band's printed songbook (which contained such choice Wilson-penned songs as `I Don't Believe All Your Kids Should Be Virgins') to be obscene and seditious.  

1) The Party Machine at the Tum - large pics 2) Gas mag in sepia 3 ) Another Gas mag shot

4) Mike circa 1968