Buffalo
Buffalo emerged in Sydney, Australia, in 1970 and soon picked up a healthy following of heavy rock fans. Signed by the prestigious Vertigo label, the band's albums sold slowly but steadily enough to retain the interest of the label. The group received adverse press owing to the overtly sexist nature of the covers of their first three albums and also for some of the song lyrics (eg Skirt Lifter), which limited their appeal. Buffalo were an anomaly among bands in Australia during the '70s in that they were as popular in Europe, particularly France, as they were in their homeland. The outfit were musically akin to the likes of Black Sabbathand Deep Purple while retaining their own rock sound, enhanced by Norm Roue's slide guitar playing and the powerful performances of vocalist Dave Tice. Eventually the dearth of original members led the band to split, after recording five albums. The first of which went gold three years after release. Bassist Pete Wells, played slide guitar in Rose Tattoo with Angry Anderson, while Tice joined original drummer, Paul Balbi, in the Count Bishopsin the UK.