"Don't Girls Get Lonely" by Glenn Shorrock

Song#:  1620
Date:  09/24/1983
Debut:  94
Peak:  69
Weeks:  6
Genre:  Soft Rock



Pop Bits:  His name may not be all that familiar, but his voice and certainly his former band will be. Shorrock was a founding member and lead singer of Australia's Little River Band. His voice graced their hits and he wrote one of their Top 10 hits, 1979's "Cool Change" (#10 Pop/#8 AC). As the 80s began, LRB was going through some growing pains and Shorrock decided to depart for a solo career. Staying with Capitol Records, he recorded and released his debut solo disc Villain of the Peace in 1982. The LP's first single, "Rock and Roll Soldier," was a minor chart entry in Australia reaching #39. A follow-up missed the chart completely.  However, a one-off single, "We're Coming to Get You," featuring the Aussie folk/country band The Bushwackers, became a #6 hit thanks to its use in the film of the same name. The unexpected exposure led to this new song being released. It failed to capture the same audience as the previous single and stalled at #75. However, it did become his first single to break in the US where it did slightly better. The song would be included on the US version of Villains. It would be Shorrock's only charting single in the US. He would return to LRB in 1987, but by that time the band's charting days in the US were over.

ReduxReview:  This almost sounds like a mashup of LRB with Steve Winwood. Unfortunately, it just doesn't have the pop power of either of those artists' charting hits. It's definitely not a bad song and Shorrock sounds good, but I think it is dragged down by a weak production. This might have played better with a little heavier rock sound rather than the keyboard driven arrangement.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Before becoming lead singer of LRB, the England-born Shorrock had already experienced significant success in Australia. He was part of the hit 60's pop/rock band The Twilights who enjoyed great popularity and a few hit songs. After that group folded in 1969, Shorrock became a member of Axiom. Made up of various members from several highly popular Aussie bands, they got tagged as being a "supergroup." They ended up scoring three Top 10 Australian hits over the course of two albums and in the process moved to England to get their career going there. It failed and the band split. Shorrock stayed in England for a while trying for a solo career before he got the call about a fronting a new band in Australia - LRB. Another member of The Twilights also did quite well. Guitarist Terry Britten went on to become a very successful songwriter. His biggest success was co-writing Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It." Britten would win a Grammy award when the hit was selected as Song of the Year.

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