Town Criers (band)

{{Short description|Australian pop band}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}

{{Use Australian English|date=March 2018}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Town Criers

| image =

| image_size =

| image_upright =

| landscape =

| alt =

| caption =

| background = group_or_band

| alias =

| origin = Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

| genre = Pop

| years_active = {{start date|1964}}–{{end date|1972}}

| label = {{flatlist|

• Trend
• Astor
• Festival
• HMV

}}

| associated_acts =

| website =

| current_members =

| past_members =

• Andy Agtoft
• Mark Demajo
• Sam Dunnin
• Chris Easterby
• George Kurtiss
• John Taylor
• Barry Smith
• Norman Roth

}}

The Town Criers were an Australian pop band formed in 1964.{{cite web | url = http://www.poparchives.com.au/feature.php?id=171 | title = 'Everlasting Love' The Town Criers (1968) | work = Where Did They Get That Song? | last1 = Nuttall | first1 = Lyn | last2 = Walker | first2 = David | publisher = PopArchives – Sources of Australian Pop Records from the 50s, 60s and 70s | access-date = 2 March 2018 }} By 1967 their line-up was Andy Agtoft on lead vocals, Mark Demajo on bass guitar (ex-Gemini 5), Sam Dunnin on lead guitar (ex-Gemini 5), Chris Easterby on drums, and George Kurtiss on keyboards.{{cite book | last1 = McFarlane | first1 = Ian | author-link1 = Ian McFarlane | title = Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop | chapter = Encyclopedia entry for 'The Town Criers' | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040419204822/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=736 | chapter-url = http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=736 | year = 1999 | publisher = Allen & Unwin | location = St Leonards, NSW | archive-date = 19 April 2004 | isbn = 1-86508-072-1 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }} Their first single was a cover version of the Kinks' album track, "The World Keeps Going Round", which was issued in 1965 but did not chart.

They released a cover version of American singer, Robert Knight's "Everlasting Love", as a single in February 1968, which reached No. 17 on the Go-Set National Top 40 alongside United Kingdom's Love Affair's rendition which peaked at No. 23 on the same chart at the same time.{{cite web | url = http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1968/19680424.html | last1 = Nimmervoll | first1 = Ed | author-link1 = Ed Nimmervoll | work = Go-Set | title = National Top 40 | publisher = Waverley Press | date = 24 April 1968 | access-date = 1 March 2018 }} Kurtiss left the group in May 1968 and was replaced on keyboards by John Taylor (ex-Strings Unlimited). Their next single, "Unexpectedly", did not reach the top 40.

Agtoft was replaced early in 1969 by Barry Smith from Adelaide and Taylor left without being replaced.{{cite web | archive-url = https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20100314214800/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/35967/20100315-0848/www.milesago.com/Artists/towncriers.html | url = http://www.milesago.com/Artists/towncriers.html | title = Town Criers | last1 = Kimball | first1 = Duncan | publisher = Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions | year = 2002 | archive-date = 14 March 2010 | access-date = 1 March 2018 }}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Town Criers released further singles, "Any Old Time (You're Lonely and Sad)" (March 1969), "Love Me Again" (October 1969) and "Living in a World of Love" (May 1970), before disbanding in 1972. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, opined, "[they] made a name for themselves with a melodious, commercial pop sound and squeaky-clean teen idol image... By the end of 1971, [their] sound had become outmoded, and the members went their separate ways."