The Ferrets were an Australian pop band. They are best known for their song "Don't Fall in Love" and album, Dreams of a Love which were both released in 1977.
History
1975: Formation
Ken Firth, Phil Eizenberg and William "Billy" Miller had been involved with the Australian stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar which also included singer-actors Jon English and John Paul Young. Firth, Miller and Dave Springfield were all members of hard rockers Buster Brown. In November 1975 the trio left Buster Brown to join guitarist Eizenberg and formed The Ferrets. Drummer Rick Brewer joined in April 1976 followed by Miller's sisters Jane Miller and Pam Miller in July—they were now a seven-piece band.
1976-1977: "Don't Fall in Love" and ''Dreams of a Love''
After favourable reactions from audiences in Melbourne and Sydney, The Ferrets produced a demo tape that caught the attention of Ian "Molly" Meldrum talent coordinator for Australian Broadcasting CorporationTV seriesCountdown. Meldrum got them signed to Mushroom Records and started producing their debut album, Dreams of a Love, in July 1976. In April 1977 they released their debut single, "Robin Hood", which did not chart. After nearly a year, production of the album was still incomplete, so The Ferrets took over—assisted by recording engineers Tony Cohen and Ian MacKenzie—Meldrum was attributed as "Willie Everfinish". In June 1977, The Ferrets released the double A-side single "Don't Fall in Love"/"Lies". Meldrum had carefully crafted "Lies" taking weeks whilst "Don't Fall in Love" was recorded in three hours. The Ferrets premiered on Countdown in an episode compered by Jon English performing "Don't Fall in Love", which peaked at No. 2 Nationally. They were awarded with 'Best Australian TV Performer' at the 1977 for their Countdown appearances. In October 1977, The Ferret's released "Janie May" which reached No. 25 nationally and was televised on Countdown on 13 November 1977, which also featured the infamous Prince Charles interview. Their debut album Dreams of a Love was released in October 1977 and achieved Gold record status. The album cover depicted a model holding a snarling ferret on her shoulder.
1978-1979: ''Fame at Any Price'' and disbandment
By the end of 1977, guitarist Eizenberg and backing vocalist Pam Miller had left. After another single, "Are You Looking at Me?" was released in April 1978. Jane Miller also left. The Ferrets continued to tour and recorded their second studio albumFame at Any Price which was produced by Cohen and released in October 1978. There were disappointing sales for the related singles "This Night" and "Tripsville" and for the album itself. Firth also left to be replaced successively by George Cross and Ric Petropolis. The Ferrets had no further chart success and disbanded in March 1979.
Subsequent careers
Philip Eizenberg:
Played bass guitar in Mighty Guys with Mick Hamilton and Leon Isackson. He studied martial arts from 1984 and was registered with the Australian Hapkido Association as a 4th Degree instructor. He played bass on Night of the Gale with Phill Raymond in 2006.
Kenneth "Ken" David Firth:
Rejoined Miller in Billy Miller and the Great Blokes, then temporarily with Divinyls while they replaced out-going bassist Jeremy Paul with Rick Grossman. Firth was in Interchange Bench with Miller again. He was a session musician on Miller's CDs Victoria and Elsternwick '69.
William "Billy/Bill" Harris Miller:
Produced Frank Howson's cover version of The Ferrets' song "Killing Ourselves". Wrote the song "Moon and Stars" for the ABC TV series Sweet and Sour in 1984. Session musician on Howson's The Boy Who Dared To Dream LP, member of various bands including: Billy Miller and The Great Blokes, The Spaniards, Interchange Bench, The Dave Graney Show and Dave Graney ‘n’ The Lurid Yellow Mist. Some of these have included Firth or Springfield.. In 2018 Miller started working on a project with former Sports vocalist, Stephen Cummings
Dave Springfield :
Rejoined Miller, briefly, in The Spaniards. Released a Country music CD Rev J D Love as Rev J D Love aka David J Schofield.
Rick Brewer:
Later joined The Motivators and Greg Baker's Blues Party.
Billy Miller performed "Don't Fall in Love" for the first Countdown Spectacular Tour of Australia from June to August 2006 and can be seen on the associated DVD. Also on this tour were Jon English and John Paul Young from his Jesus Christ Superstar days.
