The Sharp

The Sharp was a 3-piece pop/rock band from Melbourne, Australia. The band formed in 1988 with Charlie Rooke on guitar and lead vocals, Allan Catlin on double bass and lead vocals, and Danny Simcic / Tony Day on drums. They performed live gigs around Melbourne/Geelong; a mix of rockabilly and 50's rock'n'roll cover songs, which brought keen rock'n'roll dancers from all over Melbourne to their shows. In between performances, Rooke and Catlin wrote original songs, both individually and jointly, and collaborated many future hits together. After releasing two EPs independently, they were signed to in 1992. Piet Collins, who was writing 'Neighbours' episodes at the time, took over as the band's drummer due to other commitments for both Danny Simcic & Tony Day. They had their first hit single 'Talking Sly', written & sung jointly by Charlie Rooke and Allan Catlin, featuring wild psychobilly guitar over Manchester funk grooves. The Sharp released their debut album 'This is The Sharp/This is The Sharp' in 1993, achieving 7 ARIA nominations and an MTV top 40 gold record.