William Richard Thorpe, born on March 29, 1946, in Manchester, England, was an
Australian singer-songwriter and record producer. He emigrated to Australia with
his parents in 1955, settling in Brisbane. At age ten, Thorpe performed under
the pseudonym Little Rock Allen and made regular television appearances. In
1963, he moved to Sydney and formed Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs with Colin
Baigent, Val Jones, Vince Melouney, and John Watson. Their breakthrough hit was
"Poison Ivy", a cover of The Rolling Stones' version, which peaked at Number 1
on local charts in 1964. The band achiev...