As of June 2015 Johns recruited two former Blackfeather members, Harry Brus on bass guitar and Stuart Fraser on guitar, along with Gary Steel on keyboards and Paul Wheeler on drums (ex- Icehouse ).
In that year Blackfeather toured Australia for the first time since 1983.
This line up remained together until 2015.
In 2010 Aztec Music re-released Boppin’ the Blues in an expanded CD version.
Since 2003 Johns has occasionally performed using the Blackfeather name alongside Brendan Mason on guitar and Kerry McKenna on bass guitar (both ex- Madder Lake ).
Johns, returned to Australia in 1977 and, after a brief stint with the band Fingerprint, in June of the following year he formed a new version of Blackfeather. It reunited him with the 1972 line-up of Ward, Wylde and Young. By October all except Johns had left, and were replaced…
Read More
Johns formed a new version of Blackfeather in 1975, with Taylor, Doug McDonald on drums, Billy Rylands on bass guitar and Ray Vanderby (ex- Band of Light ) on keyboards; this line-up only lasted a short time. Early the next year Johns formed a more pop-oriented version, with Vanderby, Lee…
Read More
Wylde quit at the end of 1972; he was replaced by two guitarists, Lindsay Wells (ex-Healing Force) and Tim Piper, which returned Blackfeather to the harder, guitar-based style of the Robinson-era group. They performed at the second Sunbury Pop Festival in January 1973. The set was released in the following…
Read More
In early 1972 Blackfeather with Johns, Ward and Wylde were joined by Billy Taylor (ex Flake) on lead guitar. With Gil Matthews (of Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs ) guesting on drums they recorded a new song called ” Boppin’ the Blues ” (July 1972). It became a number-one hit…
Read More
Despite their success internal frictions escalated and there were further line-up changes. By August 1971 the line-up was Johns, Robinson, Harry Brus (ex-Dave Miller Set, Jeff St John’s Copperwine ) on bass guitar and Steve Webb on drums. Johns and Robinson parted ways and each fronted their own version of…
Read More