Adrian Staszkiewicz

Meet Adrian Staszkiewicz from Australia.

Hi, my name is Adrian but I also go by the name of Spurs in the America Fans chat folder as a tribute to my favourite soccer team. I didn't become an America fan shamefully until 75 when I heard Sister Golden Hair, could not shake that tune out of my head. So it was down to my local record shop to get the single and the splendid Hearts album. To my shock the guys had already put out a considerable body of work, which was a delight to delve into all their earlier albums. No sooner did I purchase all earlier albums than History hit the streets, soon followed by Hideaway. I was well and truly hooked and it has remained that way ever since. Living in England at the time did present a problem, America did not seem to tour, which was understandable, the UK charts had given way to fashion and fad i.e. punk, disco, even a number of comedy records. The UK charts were wildly unsophisticated compared to its US counterpart. But by reading the fine print in many music papers I was still able to find out America were still releasing albums. On one such occasion it was a train trip to London to aquire Alibi which topped the import chart as the afore mentioned album was never released in the UK. Then a turning point in my life I decided on a holiday to Australia where I quite amazingly bumped into George Martin in the scenic Blue Mountains outside Sydney. I had to say hello and complimented him on his work with America. What a charming and delightful man he is, then introduced me to his wife and daughter. So a few years later I migrated to Australia selling my home and saying goodbye to loved ones friends and the life I knew. After a time I lived in Sydney never knowing if America were still going. But speaking to many Aussies, a number of people had seen them performing in Oz and New Zealand. Then one day there's an ad in the Sydney morning paper that America will be perfoming a number of dates around Sydney. I was almost quite beside myself with excitement. It was at St. George's Leagues club when before the show I met Scott Harder who asked for my story as an America fan and took me backstage before the show to meet the guys who were charming and polite as could be. I thought it would be a quick in and out but Gerry invited me to sit down and chat for a while whereupon I discovered his parents lived quite close to my old home in the UK. I've seen these guys every chance I get and it's still as rewarding as ever. My only wish is that Gerry, Dewey, and the gang get the recognition and accolades they so richly deserve. After all, they are so much more than a 70's act.

Feel free to send your comments or questions to Adrian.