Carol Lloyd of Brisbane 70s band Railroad Gin has lost her battle with pulmonary fibrosis.
Railroad Gin formed in Brisbane in 1969 with the fiery Lloyd on lead vocals.
Lloyd was dubbed Australia’s first “Rock Chick’. She opened doors for female artists such as Chrissie Amphlett and Suzi DeMarchi to come along later.
While Railroad Gin managed to generate three top 10 hits in Brisbane the band struggled for national fame. As a result, the album ‘A Matter of Time’ had a national chart peak of 35 despite spending three weeks at number one in Brisbane.
Carol left Railroad Gin after that one album to form The Carol Lloyd Band and became the first rock band to perform at the Sydney Opera House (opening Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs). The band continued on for one more album with new singer Judee Ford.
Carol then released the solo album ‘Take It Or Leave It’ with former Bee Gees drummer Colin Petersen as producer.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk paid tribute to Lloyd saying in a statement.
“I am saddened to hear Carol Lloyd has passed away.
“Carol was a trailblazer in rock ‘n’ roll and she was passionate about encouraging the next generation of musicians.
“She was a family friend and an inspiration to me.
“I admired her and I will miss her”.
