Complete List Of The Little River Band Members

Feature Photo: WWGB, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Little River Band was formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975. As someone who grew up in the 1970s, so many of their songs, including “Help Is on Its Way,” “Lonesome Loser,” “Reminiscing,” and “Cool Change,” bring back a lot of memories. The group became one of the most successful Australian bands in the United States, built around polished songwriting, strong musicianship, and those unmistakable vocal harmonies.

The band’s founding core consisted of Glenn Shorrock, Beeb Birtles, Graeham Goble, and Derek Pellicci. Graham Davidge and Dave Orams participated in the earliest rehearsals and performances during the transition from Mississippi, while Ric Formosa and Roger McLachlan completed the first Little River Band recording lineup. Over the next five decades, the group went through an extraordinary number of personnel changes.

By 2026, the Little River Band catalog includes eighteen studio albums, with Window to the World arriving in 2024. The current touring and recording lineup consists of Wayne Nelson, Chris Marion, Ryan Ricks, Colin Whinnery, and Bruce Wallace. None of the current musicians were founding members of the band, making the history of Little River Band one of the most unusual lineup stories in classic rock.

Glenn Shorrock

Glenn Shorrock was a founding member and the original lead vocalist of Little River Band. Before joining the group, he had already established himself in Australia with The Twilights and Axiom. His voice became one of the defining elements of the band’s international breakthrough.

Shorrock sang lead on many of Little River Band’s best-known recordings, including “Reminiscing,” “Lonesome Loser,” “Cool Change,” and “Help Is on Its Way.” He was with the group from 1975 until 1982, returned in 1987, and remained until 1996.

Beeb Birtles

Beeb Birtles was one of the founding members of Little River Band, serving as a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and an important part of the group’s harmony arrangements. Before Little River Band, he had played with Zoot and Mississippi.

Birtles appeared throughout the band’s classic 1970s period and remained with Little River Band until 1983. His songwriting contributions included “Happy Anniversary,” while his voice helped create the layered harmonies that became one of the group’s trademarks.

Graeham Goble

Graeham Goble was a founding guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and vocal arranger for Little River Band. He had previously been a central figure in Mississippi, the group from which Little River Band developed.

Goble wrote some of the band’s most enduring songs, including “Reminiscing,” “Lady,” “Take It Easy on Me,” “The Night Owls,” and “The Other Guy.” He stopped touring with Little River Band in 1989 but remained connected with the group through recordings and business interests into the early 1990s before departing completely.

Derek Pellicci

Derek Pellicci was a founding member and the original drummer of Little River Band. His drumming provided the foundation for the band’s classic recordings from the self-titled debut through the early 1980s.

Pellicci remained with the group from 1975 until 1984. He returned when Glenn Shorrock rejoined in 1987 and continued with Little River Band until 1997, giving him one of the longest tenures among the original members.

Graham Davidge

Graham Davidge played lead guitar during the earliest 1975 transition from Mississippi into the group that became Little River Band. He took part in rehearsals and initial performances before the first permanent recording lineup was established.

His tenure was brief. Ric Formosa soon took over lead guitar duties and became the guitarist on Little River Band’s first studio album.

Dave Orams

Dave Orams played bass during the earliest 1975 rehearsals and performances as the musicians who had been working under the Mississippi name developed into Little River Band.

Like Graham Davidge, Orams was part of the formative lineup rather than the first established recording lineup. Roger McLachlan soon became the band’s bassist.

Ric Formosa

Ric Formosa was the lead guitarist and a vocalist in the first Little River Band recording lineup. He joined in 1975 and played on the band’s self-titled debut album.

Formosa’s guitar work helped shape the early sound of the group before his departure in 1976. David Briggs replaced him as lead guitarist as Little River Band moved into the period that brought its greatest international success.

Roger McLachlan

Roger McLachlan was the bassist in Little River Band’s first recording lineup, serving from 1975 to 1976. His playing can be heard on the band’s early recordings, including the self-titled debut.

McLachlan returned to Little River Band more than two decades later, playing with the group again from 1998 into 1999. He died in April 2025 at the age of seventy-one.

David Briggs

David Briggs joined Little River Band in 1976 as lead guitarist, replacing Ric Formosa. He became part of the classic lineup during the band’s rise in Australia and the United States.

Briggs appeared on albums including Diamantina Cocktail, Sleeper Catcher, First Under the Wire, and Time Exposure. His guitar work was a major part of the band’s polished rock sound before he left in 1981.

George McArdle

George McArdle replaced Roger McLachlan on bass in 1976 and remained with Little River Band through 1979. He played during one of the band’s most commercially successful periods.

McArdle appeared on Diamantina Cocktail and Sleeper Catcher and was part of the lineup that recorded many of the songs that established Little River Band internationally, including “Reminiscing” and “Lady.”

Geoff Cox

Geoff Cox briefly played drums with Little River Band in 1978. His time with the group came during a busy period of touring when the band’s international profile was rapidly expanding.

Cox’s role was temporary, with founding drummer Derek Pellicci remaining the group’s principal drummer during the era.

Mal Logan

Mal Logan played keyboards with Little River Band as a touring musician from 1978 into the early 1980s. His keyboard work added another layer to the band’s increasingly sophisticated live arrangements.

Logan’s tenure overlapped the period surrounding First Under the Wire and Time Exposure, when Little River Band was enjoying some of its greatest success in the United States.

Barry Sullivan

Barry Sullivan played bass for Little River Band from 1979 to 1980 during the period between George McArdle’s departure and Wayne Nelson’s arrival.

Sullivan was part of the touring lineup and appears on material associated with the band’s live period around 1980. He died in 2003.

Wayne Nelson

Wayne Nelson joined Little River Band in 1980 after the group encountered him while touring with Jim Messina. The American bassist also became an important vocalist and eventually one of the longest-serving musicians in the band’s history.

Nelson sang lead on “The Night Owls” and shared lead vocals on “Take It Easy on Me,” both major U.S. hits from the Time Exposure era. He remained with Little River Band through 1996, returned in 1999, and has continued with the group ever since.

As of 2026, Nelson serves as Little River Band’s lead vocalist and bassist and is the longest-tenured member of the current lineup.

Stephen Housden

Stephen Housden joined Little River Band as lead guitarist in 1981 following the departure of David Briggs. His tenure extended through several major eras of the group, including the John Farnham years, Glenn Shorrock’s return, and the later American-based lineups.

Housden became the sole owner of We Two Pty Ltd after the other shareholders departed during the 1990s. The company held the Little River Band name and trademarks, a situation that later became the subject of legal disputes with founding members. Housden stopped touring with Little River Band in 2006 after twenty-five years as a performing member.

John Farnham

John Farnham became Little River Band’s lead vocalist in 1982 after Glenn Shorrock’s first departure. Already a major figure in Australian music, Farnham brought a more forceful rock vocal style to the group.

He appeared on The Net, Playing to Win, and No Reins. Songs from the Farnham era included “The Other Guy,” “We Two,” and “Playing to Win.” Farnham left the group in 1986 and soon entered the enormously successful solo phase that produced “You’re the Voice.”

David Hirschfelder

David Hirschfelder joined Little River Band in 1983, contributing keyboards, synthesizers, and backing vocals during the John Farnham era.

He appeared on The Net, Playing to Win, and No Reins. After leaving the group in 1986, Hirschfelder went on to become an acclaimed film composer.

Steve Prestwich

Steve Prestwich joined Little River Band on drums in 1984 after Derek Pellicci’s first departure. Best known previously for his work with Cold Chisel, Prestwich brought a strong rock background to the band’s mid-1980s lineup.

He appeared on Playing to Win and No Reins before leaving in 1986. Prestwich died in 2011.

Malcolm Wakeford

Malcolm Wakeford played drums with Little River Band during 1986 as the group went through another transitional period near the end of John Farnham’s tenure.

His time in the lineup was brief and centered primarily on live performance before the band became inactive and later reorganized with returning members.

James Roche

James Roche joined Little River Band as a touring keyboardist during the late 1980s after the band’s reformation with Glenn Shorrock and Derek Pellicci.

He performed with the group during the period surrounding Monsoon and remained part of the touring lineup into 1989.

Peter Beckett

Peter Beckett, known for his work with Player, joined Little River Band around 1989 as guitarist and vocalist after Graeham Goble stopped touring with the group.

Beckett remained through 1997 and brought another experienced songwriter and lead vocalist into the lineup. He appeared during the Worldwide Love and Live Classics period before eventually returning to Player.

Tony Sciuto

Tony Sciuto played keyboards, guitar, and vocals for Little River Band during two stretches, from 1990 to 1992 and again from 1993 to 1997.

Sciuto’s versatility made him valuable during a period when the band relied increasingly on musicians who could handle multiple instruments and contribute to the vocal arrangements.

Richard Bryant

Richard Bryant played keyboards and provided backing vocals with Little River Band from 1992 to 1993.

His tenure fell between Tony Sciuto’s two periods with the group and included the lineup associated with the band’s Live Classics era.

Hal Tupea

Hal Tupea played bass for Little River Band during portions of the 1990s, including a brief period in 1993 and again from 1996 to 1997.

He filled the bass position during times when Wayne Nelson was away from the group and was part of the lineup during the final years before Little River Band ceased to have any founding members in its touring configuration.

Steve Wade

Steve Wade became Little River Band’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist in 1996 following Glenn Shorrock’s second departure.

Wade continued with the band through 2000, bridging the final years of the Australian-heavy lineup and the beginning of the later configuration that would increasingly be based in the United States.

Kevin Murphy

Kevin Murphy joined Little River Band as drummer and vocalist in 1998 and remained until 2004.

Murphy appeared during the period that produced Where We Started From and Test of Time, contributing both drums and vocals as the band resumed recording new material.

Paul Gildea

Paul Gildea joined Little River Band in 1998 as guitarist and vocalist. Before joining the group, he had worked with Australian rock band Icehouse.

Gildea remained through 2000 and participated in the early stages of the lineup that recorded Where We Started From.

Adrian Scott

Adrian Scott played keyboards and provided vocals for Little River Band from 1998 to 1999.

His brief tenure came during the rebuilding of the band around Stephen Housden and Steve Wade, before Glenn Reither took over the keyboard role.

Glenn Reither

Glenn Reither joined Little River Band in 1999, playing keyboards and saxophone while also contributing backing vocals.

He remained through 2004 and appeared on Where We Started From and Test of Time, giving the band an additional instrumental voice during its early-2000s recording period.

Greg Hind

Greg Hind joined Little River Band in 2000 as guitarist and vocalist and remained with the group for eighteen years.

Hind became a major part of the band’s twenty-first-century touring lineup and contributed to recordings including Where We Started From, Test of Time, Re-arranged, the group’s Christmas project, and Cuts Like a Diamond. He left in 2018.

Kip Raines

Kip Raines played drums with Little River Band from 2004 to 2005 during the transition following Kevin Murphy’s departure.

His tenure was relatively brief before Billy Thomas became the band’s drummer.

Chris Marion

Chris Marion joined the Little River Band family in the mid-2000s as keyboardist and vocalist. Before joining the group, he had worked extensively in Nashville and had been a member of Western Flyer.

Marion became an important part of the band’s later recording and touring identity, contributing keyboards, vocals, production work, and orchestral arrangements. As of 2026, he remains a member of Little River Band.

Billy Thomas

Billy Thomas served as Little River Band’s drummer from 2005 to 2007.

His tenure covered a busy touring period and overlapped the era surrounding Re-arranged before Mel Watts succeeded him on drums.

Rich Herring

Rich Herring joined Little River Band in 2006 after Stephen Housden stepped away from touring. Herring played guitar and provided vocals for sixteen years.

He was part of numerous tours and later recording projects, including Cuts Like a Diamond. Herring remained with Little River Band until 2022, when Bruce Wallace joined the lineup.

Mel Watts

Mel Watts became Little River Band’s drummer in 2007 and remained with the group until 2012.

Watts anchored the rhythm section through several years of touring before Ryan Ricks took over the drum chair.

Ryan Ricks

Ryan Ricks joined Little River Band in 2012 as drummer and vocalist. His ability to sing while handling the band’s demanding drum parts made him a natural fit for a group whose identity has always depended heavily on vocal harmony.

Ricks has remained with Little River Band through the band’s recent touring and recording years and is part of the current 2026 lineup.

Colin Whinnery

Colin Whinnery joined Little River Band in 2018 as guitarist and vocalist after Greg Hind’s departure. The Nashville musician brought extensive experience as a guitarist, bassist, songwriter, and recording engineer.

Whinnery shares lead guitar and vocal duties in the current band and produced the 2024 studio album Window to the World. As of 2026, he remains part of Little River Band’s touring and recording lineup.

Bruce Wallace

Bruce Wallace joined Little River Band in 2022, replacing Rich Herring in the guitar lineup. The Nashville singer-songwriter and guitarist contributes rhythm guitar and vocals.

Wallace became part of the lineup that recorded Window to the World. As of 2026, he continues to perform with Wayne Nelson, Chris Marion, Ryan Ricks, and Colin Whinnery.

Little River Band’s Current Lineup

As of 2026, Little River Band’s touring and recording lineup consists of:

Wayne Nelson – lead vocals and bass

Chris Marion – keyboards and vocals

Ryan Ricks – drums, percussion, and vocals

Colin Whinnery – lead guitar and lead vocals

Bruce Wallace – guitar and vocals

The current lineup contains no founding members, but it continues to tour and record under the Little River Band name. The band’s long personnel history stretches from the original Australian lineup of the 1970s through a succession of Australian, American, and international musicians who have carried the music through more than five decades.

More Little River Band History

Read more about the band’s music in our Top 10 Little River Band Songs, Complete List Of Little River Band Albums And Discography, and Complete List Of Little River Band Songs From A to Z.

Little River Band Members at a Glance

Updated August 17, 2026.

Complete List Of The Little River Band Members article published on ClassicRockHistory.com © 2026