Blab Music
Iconoclassic Reissues Billy Thorpes 1979 Classic Children of the Sun After 30-Year Hiatus
Iconoclassic Records has just dropped a fully remastered version of Billy Thorpe’s 1979 masterpiece Children of the Sun, delivering the first CD edition in more than thirty years. The new release, available on streaming platforms and in physical format, restores the original 1979 mix while adding extensive liner notes and archival material.
The album was recorded in 1979 with a lineup that featured session bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Alvin Taylor. Produced by Spencer Proffer—who later earned acclaim for Quiet Riot’s 1983 hit Metal Health—the record debuted on Capricorn Records, a label that filed for bankruptcy shortly after its release. It was then licensed to Polydor and re‑issued in 1987 as Children of the Sun … Revisited, a remix that included only five tracks from the original LP and added three new songs.
After the 1987 edition, the album slipped into obscurity. A single 1993 CD pressing appeared in Australia, but its limited run has made it a rare collector’s item. Jeremy Holiday of Iconoclassic, a long‑time fan of Thorpe’s work, discovered the scarcity while browsing Discogs. He noted that the U.S. market had never seen a CD release of the album.
"I wanted to add Children of the Sun to my own CD collection," Holiday told UCR. "When I searched for it on Discogs, I saw it was only available briefly as a rare and now very expensive Australian pressing," he said.
To bring the album back to a wider audience, Holiday worked closely with Proffer and other original collaborators. The project required locating the original ¼‑inch master tapes that Masterdisk had delivered to Polydor in 1979. Universal’s archivist helped track down the tapes, which included handwritten notes on EQ settings. Wouter Bessels used these masters to produce a new remaster that preserves the spatial quality of the original mix. Proffer and engineer Larry Brown provided feedback throughout the mastering process.
The reissue also features new liner notes written by Ralph Chapman, co‑writer of the Peter Frampton documentary Frampton. Chapman’s interviews with the original creators shed light on the album’s space‑opera concept, inspired by a conversation between Thorpe and Proffer about the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The title track, a futuristic anthem, remains the centerpiece of the project.
Rights clearance was a complex part of the release. The original recordings were first licensed to Capricorn, then Polydor, and later to Proffer’s own Pasha Records. Sony’s business affairs confirmed that the rights had reverted to Proffer’s company and that Sony had no current claim on the recordings. Universal confirmed that the master tapes had not returned to Proffer, but the archivist’s recovery of the ¼‑inch masters enabled the reissue.
For Thorpe, who passed away in 2007, the reissue is a posthumous restoration of a key moment in his career. The album peaked in the top 40 of the Billboard Pop Album chart in 1979 and sold approximately half a million copies worldwide. Proffer, who later produced Metal Health, has spoken about the album’s significance, noting that the timing of Capricorn’s bankruptcy and the album’s radio success were unfortunate coincidences.
The 2026 reissue is now available on Iconoclassic Records’ catalog and on major streaming services. Fans of classic rock and Australian music history can access the album’s full track list, including the original six tracks and the additional material from the 1987 remix. The release also includes a collection of visual ephemera from the era, making it a comprehensive package for collectors and new listeners alike.
As of now, no further releases of Thorpe’s catalog are announced, but the success of Children of the Sun may encourage Iconoclassic to explore other overlooked titles from the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The album was recorded in 1979 with a lineup that featured session bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Alvin Taylor. Produced by Spencer Proffer—who later earned acclaim for Quiet Riot’s 1983 hit Metal Health—the record debuted on Capricorn Records, a label that filed for bankruptcy shortly after its release. It was then licensed to Polydor and re‑issued in 1987 as Children of the Sun … Revisited, a remix that included only five tracks from the original LP and added three new songs.
After the 1987 edition, the album slipped into obscurity. A single 1993 CD pressing appeared in Australia, but its limited run has made it a rare collector’s item. Jeremy Holiday of Iconoclassic, a long‑time fan of Thorpe’s work, discovered the scarcity while browsing Discogs. He noted that the U.S. market had never seen a CD release of the album.
"I wanted to add Children of the Sun to my own CD collection," Holiday told UCR. "When I searched for it on Discogs, I saw it was only available briefly as a rare and now very expensive Australian pressing," he said.
To bring the album back to a wider audience, Holiday worked closely with Proffer and other original collaborators. The project required locating the original ¼‑inch master tapes that Masterdisk had delivered to Polydor in 1979. Universal’s archivist helped track down the tapes, which included handwritten notes on EQ settings. Wouter Bessels used these masters to produce a new remaster that preserves the spatial quality of the original mix. Proffer and engineer Larry Brown provided feedback throughout the mastering process.
The reissue also features new liner notes written by Ralph Chapman, co‑writer of the Peter Frampton documentary Frampton. Chapman’s interviews with the original creators shed light on the album’s space‑opera concept, inspired by a conversation between Thorpe and Proffer about the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The title track, a futuristic anthem, remains the centerpiece of the project.
Rights clearance was a complex part of the release. The original recordings were first licensed to Capricorn, then Polydor, and later to Proffer’s own Pasha Records. Sony’s business affairs confirmed that the rights had reverted to Proffer’s company and that Sony had no current claim on the recordings. Universal confirmed that the master tapes had not returned to Proffer, but the archivist’s recovery of the ¼‑inch masters enabled the reissue.
For Thorpe, who passed away in 2007, the reissue is a posthumous restoration of a key moment in his career. The album peaked in the top 40 of the Billboard Pop Album chart in 1979 and sold approximately half a million copies worldwide. Proffer, who later produced Metal Health, has spoken about the album’s significance, noting that the timing of Capricorn’s bankruptcy and the album’s radio success were unfortunate coincidences.
The 2026 reissue is now available on Iconoclassic Records’ catalog and on major streaming services. Fans of classic rock and Australian music history can access the album’s full track list, including the original six tracks and the additional material from the 1987 remix. The release also includes a collection of visual ephemera from the era, making it a comprehensive package for collectors and new listeners alike.
As of now, no further releases of Thorpe’s catalog are announced, but the success of Children of the Sun may encourage Iconoclassic to explore other overlooked titles from the late 1970s and early 1980s.
