Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were an Australian pop and rock group dating from the mid-1960s. The origins of the band name began with The Aztecs which were renamed Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs when Billy Thorpe joined as lead singer. The original band members quit in 1965 over a financial dispute and Billy Thorpe reformed the group with a new line-up. The group enjoyed success, but split in 1967. They re-emerged in the early 1970s to become one of the most popular Australian hard-rock bands of the period. The band ended in 1975.