Chapter Seventeen – 2020 – Pause for Thought

The year began without too much fanfare and I had become accustomed to a quiet January work-wise, so Karen and I drove up to Queensland for a major catch-up with her large family. Returning to Sydney, Greg Hooper and myself performed as a duo at Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL Club – an afternoon session of Australia Day music. In the evening, Greg and I moved over to Dooleys at Lidcombe to be part of the band for the tribute show Side by Side: Peter Allen & Olivia Newton-John starring Simon Gillespie and Donna Boyd.

In February I performed some Variety spots and played gigs in rock and country bands. Canterbury Country resumed and I invited the three singers from the 70s Unplugged & Electrified! show to be our guests in a specially tailored performance for the night which we called 70s Love Country.

Focusing on the more country-ish seventies material with a real country band made for a great night. It also provided a unique opportunity for me to play alongside singer/guitarist Chris Connolly. Usually it would be one or the other of us on a gig, but not both. Pictured right, we seized the chance to play the harmony guitar solos at the end of Hotel California.

On March 11th it was an early start to get to the Laycock Street Community Theatre at North Gosford for a morning performance of Tapestry The Concert starring Nicki Gillis. The theatre was in the middle of a run of a production of the musical Mamma Mia. We placed our band amongst their wonderful set that resembled a Greek taverna. There was a full-house who gave us a rousing reception and the mood backstage was jubilant. There was cake and tea and all seemed well.

The very next night, Nicki and I were hosting Canterbury Country (show #224) for another packed crowd who witnessed Frank Ifield present his 2020 International Spur Award to Victorian duo Carter & Carter. Backstage, for the first time, talk had turned to the virus that was spreading, and usually demonstrative showbiz folk were wondering whether to hug and kiss as usual, or start bumping elbows instead. There had been reports of sickness on cruise ships and, having spent a lot of time at sea, I was well-aware of the common Norovirus and such, but I began watching the news reports more closely. Overnight the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and the Australian Government began implementing bans on non-essential gatherings that would become more strict as the days and weeks progressed.

At first one or two shows were postponed, then three or four until suddenly within days, all the clubs, hotels and theatres were closed and I had over 40 performances immediately cancelled. All my fellow musicians and artists were in the same situation and amongst the reports of the economic crisis, it was often noted that the ‘arts sector’ and the ‘hospitality industry’ were two of the first to be affected and would be among the last to recover. The events that subsequently unfolded around the world are now history.

Six months later, venues had begun to reopen, albeit with reduced capacity, but it was more a sign of faith and resilience than a return to any economic normality. I played two shows, one of which was with Lucky Starr and Roland Storm as the Golden Boys of Aussie Rock ’n’ Roll. The other was a debut performance of a new production show American Pie, from the makers of 70s Unplugged & Electrified! It features Stephen Fisher-King, Jo Elms and myself performing “the stories and the hits behind the greatest song of our generation”, American Pie. These were rarefied events for the times and the restrictions that prevented the audiences from singing and dancing made for a subdued atmosphere.

During lockdown, I thought I’d try to practice and exercise at the same time…

Lockdown had also forced a reappraisal of how music, and live performance in particular, could be delivered to audiences. While streaming music services had almost killed off CD sales, artists began to assert control over their own performances by creating either one-off ‘ticketed’ video streams or regular transmissions based on the model of the old-fashioned tip jar.

The future of gigs continues to remain uncertain due to ever-changing travel and venue capacity restrictions, but music will always find a way.