Musical history.
My first on-stage experience was at six years of age, singing at a Butlins Holiday Camp. I sang a
song and won first prize. (I still have the silver cup!)
My parents then enrolled me in an acting school, which resulted in me doing several movies
and TV Ads. I also learned singing and I confess, I did like the Tap Dancing. I can still do a time
step!
The main thing I learned was that I didn’t really want to be a performer. I preferred to hide
behind the piano. Plus, the movie sets were brightly lit and my eyes didn’t like the glaring lights.
Soon after, we moved as a family to Australia.
I was nine years old when my parents bought a Roadhouse, 20 kilometres outside Port Pirie in
South Oz. Because I had not been to a normal school, I had no understanding of how a normal
school operated. I disliked it intensely and decided not to go. When the school bus came for me
and all the kids from the local farms, I couldn’t be found. So my mum decided that if I wasn’t
going to school, I’d read books and play piano at home. So I read everything she gave me and
consider it a grand education. I still have a connection to books and a library with some rarities.
My first taste of being a musician was at the age of 13. I was taken to play at the Annual Flying Doctors Ball, which was held in Birdsville. My first professional job was in my teens when I joined Adelaide band ‘Bobby Gardiner & The Pirates’ (who became ‘The Harts’). I’d moved from playing piano to guitar at this point. ‘The Harts’ were John Farnham’s band in Adelaide.
The first influence on my musicality was my parents, the second was Bobby. He taught me how to be in a band, run a band, play the right parts, plus sing and harmonise.
Musical history.
From that time on, I was a working pro musician. I played in many recording bands.
Then I decided to go overseas, where I played solo piano and organ in
international hotels throughout Asia. In Singapore I played in the Summit
Hotel, on Guam I played the Japanese Okura Hotel, In London it was the
Kensington Hilton. I’ve even played for the Sultan of Brunei. I’d like to have
spent more time in America. While I was there I connected with the musicality
of the people.
I had a most memorable musical moment while I was playing in the piano bar
at the Holiday Inn, Surfers Paradise. I was playing Autumn Leaves when a
trumpeter entered the bar playing the melody, and then a fantastic solo. I
didn’t recognise him, but he’d arrived with the agent who booked me into the
gig. He introduced himself as Randy Brecker and played my set with me to the
end.
As a composer I have written music for the opening of the Olympic Games, the
AFL Centenary, music for Off-Broadway play ‘Revival in Hell’, a TV documentary
‘Fraser Island’, as well as Jingles for Myers, Farmers Union and National Mutual Insurance. I
also have a song writing award from the National Gospel Association.
I have recorded, toured or played with members of Tina Turner’s band, George
Benson, Thelma Houston, Little River Band, Doug Parkinson, Russell Morris and more, while I was MD for Peter Andre’s Oz tour. (‘The Harts’ were John Farnhams
band in Adelaide.)
Another memorable moment was working with Tiny Tim on his Australian tour. My brother
Jonathan and I were booked to be the band. We soon learned there would be
no rehearsal, no talk through, and when we arrived for the gig, there were no
charts either. This didn’t faze us as we knew many old songs, which we
presumed he’d be doing. And he did. He didn’t really acknowledge us, or give us a
song list. He just came out on stage and started playing his Ukulele and singing.
He went from one song to another for 45 minutes. We just used our ears
and followed. It was somewhat frantic trying to keep up, but we finished the
performance without it becoming a train wreck. The experience dramatically tested our repertoire knowledge and accompanying skills. These are musical skills that you can’t learn
at a conservatorium, or in a music class, it’s purely musicality, experience and
repertoire. He liked it enough to take us to play with him at the Sydney Opera House.
When the tour was finished, Jonathan and I looked at each other and said
‘WTF did we just do’!?
My ‘finishing school’ has been working with Venetta Fields. For the last 20 years, I’ve been
Venetta’s musical director to. She’s sung with Aretha Franklin, Toto, Barbara Streisand, Ike &
Tina Turner, Steely Dan, Pink Floyd and many, many more.
Venetta brought me a wealth of experience to absorb… it felt like I was playing piano for
royalty. In fact, Venetta introduced me to actual Royalty. I met Princess Anne when we played
at the opening of the Commonwealth Games.
Of all the piano players in all the towns, in all the world, she chose me as her accompanyist.
And for that, I’ll be forever grateful.
