Where would Australia be without the enduring legacy of Peter Allen and Olivia Newton-John?
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The songs of the beloved musical darlings of Australian 1970s music will come to life in a tribute show at this year’s Ballarat Cabaret Festival, thanks to veteran performers Michael Griffiths and Amelia Ryan.
Fans will remember classic Allen songs such as I Still Call Australia Home and Newton-John’s performances in Grease and Xanadu.
Of course, few could forget the song that Allen wrote and Newton-John performed, I Honestly Love You.
Griffiths said he and Ryan, who have just returned from performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, would not be impersonating the famed pair, but rather performing as themselves.
“The more we perform, the more we discover we’re not so much interested in bio-cabarets, we’re more interested in sharing our own selves,” he said.
“(We’ll be performing) the songs of Peter Allen and Olivia Newton-John, which we love, but also parallels from our own lives, rather than just a bio of Peter and Olivia. And certainly we won’t be assuming them on stage in the conventional sense.”
Griffiths said few Australians before Allen and Newton-John had influenced the international stage to the same extent.
“I think they were both trailblazers in that they were both famous Australians at a time when there was a very short list, particularly Olivia, who was the first female Australian to crack the world.” he said.
“Certainly she was certainly our first big pop star. I think someone like Kylie Minogue exists because of Livvy. And Peter was a singer-songwriter – I can’t think of an Australian before him who had a career like himself.”
He said both he and Ryan were both big fans of the artists and would encourage audience participation.
“Amelia and I both come from a place of admiration and affection,” he said.
“I have a feeling with this show...may be a bit more of a singalong. I think Amelia and I will encourage that. I Still Call Australia Home, you can’t help but sing along. And songs from Grease too, you can’t not sing along to Summer Nights.”
The Ballarat Cabaret Festival will be held October 7 to 9 at the Mining Exchange, with headlining acts Carlotta and Meow Meow. For tickets, visit www.ballaratcabaret.com
