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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Aging Rockers Still Getting Gigs in Australia
By Jacqueline Wong
SYDNEY (Reuters) - In this digital era, the aging rock stars of the vinyl years are making a comeback in Australia.
Tickets for concerts by aging rockers such as Bryan Ferry, Fleetwood Mac and David Bowie are selling fast as Australia's baby boomers give the music heroes of their youth another lease of life on stages "Down Under."
Australia may be geographically at the bottom of the world, but for many acts it is now the hot spot to tour after Europe and the United States.
Concert promoter Paul Dainty, who recently brought out Cliff Richard and Tony Bennett, estimates that ticket sales for pop and rock concerts in Australia are in excess of A$100 million ($78 million) a year.
"It's better live. The live touring market generally has been very strong for the last 18 months or so," said Dainty, of Dainty Consolidated Entertainment, who is behind Bowie's current "A Reality Tour" of Australia.
"My view is that it's going to be pretty strong moving forward for the foreseeable future," Dainty said.
David Bowie was scheduled to perform seven concerts in February in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth. One of the biggest bands of the 1970s, Fleetwood Mac, is also now touring Australia for the first time since 1990.
The demand for rock concerts is also underpinned by the stronger spending power of the Australian dollar, up 34 percent against the U.S. currency over the past year.
"The Australian market traditionally has been the strongest concert ticket-buying market per capita in the world," said promoter Michael Hosking of Midas Promotions based in Singapore.
Australian record stores are also experiencing a revival of interest in "best of" albums of aging rockers after they tour. Classic Fleetwood Mac album sets of the 1970s such as "Rumors" and "Tusks" are being reissued to meet the growing demand.
Dan Lander, music editor of Rolling Stone magazine in Sydney, feels that part of the appeal of older rock bands comes from changing tastes and the tribute young musicians still pay to rock legends.
"The Rolling Stones are an obvious example. Their world tour was timed with the fact that suddenly rock was the new rock; there was more excitement surrounding the whole thing than five or 10 years ago when grunge or hip-hop was the thing," he said.
AGING ROCKERS BYPASS ASIA
Unlike Australia, promoters in Asia are targeting younger concert-goers with acts like Ricky Martin (news) and Mariah Carey (news) as many baby boomers in Asia came late to the Western pop revolution sparked by Elvis and the Beatles.
Currency volatility and a younger market in Asia also makes it more of a gamble to bring out singers and bands who played to packed soccer stadiums in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s, but are not well known in Asia.
Problems like flu epidemics have also occasionally spoiled the party for Asia. Veteran American crooner Andy Williams (news) recently postponed a concert tour of Asia set for March because of the spread of a deadly bird flu. He had dates in Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan.
"The mainstay of the tour in this part of the world is Australia and then New Zealand," Dainty said, adding that some tours might do Hong Kong and Singapore, but the majority would not go on to those markets.
And there are no signs yet of concert fatigue in Australia, where consumption is being fueled by a buoyant economy and unemployment at near 14-year lows.
Bowie, who last toured Australia in 1987 to sold-out concerts in three cities, revisits with seven concerts this month following concerts in Britain, Europe and the United States.
While Bowie will head to Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong after Australia, promoters say his audience in Asia is smaller.
"Nostalgia is having a massive comeback and the retro thing is happening certainly in Europe, to a lesser extent America, and to a greater extent in Australia," Hosking said.
"Bowie looks as though he has received a new lease of life."
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
DISCLAIMER
I probably would never have posted this article had it not been for the headline itself. But in many ways it is a good example of "junk journalism". Everytime I see the words "aging" and "rock star" in the same sentence it sets off red lights....somethings not quite right. Well maybe the stats are somewhat valid. Oh well. |
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| corgi37 |
Doesnt hurt that its hot as bloody hell here as well. Cold Vic Bitter, bikini babes roller blading down St.Kilda Esplanade, Formula 1 Grand Prix this weekend, stuff all bombings, footy starting up (Go Saints!!!) and, best of all, a nice long weekend this week, so lazy, crazy, hazy days sitting in my babies pool, resting my head on the inflatable palm tree, feet up on the inflatable slide, baby 1 on my left, baby 2 on my right, beer on the inflatable table, Stones blaring out (my new cd-r i made "Ultimate Stones live") on the boom box (not inflatable). Life is good. My wife, however, is not inflatable. Though she does have holes. Whoa, dont go there. |
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| Angiegirl |
quote:
corgi37 wrote:
best of all, a nice long weekend this week, so lazy, crazy, hazy days sitting in my babies pool, resting my head on the inflatable palm tree,
I'm jealous, I want summer too, I'm cold here, even with the heat turned up and wearing sweater, I'm typing this with ice cold fingers  |
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| Scot Rocks |
Still freezing here, I look forward to the day when I will be able to go out during the day wearing a tshirt instead of a jacket!
Mark
[Edited by Scot Rocks] |
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| stonedinaustralia |
quote:
corgi37 wrote:
My wife, however, is not inflatable. Though she does have holes. Whoa, dont go there.
corgi, that was friggin funny - i can't wait 'til Joey reads it |
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| polksalad69 |
deja vu
http://www.sharingthegroove.org/msgboard/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47151 |
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| Child of the Moon |
Mustn't forget the Who. They've been avoiding Australia for a long time. I think Daltrey and Entwistle went over there once in the 90's, but... |
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| jb |
nAOMI wATTS IS bEAUTIFUL |
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| Joey |
" Mustn't forget the Who. They've been avoiding Australia for a long time. I think Daltrey and Entwistle went over there once in the 90's, but... "
www.thewholive.de
Pete and Company are going back next year .
The Stones played about fifty gigs in Australia last year .
Word !
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| Joey |
" I look forward to the day when I will be able to go out during the day wearing a tshirt instead of a jacket! "
I look forward to the day when a cold shower helps me health .
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| corgi37 |
If the Who tour Oz, i am in 2 minds. No 3.
1. Would love to see them.
2. They are not the Who.
3. Townsehend is a petulant prick.
The "REAL" Who toured Oz only once. 1968. They got pissed with (i think) The Small Faces on a flight, and nearly got booted out of the country. Pete vowed never to return, and had kept his word. He had never been to Oz since. Daltrey came out around 98-99 trying to drum up interest in a tour of a band he calle the Who, but most called, "Need the money do ya mate?". It was him, ox, zack & Pete's fucking brother! Hey, why not his 3rd cousin? Now, 10, maybe 15 years ago, we stupid dorks would have fallen over ourselves to see this concoction, and Daltrey probably thought we would too, but, the tour was cancelled to lack of interest. Keith Moon came out to Oz for a 2nd time back in (i think) 1973. He came out to play UNcle Ernie in a stage show of TOMMY. Local pop star Darrel Braithwaite, then of faggy band SHERBET (best known in U.K. for a song in 77 called HOWZAT). Anyway, Keith was his usual self. Fellow Aussies on this board will no the name Ian "MOLLY" Meldrum. Well, Meldrum was Keith's minder. Pfft! As if. Keith was in vintage form. He disappeared one night, and boarded a bus in Albert Park (For all you re-heads, Albert Park is were the Grand Prix is this week-end). He was armed with a bottle of Cognac, and demanded the driver take him to Cuba. I coul be wrong, but i think he was in his Uncle Ernie get up!
But, if the Who tour, yeah, i'll probably see them. Grudgingly. |
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