It comes as no surprise that the music scene has been hit hard by the COVID pandemic over the last two years. Musicians and fans alike have been dealt blow after blow with gigs postponed or cancelled left, right and centre. Ted Mulry Memories, a concert paying homage to the music of much-loved singer/songwriter Ted Mulry, is one of those shows. Originally scheduled for August 2021 with one show at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre, lockdowns and restrictions have forced the show to be rescheduled twice but now, after a twelve month wait, the Ted Mulry Memories concert is finally coming to the Enmore Theatre on Sunday 4th September with three extra shows now added. Anita’s Theatre in Thirroul (Friday 2nd September), The Joan in Penrith (Saturday 3rd September) and Newcastle Civic Theatre (Monday 5th September). Well-known rock historian, Glenn A. Baker, will MC the show which features a variety of performers singing songs that were written by Ted.
Melbourne-based singer and musician Simon McCullough will be belting out a few of Ted’s tunes at all four shows, joining an amazing array of talent that includes such names as Peter Cupples (Stylus), Tony Romeril (Autumn), Harry Young (Harry Young and Sabbath) Alison McCallum and more. TMG’s Gary Dixon will also be singing a couple of Ted’s biggest hits at the Enmore show on Sunday.
Simon is excited to be part of a tribute to the iconic singer/songwriter. “I was really honoured to be asked,” he told me. “I’ve always been a big Ted Mulry fan. When I was young, I lived in Canberra and I got introduced to Ted back then. My sister went to a couple of shows when she was about 13 or 14 and we had all his albums back then. I’ve been performing music for quite a few years now and I used to do a lot of busking as well and one of the numbers I used to busk was ‘I’m Free’ which is a Ted Mulry song as well, so I loved that tune and some of the other hits as well, like ‘Crazy’ and of course ‘Jump in my Car’ and ‘Darktown Strutters Ball’ and all those tunes. We loved them as kids. He must have been a lovely guy because he was really well loved. Everyone seems to have loved him. He would have been very charismatic I think.” He laughs as he relates the story of his sister who managed to find her way backstage at a TMG gig. “She was only about 13 and she somehow got backstage with the band. My mother somehow caught up with her going backstage and that was the last time I think she was allowed to go!”
As well as his own solo performances, Simon also fronted the band, Destroy She Said and has sung with several other bands and shows including Bon But Not Forgotten, Blood, Sweat and Beers and Whole Lotta Rosie, all of which have provided him with some wonderful memories and opened up future prospects that might otherwise not have been on his radar.
“I did Bon But Not Forgotten from 2013 to 2018 and then I toured with Blood, Sweat and Beers which is part Rose Tattoo, part AC/DC, part The Angels. That was a great platform for me, I suppose, because a lot of people saw me doing my thing. I’ve met a lot of people and I’ve been given a lot of opportunities because of that stuff. I really love doing the big shows that I do with Mark Evans and The Tatts and those guys and Bon But Not Forgotten. I did Bon’s 70th birthday at the Flying Saucer in Melbourne. That was the same crew. They’re all the top of the echelon of Aussie rock and it’s always good to get a guernsey but never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be singing Bon Scott tunes with the bass player he recorded them with so that was great.”
He looks back fondly on his times working with Angry Anderson and Mark Evans. “Mark’s a really generous, awesome guy. He’s the ultimate humble rock god and I found that with Angry and all the rest of them. They’re just salt of the earth kind of people that are just real and they’re still doing what they’ve been doing all their lives which is just amazing. Angry was like a bit of a god to me anyway but at the end of the Blood, Sweat and Beers tour, I felt like he was like my Pop, you know. I felt a bit like that toward him. He’s just a lovely guy. They were like my heroes when I was a kid. Like I said, I’d never have dreamt that when I was learning my AC/DC or Rose Tattoo songs on my tape deck at home in my bedroom, that I’d ever get to meet them or play with them. It’s like a kid’s fantasy come true.”
And Simon feels that being given the chance to perform Ted’s songs on stage, in a show honouring the singer/songwriter and in celebration of what would have been Ted’s 75th birthday, is yet another dream becoming reality. “I was really stoked to be asked.”
You can purchase a copy of Simon’s CD, ‘Southern Ocean Rivers’ here: https://simonmccullough.bandcamp.com/album/southern-ocean-rivers
And you can see Simon, along with an incredible line-up of other talented artists performing a selection of Ted Mulry Memories in these very special concerts celebrating Ted and his music at the venues listed below. Click on the links below to book your tickets.
by Sharyn Hamey
TED MULRY MEMORIES ITINERARY & TICKETS
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 2 2022: ANITAS THEATRE – THIRROUL BOOKINGS: www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 3 2022: THE JOAN THEATRE – PENRITH BOOKINGS: www.thejoan.com.au | 02 4723 7600
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 4 2022: ENMORE THEATRE – SYDNEY (4PM) BOOKINGS: www.ticketek.com.au | 13 28 49
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 2022: CIVIC THEATRE – NEWCASTLE BOOKINGS: www.civictheatrenewcastle.com.au | 02 4929 1977
