One of our favourite bands, Dragon, is on the road again. Did I say ‘again’? Well, they never really stopped! And they never stop coming up with new ways to keep the music alive for audiences around the country. In 2016 and 2017, the guys brought us their Countdown show where they not only performed their own songs but the classic hits of other great Aussie bands from the Countdown era. Now they’re back doing it again but with a twist. This time, they are celebrating the songs of The UK 80s Chartbusters with music from such popular UK artists as Duran Duran, The Police, Billy Idol, Queen and much more.
“We’re trying to keep it interesting,” explains founding member and bass player, Todd Hunter, in our recent interview. “It’s a natural progression from the Aussie chart one and the fact is there are some great songs from that era and it just sort of gave us a way to focus in on it; songs like ‘Heroes’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’, ‘Karma Chameleon’, ‘Don’t You Want Me Baby’, ‘Take on Me’… all that stuff.”
The band has already played a few of these shows and they have been surprised by the obvious affection that the audience seems to have for all these songs. There has been a real revival of 80s music lately and while those of us who remember the 80s love to relive those days, Todd says that a large percentage of the crowd is actually much younger. “It’s great. Because of the internet now, music is more accessible. People know the songs rather than the bands so if they like the song, they like the song which is great.” But the show isn’t entirely about the UK hits. The band will be doing two sets. The first set is the UK songs and the second set, he says, “is all the Dragon stuff. And that seems to keep everyone happy.”
How difficult was it to choose which songs to include in the set?
“It was a process of elimination really,” Todd explains. “If anyone in the band objected to one song, we wouldn’t do it, so we ended up with a whole bunch of songs that everybody liked. I wanted to do ‘Making Plans for Nigel’ by XTC, but nobody else thought it would be a good idea so it didn’t happen. But it’s funny, with shows like this, you can’t just do the really big songs because then you’re like a cover band; but you can’t do really obscure ones either so it’s like a path through an era of songs that work very well. ‘Take on Me’ which Pete sings which is quite high, ‘I Ran’, and we finish with ‘White Wedding’ and ‘Rebel Yell’.”
While they are happy with the songs they have now, he points out that there will most likely be some changes to the set list as the show evolves. “It can be a bit of a challenge with ten songs,” Todd points out, “especially for Mark with all the lyrics that he has to keep in his head plus everything else that he’s doing.” But mixing it up every now and then, he admits keeps it interesting. “It’s not the same thing all the time.”
In between all the gigs, the guys have also been busy recording a new album. “You can hear some songs from that if you go to the band’s Facebook page,” he tells me. “It’s called ‘Life is a Beautiful Mess’ and every week we release another song and put it up on the page.”
You can catch Dragon as they celebrate Countdown 80s UK Chartbusters at the following venues. Tickets are on sale now.
by Sharyn Hamey
Copyright © Sharyn Hamey 2018. All rights reserved
TOUR DATES
Friday 1st June 2018
Calamvale Hotel, CALAMVALE QLD
Cnr Compton & Beaudesert Roads, Calamvale QLD
www.standup.com.au/venue/calamvale-hotel | 07 3273 4777
Saturday 2nd June 2018
The Alexandra Hills Hotel, ALEXANDRA HILLS QLD
Cnr Finucane & McDonald Roads, Alexandra Hills QLD
www.standup.com.au/venue/alexandra-hills-hotel-0 | 07 3824 4444
Sunday 3rd June 2018
The Paddo Tavern, PADDINGTON QLD
186 Given Terrace, Paddington QLD
www.standup.com.au/venue/paddo-tavern | 07 3369 0044
Friday 8th June 2018
Rooty Hill RSL, ROOTY HILL NSW
55 Sherbrooke Street, Rooty Hill NSW
www.rootyhillrsl.com.au
Friday 29th June 2018
The Palms at Crown, MELBOURNE VIC
8 Whiteman Street, Southbank VIC
www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Saturday 30th June 2018
Heads Bowlo [Shoalhaven Heads Bowling & Recreation Club], SHOALHAVEN NSW
76 Shoalhaven Heads Road, Shoalhaven Heads NSW
www.shoalhavenheadsbowlingclub.com.au
Friday 6th July 2018
The Juniors, KINGSFORD NSW
558A Anzac Parade, Kingsford NSW
www.thejuniors.com.au
Saturday 7th July 2018
Brass Monkey, CRONULLA NSW
115a Cronulla Street, Cronulla NSW
www.brassmonkey.com.au | 02 9544 3844
www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545
13th July 2018
Casino RSM, CASINO NSW
162 Canterbury Street, Casino NSW
www.casinorsm.com.au
Saturday 14th July 2018
Sawtell RSL, SAWTELL NSW
38-40 First Avenue, Sawtell NSW
www.sawtellrsl.com.au
Friday 20th July 2018
The Bridge Hotel, ROZELLE NSW
119 Victoria Road, Rozelle NSW
www.ticketek.com.au | 1300 795 012
www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 438 849
www.oztix.com.au
Saturday 21st July 2018
Castle Hill RSL, CASTLE HILL NSW
77 Castle Street, Castle Hill NSW
www.castlehillrsl.com.au
Saturday 28th July 2018
Wenty Leagues, WENTWORTHVILLE NSW
50 Smith Street, Wentworthville NSW
www.wentyleagues.com.au
Saturday 4th August 2018
Revesby Workers Club, REVESBY NSW
2B Brett Street, Revesby NSW
www.rwc.org.au
Friday 24th August 2018
Dubbo RSL, DUBBO NSW
Cnr Brisbane Street & Wingewarra Street, Dubbo NSW
www.dubborsl.com.au
Saturday 25th August 2018
Canterbury Leagues Club, CANTERBURY NSW
26 Bridge Road, Canterbury NSW
www.canterbury.com.au
Friday 31st August 2018
Dee Why RSL, DEE WHY NSW
932 Pittwater Street, Dee Why NSW
www.deewhyrsl.com.au
Saturday 1st September 2018
Hornsby RSL, HORNSBY NSW
4 High Street, Hornsby NSW
Saturday 8th September 2018
The Oaks Hotel, ALBION PARK NSW
249 Princes Highway, Albion Park NSW
www.theoakshotel.com.au
Sunday 16th September 2018
Toronto Hotel [Beer Garden], TORONTO NSW
74 Victory Parade, Toronto NSW
www.torontohotel.com.au
Saturday 20th October 2018
Shoal Bay Country Club, SHOAL BAY NSW
35-45 Shoal Bay, Shoal Bay NSW
www.shoalbaycountryclub.com.au
Friday 2nd November 2018
Lizottes, NEWCASTLE NSW
31 Morehead Street, Lambton NSW
www.lizottes.com.au
Saturday 24th November 2018
Central Hotel, SHELLHARBOUR NSW
3 Memorial Drive, Shellharbour NSW
www.centralhotelshellharbour.com.au
For more information, please visit www.dragononline.com.au
Listen to songs from Dragon’s latest album, ‘Life is a Beautiful Mess’ on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dragonmusic/
