Joe Camilleri has enjoyed a career in music like no other. For over 40 years he has wowed on stage and on CD. His songs, including ‘Shape I’m In‘, ‘Hit & Run‘, ‘Harley & Rose‘ and ‘Chained To The Wheel‘ are a part of our lives.
Over three extraordinary nights one of our most admired performers will traverse his songbook. With a little help from some special guests who made the journey with him, Camilleri will perform tracks from the very early days in ’64 through to today.
“It’s hard for me to look back most of the time. So many songs have helped shape my life. They tell me there is no finish line and I’m still under the influence.” – Joe Camilleri
THE SPIEGELTENT, Melbourne
Wed 26 Nov @ 9.15pm – Pubs and Bars 1964 – 1979: The Early Years
Wed 3 Dec @ 9.15pm – Song Lines 1979 – 1993: Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons
Wed 10 Dec @ 9.15pm – White Line Fever 1993 – 2008: The Black Sorrows
Bookings: 1300 136 166 or www.ticketmaster.com.au
As another summer rolls on I have reached that golden age of 60. 44 years in the business of show, most of it hanging round waiting to go on somewhere in the world.
Here is my musical story.
PUBS AND BARS 1964 – 1979 (Performance Wed 26 Nov 2008)
The early days. These were the days you could hit the walls and bounce right back. There was more fun to have in the early days, cos it was all new. Even the old stuff sounded new to us – there is always shelf life in good songs. I loved the radio till around ˜64, I didn’t have the stomach for it after that – there was so much more music out there to explore. Blues, soul, jazz, country, rockabilly and everything else between the cracks.
The Songs:
01. Dimples
02. I Just Wanna Make Love To You
03. King Bee
04. Mona
05. Route 66
06. Hip Shakin’ Woman
07. Carol
08. Don’t Look Back
09. Tobacco Rd
10. These Arms Of Mind
11. Earth Cries Heaven Smiles
12. Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover
13. Shape I’m In (not the Jo Jo Zep song)
14. Come On In My Kitchen
15. All Over Now
16. Mellow Saxophone
17. You Better Move On
18. Lonely Avenue
19. I Believe To My Soul
The Players:
Joe Camilleri vocals sax guitar / Joe Creighton bass / Jeff Burstin guitar / Gary Young drums / Wayne Burt guitar
BUY TICKETS FOR PUBS AND BARS 1964 – 1979
SONG LINES 1979 – 1993 (Performance Wed 3 Dec 2008)
“By the time Jo Jo Zep was in its second year Wayne Burt had had enough of the travel and the disco music we had to endure. This may have been a hasty decision but is something we all go through. There is a lot of road kill.
“I was sad to see him go and we had to fill Wayne’s song-writing shoes; I had only dabbled in it – a song here or there. Tony and Willie stepped into Wayne’s place. So Young was born. Jeff and Tony played a big part in writing this. They took and interpreted my abstract tunes and helped shape them in the early writing sessions, feeding the savage beast called Jo Jo Zep.
“Jo Jo Zep was changing from a hard rocking blues / blowing band into a pop-reggae-Countdown-appearing-international-tofu-farting-hit-making band. My psyche didn’t really want this. Playing live was the real thing, everything else was a fog.
“The Falcons were never in step with the times. Looking back now Jo Jo Zep was unique. I’m grateful for standing in their company.
The Songs:
01. Security
02. So Young
03. Hit And Run
04. Shape I’m In
05. Confessin’ The Blues
06. Honey Dripper
07. Young Girl
08. Ain’t Got No Money
09. Don’t Want To Come Down
10. Dancing Mood
11. The Cthulhu
12. Sugar Coated Love
13. I Need Your Loving
14. What Does It Take To Win Your Love?
The Players:
Joe Camilleri vocals sax guitar / Joe Creighton bass / Jeff Burstin guitar / Gary Young drums / Tony Faehse guitar/ Wilbur Wilde sax
BUY TICKETS FOR SONG LINES 1979 – 1993
WHITE LINE FEVER 1993 – 2008 (Performance Wed 10 Dec 2008)
“1983 fishing in the bay. Cajun music on the juke box, no fish on the line. Time to start again. The idea? Playing a mixture of great songs from a day gone by in a different way. Bring together some sounds that weren’t part of the musical landscape.
“Piano accordion, violin, clarinet and trumpet was my idea of a horn section – a touch European, a little cajun – and a blue print to make the Black Sorrows elastic.
“We became an underground hit. Sonola was recorded in a day and started to make some inroads on the radio. But you can have too much of a good thing. By the time the Sorrows’ A Place in the World was being recorded everything I needed to keep the band together was falling apart. The band didn’t look the same, there was little cajun music and every one was jumping off.
“Nick Smith and I started writing songs for another project. We penned a song called Country Girls. It was what I needed for the A Place in the World recording. Nick Smith and I have been writing songs together ever since. Things started to hot up. Dear Children was a good time. Still no record company on board, but Mystified and Daughters Of Glory were all over the radio. Hard work but it felt good. Lots of gigs and the songwriting wasn’t drying up. Hold On To Me helped turn the Sorrows from a good time bar band into the international act.
“To this day I have always wanted for The Sorrows to be playing all over the world and for the music to stay elastic and free. Inspiration hasn’t ran dry – we are still writing the sweet soul music and The Sorrows are still in the game and a big part in the Australian music landscape.
The Songs:
01. Dear Children
02. Brown Eyed Girl
03. The Chosen Ones
04. Tears For The Bride
05. Chained To The Wheel
06. Come On Come On
07. Hold On To Me
08. Never Let Me Go
09. Harley & Rose
10. Daughters Of Glory
11. Don’t Judge Me Too Hard
12. The Crack Up
13. Baby It’s A Crime
14. Snake Skin Shoes
15. What Levi Wants
16. You Better Move On
17. What A Difference A Day Makes
18. Comfort Me
The Players:
Joe Camilleri vocals sax guitar / George Butrumlis acordian / Joe Creighton bass / Claude Carranza guitar / Ed Bates pedal steel / Tony Floyd drums / Vika Bull vocals / Linda Bull vocals / Jen Anderson violin
BUY TICKETS FOR WHITE LINE FEVER 1993 – 2008
“44 years on and there’s no finish line. I’m still under the influence.”
Joe Camilleri