www.MelbourneObserver.com.au
Page 18 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, June 18, 2014
■ They called him ‘The Big O’ and during his career he sold millions of recordings. Roy Orbison was admired by his peers for his creative singing style and fans throughout the world loved him. Roy Kelton Orbison was born in Vernon, Texas, in 1936. His parents gave him a guitar when he was six and his father taught him how to play it. He started a band whilst at high school and in his early days he was friends with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Pat Boone. Roy was a group member of The Teen Kings band and when he went solo he recorded with Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Roy had his first hit in 1956 with the song Ooby Dooby. He married Claudette Frady in 1957 and at that time he was having some success as a songwriter. Roy signed with Monument Records and in 1960 released songs such as Only The Lonely, Crying and Running Scared. Dream Baby was another huge hit song for him in 1962. In 1964 The Beatles invited Roy to sing on their UK tour but he was so popular that he took numerous curtain calls before the Beatles even got onstage. His hair went prematurely grey and he dyed it black for the rest of his life. The photo we have used in this article is courtesy of Pete Smith. Pete went backstage after Roy's 1962 concert at Festival Hall.
Whatever Happened To ... Roy Orbison By Kevin Trask of 3AW and 96.5 Inner FM What is unusual is that Roy is not wearing his trademark sunglasses, but it seems that he only wore them onstage as part of his image. Ray Peterson who had a big hit song with Tell Laura I love Her is also in the photo. Ray passed away in 2005. Roy had another big hit song with Pretty Woman which was released in 1964. The song was later used as the title for the 1990 romantic comedy film starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. Roy suffered tragedy in his lifetime, in 1966 his wife Claudette died in a motorcycle accident and two years later two of his sons were killed in a house fire. Roy appeared on many television shows but
● Roy Orbison, Ray Peterson and Pete Smith only made one feature film titled The Fastest Guitar Alive (it was a shocker). In 1969 he married Barbara Jakobs and they had three children during their marriage. I attended a Neil Diamond concert at the Myer Music Bowl in 1976, Neil announced that he was going to bring a special guest onstage and out walked Roy Orbison. The crowd went wild, Roy Orbison sang Running Scared and they sang a duet of Song Sung Blue. Roy Orbison was in Melbourne for his own
concerts at the time. In 1976 at his last concert Elvis Presley acknowledged Roy Orbison in the audience and said,"Quite simply, the greatest singer in the world, Roy Orbison." In 1977 it was discovered that he had three coronary arteries blocked in his heart. The following year he had a triple heart bypass operation. Not many people know that Australia's rock singer Lonnie Lee worked with Roy in the US composing songs during the 1970's. In 1988 he joined the singing group The Travelling Wilburys which featured George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne. In the same year he also released a new solo album. Sadly Roy Orbison died of a heart attack on December 6, 1988, at the age of 52. His widow Barbara who had been his manager and coproduced the stage musical Only The Lonely The Roy Orbison Story passed away in 2011. Barbara also died on December 6, 23 years after Roy. They are both buried in Westwood Memorial Park and their graves do not have a headstone. Kevin Trask The Time Tunnel - with Bruce & PhilSundays at 8.20pm on 3AW That's Entertainment - 96.5FM Sundays at 12Noon 96.5FM is streaming on the internet. To listen, go to www.innerfm.org.au and follow the prompts.
Keith McGowan fulfilled his ‘destiny’ ■ I used to call them ‘Territory Moments' - just when you thought you'd seen it all. From people regularly sleeping in the middle of the road, as per last week; to a gentleman hopping out of his car and stuffing a recently roadkilled kangaroo onto his back seat; to supermarkets selling deep frozen kangaroo tails; to a drunken man swaying
along the Todd Mall, loudly berating Captain Cook. Then I have seen a line of people across the Stuart Highway near the Rock turn-off, holding up cars, threatening them with rocks, and demanding money and alcohol. And I've seen patients walking down the Mall in their pyjamas, having just discharged themselves from
Pith And Point TV Memories
‘Relaxed’
From Page 17 It was driven by a driven driver... and the tranquillity that followed. Back to the interesting book, perhaps another cold drink from the car fridge, and if necessary. I didn't need a tree to go behind. Ah no. I had an entire forest. Ain't nature great? Hi jinx with Arch Fletcher. I can't remember which venue it was, but it was a country location. I was having a yarn with a couple of other crew members after we had gone off air, probably having a beer, when an object abruptly fell around my neck from behind. It was a snake. Here, let me go on record as saying that I didn't freak out. Why? Because I knew that we were standing in the open away from any trees, and also because the creature didn't move. I've never handled a snake before or since, and it was repulsive at the time, but I lifted it off my neck, turned around and discovered Arch Fletcher grinning at me, and threw the snake back at him. Being Arch, he nimbly shifted those old, bowed legs aside. “Just a dead one we picked up on the road up here,” he said, grinning. Arch Fletcher, like Ken Bell, saw action during the Korean War, but those bow-legs told of something else: this was a man who had spent muchof his life on horse back. From my recall of a conversation with Arch he mentioned, as did 'Dinger' Bell, their participation on the Korean peninsula. I know, without a moment's hesitation, that I have the backing of all those people who worked with both men, who respected and honoured them, and loved them. - Kenneth Mulholland
■ Arts Centre Melbourne will become the first arts venue in Victoria to host a “relaxed performance” specifically designed for children with Down Syndrome, autism spectrum disorder or sensory and communication disorders. Arts Centre Melbourne in partnership with Victorian Opera will present a relaxed performance of Hansel And Gretel at Fairfax Studio on June 17. The now fully-booked performance is the first in a wider disability access pilot program funded by $80,000 in donations from The Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Charitable Trust and the Cassandra Gantner Foundation.
Celebration ■ Cirque du Soleil officially celebrated its 30th anniversary on Monday (June 16). Three decades ago, Cirque du Soleil was the dream of a small community of travelling performers in Quebec, Canada who would do anything to share their love of the circus.
The Voice Kids ■ A new show that will unearth Australia’s outstanding young musical talent, The Voice Kids, premieres Sunday (June 22), at 6.30pm on Channel 9.
An Artspace ■ Heidi Valkenburg, Sarah Masson and Kat Phillimore opened An Artspace upstairs at Carters Public House, 300 High St, Northcote, on Saturday (June 14). It remains open until July 5.
hospital; one chap was being wheeled down the street by his mate with his bottle and drip still attached. But last week an older lady hobbling about on a walking frame was subdued with capsicum spray. She had been throwing rocks at her carer, and apparently had a couple of knives in her possession, so the police were called. So she and her walking frame were quickly bundled into a divvy van. Never seen that yet in Swanston St! ■ When Angie McGowan called me last week to tell me that Keith was about to be awarded a posthumous OAM, I reflected on his life and contribution as I saw it. Over the 40-odd years that I knew him, I witnessed the development of his career to the climax it had been for the past 20 years. Earlier on he was a run of the mill, albeit highly successful, announcer and DJ, but his contribution to society, and his fellow man per se, blossomed latterly, when he fulfilled what I reckon was his "destiny". And that was not merely entertaining, and amusing people, but really making a difference to his listeners' lives. I listened to his listeners as they called in, and was occasionally involved in this, and they were just so excited to be a small part of his world. His voice, this disembodied persona, was not merely just a voice - he was a part of their very existence, another family member, fulfilling a need for company and a kind of companionship for the often long hours when they couldn't sleep. Most of them wouldn't ring in, but they were content just to know he was there, seemingly just individually talking to them personally. And this cheered and chuffed many a sleepy soul as they lay incumbent in their lonely beds. ■ I remember once one of my girls, Petra, rushing into the shop, yelling with excitement: "The cars beat the bikes!" I'd no idea what she was talking about, but then it dawned on me - The Finke! Every Queen's Birthday Weekend the trail bikes and the dune buggies descend upon Alice Springs to race through the desert. Whilst many a Melburnian heads
The Outback Legend
with Nick Le Souef Lightning Ridge Opals 175 Flinders Lane, Melbourne Phone 9654 4444 www.opals.net.au off on their own long weekend jaunts, it's usually to a beach or a stream or a lake somewhere - in Alice it's just the bush. There's nary a waterhole or a lapping wave, or a flowing creek for that matter, in sight - just a dry riverbed which runs for miles. Most of Alice's population fill their utes or 4WD's with swags and booze, and heads out to their favourite spots by the track, which they "bugs" year after year. Some have been set up with permanent barbecues and even rudimentary bush furniture. They then settle down for an entire weekend's entertainment in the form of these growling machines roaring through the sand. Then, as the superb outback sun sets, the campfires are lit, more tops popped, and a grand time is had by all! ■ There's always plenty of talk in Central Australia about feral animals, and there's just been a new report released. It's the Action Plan for Australian Animals , drawing on contributions from 200 experts.
It's identified 133 mammals in the ‘extinct or threatened’ category. And it claims that about 90 per cent of the population of our small animals has disappeared in the last 20 years in the Top End. Of course, as we already knew, Australia's extinction rate is the highest in the world, and it's 40 per cent higher than previously thought. And, unsurprisingly, feral cats are the main problem. Now there's a move afoot to at least get some Western Quolls out and about. There's a ‘Threatened Species Project’ in the Flinders Ranges, and four quolls from the Alice Springs Desert Park have just been released into the area. Last April there was a first batch re-housed into Wilpena Pound, and there are now 36 of them roaming around, so hopefully this new lot will survive the predations of these other vicious and noxious creatures and start breeding up again
■ There's always been a controversy in the NT - Uluru or Ayers Rock? Most Territorians to refer to it as ‘The Rock’, and rarely is Uluru mentioned anywhere, except by visitors. This harks back to 1985, when the edifice was handed back to the traditional owners by Bob Hawke. It's always been a highly political situation - at that time he apparently didn't even consult Caucus about this - he was appeasing a union who had demanded this in return for their support and his political survival. It worked. This outraged the then Territory Labor Government - "We will be out of office for decades to come!" they cried. And there were right. Then the official name change also stuck in the locals' craw, so it's still ‘The Rock’.. So, around Alice Springs there is no mention of Uluru on the highway signs - it says Ayers Rock, much to the confusion of tourists, who are always fed the Aboriginal name by tour and travel agents outside the NT, both locally and internationally. So now there's a move afoot to change this. One gentleman, George Bateman, has been trying for two years. "It'll be done", he was officially told, "when there's money in the budget to pay for it". He's not holding his breath. - Nick Le Souef ‘The Outback Legend’