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My youngest son had been
well conditioned to my P.J.Proby music all his life and he was keen to
join us for a weekend at the Gold Coast where he would also attend the first concert
and finally see what all the fuss was about.
My
wife and I had not long returned from a holiday there, so we decided to stay at
the same apartments which were only two blocks from the concert venue,
Twin Towns Services Club, which is situated right on the State border of New
South Wales and Queensland, at the southern end of Queensland's fabulous Gold
Coast. It is one of the best positioned venues in Australia.
I have included a photo below,
with the Club, which is in Tweed Heads, New South Wales, in the foreground, and the
Club's
Resort, (tall building on left), which is just across the road but actually
situated in Coolangatta, Queensland. An overpass walkway links the two buildings.
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counted down the days and finally on 6th August, 2004 we drove to Sydney Airport and caught a plane for a one hour flight to
Coolangatta. Shortly after arrival we were at the apartments, and for the
benefit of people who may be experiencing a northern hemisphere winter I
have included a photo taken from the balcony. It's a good spot, believe
me. |
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| And it was good to see our man
get a bit of coverage in the local newspaper, the Coolangatta /Tweed Border Mail
on 6th August,2004. |
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We had plenty of time for a walk around Coolangatta and came across this
poster in the front window of
the Tourist Information Centre, and the staff there were kind enough to
reserve it for us as a
souvenir.
Went
for a swim in the surf and then had a bit of a snooze before
getting ready for dinner. At the restaurant the pre-show nerves
were starting to intensify. Could P.J. possibly live up to the memories
I had recounted countless times over the last 39 years?We were to meet Lee & Leanne Thomas outside the
Club, but they rang on the mobile phone to say they could wait no longer
and were going into the Showroom. Guess I wasn't the only one with
pre-Proby show jitters. Not that much later we met them in the
Showroom. We had the best seats in the place, all together, and right in
the middle of the front row. The
show had sold out on both Friday 6th and Saturday 7th August, 2004, each
with a capacity audience of 1050.
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It wasn't long
before the lights dimmed and Miss Billie Davis opened the show
with nice renditions of "Angel Of The Morning", Tell Him" and
"Higher n Higher" which were well received by the audience.
Then came the announcement that I'd waited thirty years to
hear..."Ladies and Gentlemen, ... Mr. P.J. Proby".... Not much of a
build up, I thought, for the greatest singer of all time, but, if it was
short, it was certainly sweet.
The
lights dimmed and the backing band The Pacemakers struck up with the
overture from "I'm Coming Back", a top song from one of the best Proby
albums, "Legend", which was inexplicably never released in Australia.
Shame on you EMI!!
Billie
Davis joined the band on stage as back up singer, while offstage, P.J.
could be heard singing short excerpts from two of his biggest hits,
"Somewhere" and Maria" the tunes of which were blended into the
overture, and he then commenced singing the first few lines of the song
before striding onto the stage to a great reception. This delayed entry
was a Proby trademark in his heyday, and it was so good to see him still
using it so effectively.
It was
just so great to see him back on stage in Australia after such a long
time and he made it obvious from the start that he was very pleased to
be here. He went on to give a wonderful performance, interacting with
the audience and singing most of his biggest hits and other songs which
he did so beautifully.
I
believe the song list was:
I'm
Coming Back
Mission
Bell
Hold Me
Lonely
Weekends
Maria
Questions
Somewhere
Stagger
Lee
American Trilogy
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Proby's
voice is still magnificent despite chest & throat problems on the night.
As it turned out, he had contracted a bug, and unfortunately it was to
stay with him for the duration of the tour. However, his singing was
still magnificent throughout.
In the
Sixties promoters often referred to Proby's "magical stage presence",
and this was still so very evident. I have never seen another performer
with the charisma and talent to match P.J. Proby on stage.
There
was a real buzz in the audience after Proby's performance, and after the
show we went and had a few drinks upstairs where we noticed something
that was to become a familiar sight at all the following concerts, ...
well dressed men with grey haired pony tails.
It was
good to see Proby fans emerging from the woodwork, and what a tribute to
the man who was the instigator of the male pony tail in the Sixties.
Everyone seemed awestruck by his performance and those we spoke to all
told the same story, ... they came because they had enjoyed P.J. Proby
so much in the Sixties and were totally amazed that he could still give
such a stunning performance, and just three months short of his 66th
birthday.
My son
was knocked out too, he thought P.J. was great,.......move over
Pearl Jam!
The
following day we had a great time as there is always heaps of things to
do on the Gold Coast, but we couldn't match the experience of Lee &
Leanne Thomas who stayed at Twin Towns Resort and were astounded when
they pressed the lift button, and when the doors opened out stepped P.J.
Proby and Billie Davis, who were kind enough to sit down with them in
the lobby and have a long friendly chat.
The
second show, on the Saturday night, was even better than the first, as
the band had smoothed out a few minor problems and everyone seemed more
relaxed and settled in..
The
song list was:
I'm
Coming Back
Mission
Bell
Hold Me
Lonely
Weekends
Maria
Questions
Nicky
Hokey
Somewhere
Stagger
Lee
American Trilogy
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Proby's
performance was superb and it became apparent from that night on that he
was stealing the show, with the audience enthusiastically applauding
every song that he sang and many giving standing ovations.
Once
again we met a lot of very happy fans after the show and they were all
totally enthralled by P.J.'s performance.
On the
Sunday, whilst awaiting our flight back to Sydney we spent some time at
market stalls that were spread along the beachfront at Coolangatta. One
of the stalls sold baseball caps on which names or designs could be
added, so I had a "P.J. Proby" cap made for each of the fans that would
be at Table 5 in Melbourne.
Later
that afternoon we caught our flight back to Sydney, picked up our car at
the airport, and drove home really looking forward to the next concert
we were to attend in Sydney on Friday, 13th August.
What a
super weekend we had just had.
Meanwhile, P.J. Proby , Billie Davis, and Gerry & The Pacemakers were
heading to the tropical areas of far north Queensland, with performances
at Brothers Leagues Club, Cairns, on 8th August and Townsville Casino on
11th August. |
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