Richard with Mike Rudd
MIKE RUDD SAVES GRAND FINAL WEEKEND!
It was with great anticipation and excitement that my wife Rebecca and I drove from the western suburbs of Sydney to Melbourne to attend the magnificent annual Footy Almanac lunch on Grand Final eve and witness what all pundits predicted would be an epic Grand Final between the Swans and the Lions.
The irrepressible John Harms hosted yet another wonderful lunch and my delight was heightened when I learnt I would be sitting next to Dave Warner of ‘Just A Suburban Boy’ fame. In attendance were some great footy luminaries including the former high-flying Swan Tony Morwood, Gareth Andrews and the parents of Lions stars Joe Daniher and Harris Andrews. Tom Papley’s dad popped in for a chat and Isaac Heeney’s parents were spotted later in the day.
At the conclusion of the festivities culminating in the obligatory raffle and auction, Dave took me to the Public Bar and introduced me to the driving force behind the dominant band of the mid-70’s in Greg Macainsh of Skyhooks fame. We had a quick chat about Shirl, the debut album Living in the Seventies, Countdown and the iconic Melbourne venues and universities they frequented back in the day. I thanked him for the unique contribution he and Skyhooks made to the Australian music industry.
It was a great precursor to that one day in September.
Grand Final day started with the usual pre-game proceedings featuring Christina Anu and daughter, the ageless Mike Brady and of course the much-loved Katy Perry who entered the arena in scenes that reminded us of Angry Anderson’s famous entry to VFL Park in 1991 via a ‘Batmobile’. While Katy is not my ‘cup of tea’ her performance was all class. Even Tiny Tina Arena made a 30 second cameo during ‘I Kissed A Girl’.
Unfortunately, that ‘one day in September’ ended up being a fizzer with the Brisbane Lions producing one of the most brutal and clinical displays of football to obliterate a hapless Swans by 60 points.
It was a disappointing day for footy enthusiasts looking forward to a tight, nail-biting Grand Final.
All was not lost however as part of my desire to be in Melbourne for the Grand Final revolved around an event taking place in the quaint confines of the St Kilda Sports Club in Fitzroy Street the following day.
You see I have been a long-time fan and admirer of the inimitable Mike Rudd the founder and musical force behind Spectrum, Indelible Murtceps, Ariel and other iterations from the early 1970s to today. My brother and I would religiously follow Mike’s band around the Melbourne pub scene in the 1970s. About 20 years ago Mike and his soul mate and collaborator Bill Putt performed at his 50th birthday such was our admiration of the music.
And more recently I interviewed Mike for a two-part special chronicling his career for a Sydney-based community radio station and soon to be released podcast.
As we entered the club Sunday afternoon it became starkly evident that the 70s were a not-so-distant memory and signalled a unique period of Australian culture. Our contemporaries in the audience sported an abundance of grey hair, the odd tightly pulled back ponytail, plenty of beards and a couple of souls on Zimmer frames and other assorted walking apparatus. A vast and varied array of clothing was abundant representing a different era of fashion. It felt like a bit of a time warp but restored memories of happy days free of social media, global warming, electric cars, cost of living crisis and overt crime and violence in our suburbs.
The eccentric beat poet and co-creator of RocKwiz Brian Nankervis warmed the enthusiastic crowd up with some music trivia and other assorted travails before welcoming Mike Rudd’s Spectrum to the stage.
Mike Rudd and Spectrum
At 79 years of age and having not been to a live performance in nigh on twenty years I was amazed at the strength and range of his distinct vocals and the precise melodic playing of his Fender guitar.
The first set consisted of predominately Spectrum and Murtceps songs from the Spectrum Part One, Milesago, Warts Up Your Nose and Testimonial albums. The set also included some John Mayall’s blues numbers and even an early Ross Wilson tune. Mike spoke of his early days back in New Zealand with his original band Chants R&B who toured Australia briefly around 1967 but disbanded shortly thereafter and threw ‘I’m Your Witchdoctor’ into the set list.
To rubber stamp his musical diversity and technical prowess the final song of the set was Peter Green’s remarkable Albatross which was executed with great dexterity and emotion. Broc O’Çonnor on bass, Peter ‘Robbo’ Roberston on percussion and Daryl Roberts on keyboards are consummate masters of their craft and provide the perfect connection and emotion to Mikes music and lyrics.
After a brief interval Mike and the band were joined by Brenden Mason (ex-Madder Lake) on lead guitar and by the wonderful voice and rhythm guitar playing of Glyn Mason. Ariel injected itself into the fray opening with ‘Launching Place’ and seamlessly soared through the band’s catalogue of songs from the Strange Fantastic Dream, Rock ‘n Roll Scars, Good Night Fiona and Aloha albums. The more up tempo set saw the dance floor inundated with devotees from yesteryear who despite some arthritic joints and other ailments associated with graceful ageing jigged with great passion and excitement.
Rudd staples such ‘Jamaican Farewell’, ‘Red Hot Mama’, ‘Keep on Dancing’ and ‘Some Good Advice’ were interspersed with Mike’s witty narratives which gave context to the genesis and creativity behind the music. At one point he even lurched towards the illusion of a dear friend seeking some clarity on a remembrance only to recoil with a sardonic smile. If only Bill could be with us on this magical day.
Glyn Mason took to the microphone to reaffirm his status as one of the great vocalists of Australian music having performed with Chain, Jeff St John and Copperwine, Home and the Stockley See Mason band. He delivered beautiful renditions of ‘It’s Only Love’, ‘Redwing’ and ‘I’ll Not Fade Away’.
Naturally, the set closed out with ‘that’ song written way back in 1971 and which recently appeared on the hit Australian miniseries Boy Swallows Universe. With its unforgettable harmonica intro, ‘I’ll Be Gone’ has become one of the most enduring Australian rock songs of all time. As observed on the Milesago website.
“Mike’s lyric is timeless, simple but eloquent-a wistful, almost fatalistic observation of life on the road and the elusiveness of love and fortune.”
By late in the afternoon a wonderful afternoon of Australian music came to an end which left me pondering how on earth Mike Rudd has yet to be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. Hopefully, this travesty will be rectified in the not-so-distant future.
And thanks Mike for saving our Grand Final weekend!
More from Richard Griffiths can be read Here.
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Richard, I saw Spectrum perform with Daddy Cool at the Flinders Uni refectory one night in the early 70s. 3 hours of sheer pleasure, each band in its own inimitable style. My friends gave me a copy of ‘A Strange Fantastic Dream’ for my 21st birthday. A most underrated classic of the Australian soundtrack of the 70s. Glad to hear that Mike is still performing strongly.
“Some day we’ll be premiers
Winning flags ain’t easy to come by
By the time it’s come by I’ll be gone…”