They may all have their own distinctive musical styles, but these ‘old timers’ are finding a new lease of life making new music and entertaining the children of their original fans.
Rock Legend Ozzy Osborne Prince of Darkness
At the Ozzy Osborne Prince of Darkness concert in Melbourne in March this year fifty year old rockers covered in tattoos punched the air and head-banged along with new converts - fifteen year olds that had discovered their parents’ Black Sabbath albums and become instant devotees.
During the concert there were times when Ozzy’s age (the dude’s nearly sixty) and no doubt his former lifestyle, caught up with him and he lagged behind the band, but in the end he still gave the fans the show they came for.
Amidst his trademark frog jumps, the screams to the crowd of “I can’t hear you”, and the throwing of water onto the front rows, Ozzy put in a spirited performance with favourites like Suicide Solution, I Don’t Know, Mr. Crowley and Road to Nowhere drawing predictable and raucous responses from the audience many of whom were reliving their youth with complete abandon.
KISS Alive Tour
KISS headlined at this year’s Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix as part of their KISS Alive 2008 tour. Resplendent in black and silver and strutting in those insanely fantastic platform boots KISS had the crowd jumping from the get go.
Remember these guys are well into their fifties, but they still cavort around the stage like they are twenty year olds. Paul Stanley whose voice hasn’t lost any of its power sent the audience wild with Shout It Out Loud, Rock n’ Roll All Night and I Was Made For Loving You which thundered through the crowd, the bass levels vying for position with racing pulses.
Gene Simmons spat blood and roared like the God of Thunder. Fireworks lit up the night sky. Amps stacked metres high shuddered and a sweaty, adoring crowd reaffirmed that a great rock n’ roll show entertains long after the audience goes home.
Somewhere Back in Time Iron Maiden Live
For the first time in fifteen years Iron Maiden toured to Australia in early 2008 as part of the Somewhere Back in Time World Tour. More than ten thousand tickets were snapped up for the first Melbourne show in less than half an hour.
Opening night and pyrotechnics lit up the arena illuminating the predominantly male crowd and washing them in a smoky haze. Iron Maiden’s lead singer, Bruce Dickinson commanded the capacity crowd to "Scream for me, Melbourne!" and the show was on.
The band opened with Aces High setting the pace for the evening. Dickinson was in fine voice tearing through the band’s hits from the eighties. Run to the Hills, Iron Maiden, 2 Minutes to Midnight and The Number of the Beast were massive crowd pleasers as was the more recent Fear of the Dark.
Old and young fans alike jostled for position in the mosh-pit which became a sweat soaked pen of mostly aged, thrashing long haired head bangers who threatened to crush their younger counterparts.
The Who Play Formula 1 Grand Prix 2009 in Melbourne
It’s only been four years since The Who performed live in Australia, but they are coming back again this time as the headline act at the 2009 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
This will be the first national Australian tour The Who has undertaken since 1968. On announcing the tour Roger Daltrey told Billboard magazine "we don't want those long hiatuses that we used to have. We feel at this time of our lives it's too precious a thing to take liberties with time. When you're young, you've got that time. When you're old, you haven't.”
Poignant words from a man who will be 65 next year. But hey Who’s counting?
The Who 2009 Australian shows
- March 24 BRISBANE Entertainment Centre
- March 26 ADELAIDE Entertainment Centre
- March 29 MELBOURNE 2009 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix
- March 31 SYDNEY Acer Arena
- April 4 PERTH Members Equity Stadium
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