Skyhooks co-founder Bob ‘Bongo’ Starkie played a special St Patricks Day gig at his old haunt, the Rising Sun Hotel on Sunday afternoon and this time it was full in Skyhooks.
Bob had a residency every month at The Rising Sun before the Covid lockdowns and afterwards, it never quite got back on track. The previous shows had two Skyhooks songs dropped into the three sets but for this one, the entire third set was 100% Skyhooks.
It was also an amazing band with Michael Cristiano on guitar doing the Red bits and Laura Davidson, who has played with Bob for his Skyhooks shows before, being Shirl.
And when we say Laura is being Shirl, she is the best Shirl since Shirl. Graeme ‘Shirley’ Strachan, the singer of Skyhooks for all of their hits, died in a helicopter accident in 2001 at age 49. Skyhooks rare performances since Shirl’s death have included Daryl Braithwaite and Ross Wilson taking lead but no-one can do Shirl like Laura. Shirl’s falsetto requires a female voice to hit those high notes and Laura can land over the top of them like she is channelling him there on the spot. It was a remarkable exciting performance at an unexpected time in an unexpected place in Melbourne, and sadly, I am told it was a one-off.
The band was:
Bob Starkie-Guitar/Vocals
Laura Davidson- Vocals
Michael Cristiano-Guitar/Vocals
Sean McLeod-Drums
Kim May-Bass
Bob ‘Bongo’ Starkie’s Skyhooks played:
Balwyn Calling (from Living In The 70s, 1974)
You Just Like Me Cos I’m Good In Bed (from Living In The 70s, 1974)
Jukebox In Siberia (from The Latest and Great, 1990)
Smut (from Living In The 70s, 1974)
Blue Jeans (from Straight In A Gay Gay World, 1976)
Living In the Seventies (from Living In The 70s, 1974)
Ego Is Not A Dirty Word (from Ego is Not A Dirty World, 1975)
Horror Movie (from Living In The 70s, 1974)
Million Dollar Riff (from Straight In A Gay Gay World, 1976)
Woman In Uniform (from Guilty Until Proven Insane, 1978)
All My Friends Are Getting Married (from Ego is Not A Dirty World, 1975)
Bob’s next Skyhooks show will be 13 April, 2024 for Sunbury 24.
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