News January 28, 2018

Five Aussie veteran acts on Apia Good Times tour

The 6th Apia Good Times Tour has announced what it says is its biggest tour to date – with Brian Cadd, Marcia Hines, Russell Morris, Leo Sayer and John Paul Young.

The tours, booked through Frontier Touring, have proven a success for over-50s insurance company Apia to reach its target audience.

The last one drew approximately 20,000 patrons over 15 shows, with jubilant reviews asserting the shows lived up to the tour’s name.

Singer, songwriter and producer Cadd will draw from his The Groop, Axiom and solo days including ‘A Little Ray Of Sunshine’, ‘Ginger Man’, ‘Let Go’ and the surf classic soundtrack Morning of the Earth.

One time Queen of Pop Marcia Hines, AM, has sold 2.6 million records in Australia and remained in the public eye with constant touring, musicals and diabetes advocacy.

Singer songwriter Russell Morris, who last week picked up an Order of Australia, had a resurgence of his career with his Australian-themed blues trilogy along with his signature tune ‘The Rea; Thing’ and radio staples as ‘Sweet Sweet Love’ and ‘Wings of an Eagle’.

UK-born Sydney-based Leo Sayer sold 8 million records worldwide and twenty Top 10 hits – starting with ‘The Show Must Go On’ in 1973 to a remix of ‘Thunder In My Heart’ which topped the UK charts in 2006.

John Paul Young OAM, who in the early ‘70s was a sheet metalworker by day and singer by night, continues to remain in the limelight with perennial hits as ‘Love Is In The Aor’, ‘Yesterday’s Hero’ and ‘I Hate The Music’, which went on to contribute to his tally of 8 million sales.

Apia has increased its national profile in recent times by using music in a number of ways to reach its target customers and emphasises that turning 50 is something that needs to be valued and recognised.

Its current campaign, launched last year, uses a series of incidents where they show wisdom when faced with irresponsible or naïve youth behaviour.

Each ad uses a laid back cover of The Faces’ early ‘70s song ’Ooh-la-la’ whose chorus is, “I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger’.

At the time of its launch, Jim Ritchie, content director of Apia’s creative agency DDB Group, observed, “The over-fifties market is not only one of the broadest, it’s also perhaps the most misrepresented.”

The Good Times tour schedule is:

Wednesday, 16 May– Darwin Entertainment Centre, Darwin

Friday, 18 May – Perth Concert Hall, Perth

Saturday, 19 May – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide

Friday, 25 May – Palais Theatre, Melbourne

Saturday, 26 May – Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo, Vic

Sunday, 27 May – Costa Hall, Geelong Performing Arts Centre, Geelong,

Thursday, 31 May – Empire Theatre, Toowoomba, Qld

Friday, 1 June – QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane

Saturday, 2 June – Twin Towns Services Club, Tweed Heads, NSW

Sunday, 3 June – Twin Towns Services Club, Tweed Heads, NSW

Thursday, 7 June – Civic Theatre, Newcastle