Two tributes planned for Jon English

As the first anniversary of Jon English’s death looms on March 6, two tributes are being planned for the late singer/actor.

A two-and-a-half hour tribute concert called Six Ribbons will be held at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre on Thursday March 9. Hosted by Peter Cupples of Stylus, it includes Dave Gleeson (Screaming Jets / Angels) who was to have sung a duet on English’s next album, as well as Wilbur Wilde who was in line to tour with English late last year.

Others performing on the night include The Chantoozies, Brian Mannix (Uncanny X-Men), Scott Carne (Kids in the Kitchen), Wendy Stapleton (Wendy and the Rockets), Lisa Edwards and Lindsay Field (John Farnham’s band), James Morley (ex- The Angels), Bloom (Amanda Canzurlo) and the Jon English Trilogy of Rock band.

The Six Ribbons concept was created by English’s long-term partner and manager Coralea Cameron. It started last October with the Rock The Boat cruise, which English had been booked to appear for the third time alongside John Farnham and John Paul Young.

The cruise organisers didn’t want to find a replacement for English, thus the Six Ribbons tribute live show was created instead: “It went so beautifully and was so well received that afterwards the artists on board taking part said to me, ‘when are we doing it again’,” says Cameron.

“That’s when I first thought of doing this concert for Jon on the anniversary of his passing.

“As most of the artists were Melbourne-based, it was the obvious choice for venue location – particularly as the public memorial was held in Sydney and a lot of people in Melbourne couldn’t go.

“I chose the Athenaeum Theatre as it has a statue of the Greek Goddess Athena on the front façade, which reminded me of the rock opera Paris that Jon wrote about the Trojan War. It was his life’s work to see it staged, so it seemed appropriate.”

In the meantime, the CAT (Canberra Area Theatre) Awards at Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre on February 18 will also pay tribute to English.

The performer was a patron of the awards, which will be staged outside Canberra for the first time in 2017. The event was originally set up in 1994 to support emerging theatrical talent in Canberra and regional NSW.

Peter Cupples will perform on the night, while actor/singer Simon Gallagher, also a patron, will pay homage. English and Gallagher became close friends after performing together in The Pirates of Penzance for three years. They were also in a new production of Spamalot with Julie Anthony in Brisbane. The two entertainers were planning to take it on the road around Australia before English passed away.