Local music stalwart Denis Walter is showing no signs of slowing down after 46 years of performing.
“In my industry, you’ll be retired against your will,” he said.
The 62-year-old will return to Geelong RSL for a two-part performance on Saturday night.
“Last time I was there, it was just a fantastic night,” he said.
“It was a sell-out which was great. For a show like Saturday night, it’s really good fun.”
Walter will perform the power ballets which have become his repertoire for the first part of the show.
For the second half, Walter will delve into “Songs of the Southern Land”, including some Aussie tracks which “didn’t get the recognition they deserve”.
He will belt out songs like Brain Cadd’s Ginger Man, Richard Clapton’s Girls on the Avenue and Cold Chisel’s Forever Now.
“They’re just great Australian hits,” he said.
“People expect the big ballets, but there’s a lot more to the show than that. They’ll see a different side of me.”
Walter said Geelong gigs used to be much more nerve-racking than playing for larger crowds in Melbourne and Sydney.
“I would look out and see familiar faces which was an odd sensation,” he said.
But after nearly half a century in the music business, it is something he has long learnt to deal with.
The Geelong grandfather said he hoped to perform as much music as possible this year while working as an afternoon talkback host in Melbourne.
“If I get time, I’ll be doing more of that. I’m doing quite a few shows around at different spots throughout the year.”
Walter said he loved the immediacy of talkback radio, where he could go from interviewing an international artist to a breaking news story in minutes.
He has released 16 albums in his widely varied career and worked as a news presenter in regional Victoria for 16 years.
Walter is a patron for Cystic Fibrosis Australia, and an ambassador for the Austin Hospital and Make A Wish Foundation.
“I’ve been able to all the things I’ve set out to do,” he said.
