By Luke Voogt
Three-in-one act Eddie Daniels has spent a lifetime bringing Gene Pitney, Roy Orbison and The King back from the dead on stage.
“You can’t fake experience,” he said ahead of his latest Geelong show. “You need it to do what I do.”
Eddie and wife Suzie Lee performed up and down the east coast cruising in their motorhome – ‘The Bus That Rocks’ – for the last seven years.
“We get good crowds everywhere we go – we just love it,” Eddie said.
“We have fun and then we have some more fun.”
Suzie plays keyboard at Eddie’s shows, while the couple’s friend Pete Mullen plays guitar.
“His amazing stage presence captures his audience as soon as he walks on stage,” she said.
The couple are living the grey-nomad dream – except they are far from retired, Eddie said.
“I certainly don’t look 70 or act 70,” the “48-yar-old” said.
“If I had my life to do over, I would do exactly the same thing. And we don’t plan on quitting anytime soon.”
While Elvis acts are commonplace, Eddie said he was Australia’s only Gene Pitney tribute.
He was also the country’s first Roy Orbison impersonator in the 1980s.
Eddie migrated to Australia in the early 1970s, and has worked as variety entertainer since. His three-octave singing range set him apart from other performers, he said.
“Most singers are lucky if they’ve got one.”
He tries to make his three hour show – League of Legends – as authentic as possible.
“When you grow up with these people, they’re second nature to you,” he said.
“It’s true authentic 60s sound. Everything the kids do nowadays is electronic – we don’t have any of that.”
Eddie has released 10 albums and appeared in a number of Australian commercials and sitcoms.
The long-time performer will be at the Shell Club on 18 November.
