By Luke Voogt
Drysdale had an exclusive sneak peek at the iconic Mark Holden’s new concert, The Greatest Show on Earth, on Wednesday.
“As they ought to,” Holden told the Indy this week.
“It’s sort of ground zero for this story.”
The former Australian Idol was on the Bellarine Peninsula this week crafting the storytelling play about his family’s St Leonards circus which travelled the area from 1890 onwards.
“This is before there was even radio,” he said, “back in the days of horse and wagon.
“The thing that I love about them was that they were all musicians and I’ve inherited that. It’s something that has lasted in our family for as long as there have been people in Victoria.”
The play features characters like one-legged trapeze artist and circus founder Adolphus Holden.
“He lost his leg in a railroad accident as a teenager,” Holden said.
Adolphus had a daughter and 11 sons who all played in the circus band and travelled Victoria in a horse-drawn “bandwagon”.
Holden made his name in the mid-1970s as the good-looking, carnation-carrying pop star with hits like Never Gonna Fall in Love Again and Last Romance.
He would later gain fame – and notoriety – as a judge on Australian Idol and a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.
Holden said his new concert was a first for him.
“It’s a lifetime of work, in a way. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for 25 years and I’ve put a lot of effort into it.”
The 62-year-old performed 20 minutes of the concert at the launch the Potato Shed’s 2017 season, and even had some spare carnations for a few lucky ladies.
He will return later this year with the full show, which includes snippets of his career – like his time with David Hasselhoff and the infamous Bobo the Clown incident.
Award-winning playwright Hannie Rayson joined Holden for the season launch, previewing her one-woman show.
Fellow playwright Sandra Long previewed her new play Birdcage about the complexities of hoarding and guitarist and singer Wayne Jury performed a few songs.
A nationally acclaimed blues artists, Jury’s music initiation began in Geelong supporting Australia’s finest touring bands like AC/DC, The Little River Band, Cold Chisel and Dragon.
Holden said the shed’s 2017 line-up was impressive, but stopped short of giving it his trademark “Touchdown!”
“I’d have to see all the shows myself first,” Holden said wryly, “the touchdown is still a previous thing for me. It’s only something I give out if it’s earnt – or for charity.”
