By NOEL MURPHY
THE MUSIC of R&B and soul master Marvin Gaye, the late great musician, singer and songwriter, will be in capable hands when Bert LaBonte brings Let’s Get it On to Geelong Performing Arts Centre next week.
LaBonte will be on stage with the prodigious Vika Bull and the backing of the Funk City Band in a two-hour narrative-cum-concert exploring Gaye’s humbler beginnings, his strife-riddled relationship with his father – who shot him dead 30 years ago – the women in his life and his search for meaning.
Gaye’s music defined a generation and all LaBonte’s show features all his hits including What’s Going On?, It Takes Two, How Sweet It is, Dancing in the Streets, Sexual Healing, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, I Heard It Through the Grapevine and Let’s Get it On.
LaBonte, one of Geelong’s most talented musical and stage performers, said Gaye’s life story was sad but his music soared, even decades after his death.
“It’s a pretty tragic story but we’re trying to keep it as a celebration of his music,” he told the Independent.
“We have a great band. We did a great three weeks in Melbourne in March then a week return in September.
“We have Geelong on the 16th and then we have Sydney and Brisbane pencilled in for early next year.
“The music has some political stuff in his later songs and there are some real anthems. It’s been fantastic to play those tunes and it’s been a gift of a role – I couldn’t believe the response when we played the first season.”
LaBonte has a powerful CV with a string of Melbourne Theatre Company credits including Clybourne Park, Richard III, The Mountaintop and Rupert.
He won a Helpmann award two years ago for his role in An Officer and a Gentleman and also starred in one-man show When I Fall in Love – The Nat King Cole Show.
LaBonte still occasionally performs on stage around Geelong, fronting local eight-piece band Madhouse, although he’s stepped back in recent years.
“I did a gig with them at Torquay two weeks ago. It was a great night but I’ve only done maybe three gigs in the last four years – Grant Durham’s the front man these days,” he says.
Vika Bull makes for a stellar partnership with LaBonte in Let’s Get It On.
Her 25-year career has included performances with legendary musicians including Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Sting and Joe Cocker. Most recently she starred in smash-hit concert At Last – The Etta James Story.
