By NOEL MURPHY
AT HIS peak, Normie Rowe was a national phenomenon, drawing crowds of young screaming female fans in Beatlemania fashion.
His lyrics questioned the Bible and his long hair, in 1965, scared the establishment.
When he was suddenly conscripted and sent to Vietnam, right at the height of his fame – and just as he was shaping up as a possible international star – questions were asked about whether it was deliberate.
Elvis had been taken off the grid and sent to Germany with the US Army only a few years before.
Rowe hits such as It Ain’t Necessarily So, Ooh La La, It’s Not Easy and Shakin’ All Over remain rock-pop fixtures of the Australian music landscape – and he couldn’t be prouder.
Rowe still plays with mates from back in the day and he’s still suspicious, too, about his army role.
But at 67, he’s mellowed. Besides, as he says, it’s not good trying to sue now.
“My feeling is there’s nothing I can do about it now,” he told the Independent.
“If I could sue the people who perpetrated it, like Harold Holt, fair enough but I don’t understand suing someone whose fault it wasn’t.”
Rowe, Australia’s first King of Pop is heading to Corio’s Gateway Hotel with former Queen of Pop Colleen Hewett and a band that features mates from his heyday to play on 28 November.
“Of course, I recall those days very fondly and I’ve still got great friends from those days,” he said.
“The guy on drums is Graeme Trottman, he’s 72, from The Playboys. The guitarist with me is Gil Matthews, he used to be Billy Thorpe’s drummer, there’s Tony Naylor from Avalanche and the Bootleg Family.
“We’ve really got some heavyweights on stage and some fantastic sounds.”
Rowe’s life has not been all music. He’s also carved a career in TV and stage, performing in all manner of shows including Cyrano de Bergerac, Les Miserables, Annie, Chess, Evita, on variety shows with Mike Walsh and Don Lane, and TV programs including Sons & Daughters.
But he still belts out the hits, and enjoys it wholeheartedly.
“I love it,” he said.
“I don’t know why but I seem to enjoy it even more these days. Maybe it’s because I know what I’m doing. I’m controlling it.
“I don’t think anyone was really controlling things back in the early days.”
Between Rowe and Hewett, the Gateway show will feature enough hits to keep going all night.
And, as Rowe said, he hasn’t played a gig in years with the crowd “chockers”.
