FINALLY FRIDAY: ‘80s enough for ‘retro’ rockers

Eighties pop singer Scott Carne is promising Geelong a wave of “real hair” and “real music” this months.
The frontman of former Australian group Kids in the Kitchen will line up with other legends of Australian rock in his Absolutely 80s “musical extravaganza”.
Carne will be joined on stage at Deakin University’s Waterfront Café by fellow ‘80s icons Brian Mannix, of Uncanny X-Men and Boom Crash Opera’s Dale Ryder.
Kids in the Kitchen had Australian hits with singles such as Bitter Desire, Boom Crash Opera had its own share of fame with songs including Onion Skin and several Uncanny X-Men tracks charted highly, including Everybody Wants to Work and 40 Years.
Carne said the audience at the November 18 show would end up “blissfully stuck in the ‘80s time machine”.
“We’re recreating the sound and the experience of the ‘80s as opposed to performing an unplugged version,” Carne explained.
“We’re being true to the music. Eighties music doesn’t translate if you’re trying to do a different version because it’s all keyboards and big production.
“You’ve got to do the real thing.”
Carne said the “retro” appeal of the ‘80s also brought Gen Y audiences to the show but it was still “a lot of fun for people who grew up with us”.
He chuckled remembering how the singers’ older fan base “go mad” at their shows.
“They get right up the front and are dancing the whole time,” Carne said enthusiastically.
“It’s awesome for us – we feel like Manpower but without the abs.”
Carne said he Mannix and Ryder enjoyed “taking the mickey” out of one another on stage.
“I think we’re funnier and taking ourselves less seriously these days but we’re still serious about putting on a good show.”
Carne called Mannix a “naughty boy” for instigating much of the on-stage humour and “shenanigans”, although each performer brought their own wit to the show.
He was keen to point out that the show would not “belittle” the ‘80s.
“I think being able to do these shows has made us appreciate our careers even more.
“It’s a situation where we get to stand back from our heyday careers and remember it and relive the fun side of performing – without the dodgy managers,” he joked.