Back in town: Glenn Shorrock’s gig in Geelong on Sunday will take him past the township that gave its name to his internationally successful band.
By Cherie Donnellan
ROCK ‘n’ roll is dead as far as Glenn Shorrock is concerned.
“No one is playing rock ‘n’ roll music anymore. Well, not what I call rock ‘n’ roll, anyway.”
Shorrock spoke to the Independent in the lead-up to this weekend’s Geelong gig, remembering himself as a “teenaged radical” for his youthful idolisation of rock legend Elvis Presley.
“When rock ‘n’ roll came into my life at the age of 12 no one had heard this type of music before,” Shorrock reminisced.
“I looked at Elvis and just thought he was like a Greek god. He looked like he came from another planet.”
Shorrock, who noted The Beatles as his inspiration, said rock ‘n’ roll was a moth-to-a-flame experience for youths of his generation.
“As teenagers we were drawn to it. I think rock ‘n’ roll coined the word teenager, really.
“It took me along for a ride and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
The English-born Australian singer-songwriter made his claim to musical fame as frontman of Australian pop bands The Twilights, Axiom and Little River Band.
Shorrock spoke fondly of his band’s namesake, the township of Little River, as he recollected his road-to-Damascus moment.
“We were in the early days of the group’s formation and at the time the band was called Mississippi but I thought ‘Why would we want to be named after an American river? We’re Australian’.
“We drove past the sign while travelling to Geelong and I said to the band ‘Little River sounds like a song. What about Little River Band?’.”
The other members were less enthusiastic but somehow the name stuck, Shorrock recalled.
“I later discovered there’s a Little River everywhere in the world,” he chuckled.
Shorrock reaped the international successes of the band before breaking out on his own in the late ’70s.
His solo artistry won him a place in Australian Recording Industry Association’s Hall of Fame in 1991.
Shorrock was glad to have moved beyond the demands of the spotlight.
“To quote Joni Mitchell, I’m no longer stoking the star-maker machinery behind the popular songs.
“I’m at that age where I prefer my music to be a little more intimate (when I perform).
“It gives me a chance to talk to the audience, to tell a few stories – and have a few drinks.”
Shorrock said his show at Deakin’s Waterfront Cafe would feature a perfect recipe of food, wine and acoustic music.
“It suits my lifestyle just fine.”
Shorrock plays at the cafe from 2.45pm Sunday.
