Musical Legends

This is just some of the famous that I have seen live on stage from the field of music of all styles. There are stories attached to each and everyone of the following people but I briefly mention just a few personal incidents. All photos are bigger if you click on them.

   

   

I and a girl next door did jump on the boot of a car whisking Cilla Black away from a concert one night and we held onto the rear window staring at Cilla for several hundred metres until they accelerated and we tumbled to the road. We were young. I used to own an autographed photo of the Beatles sent to me way back in the 60s, but someone stole it from my wall. Twice in fact although the first time it was recovered.

  

   

   

   

   I met Paul Capsis after one of his performances and we had a few phone calls after that. Paul has a unique talent of a brilliant voice that could channel Janice Joplin, Billie Holiday, Maria Callas. A truly amazing man. He also co-starred in the film Head On.
I knew Joan Carden quite well way back when as we had been on boat trips together and I attended various functions where she was delighted to catch up. She did send me a letter and autograph once.

After my 5th Peter Paul and Mary concert in as many years I managed to get the centre seat in the front row and after the show I and a few friends spent an hour on the footpath chatting with Paul Stookey and Peter Yarrow. He even gave a singer who was with us a copy of The Wedding Song which he had just written in the hotel here.  

The great Margreta Elkins who had sung with Callas, Sutherland and Caballe used to shop at the same store as I did and we bumped grocery trolleys a few times. I also met Paul Mercurio in the green room at the Sydney Opera House when we were back stage with a friend from home who had just joined the Sydney Dance Company. I sat on the arm of a big comfy chair chatting to the young adorable dancer who was becoming the star of the company at that stage.  

 
I had followed Lisa Gasteen from the days she was a student at the conservatorium, spoke to her on the footpath a couple of times and even bumped into her in a bottle shop. She became internationally recognised as one of, if not the greatest Brunhilde of the day until a neck accident forced retirement back to teach here.

Although not strictly an on stage sighting I did have coffee with Kate Bush in Greece way back in 1979. A friend and I were sheltering from the rain in a coffee house on Omonia Square in Athens when the manager asked if two girls could share our table as it was full because of the rain. So Kate Bush and a friend joined us and we chatted for an hour and not about music.