News
The Whitlams 25th Anniversary Orchestra Tour
THE WHITLAMS
25th Anniversary Orchestra Tour
April and May 2017 – Tickets on sale Now
Australian musical institution The Whitlams will mark the 25th anniversary of their scrappy genesis with a national orchestral tour in April and May 2017.
Adding an air of aural sophistication to lead singer-songwriter Tim Freedman’s pop smarts, the full orchestral treatment will be given to their classic hits including ‘Blow Up the Pokies’, ‘No Aphrodisiac’, ‘Thank You (For Loving Me At My Worst)’ and many more, under the baton of conductor Guy Noble.
The beautifully crafted and textured arrangements were commissioned over a decade dating from the first symphonic collaboration with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in 2004. Composers of the calibre of Peter Sculthorpe, Brett Dean and James Ledger have contributed scores, and the repertoire has been critically lauded as the most successful union of classical and pop this county has seen. The brilliant musicianship of Jak Housden (guitar), Warwick Hornby (bass) and Terepai Richmond (drums) is enhanced by a 50 piece orchestra on each date, and is sure to impress fans and music lovers alike.
Playing for one night only in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Canberra and Adelaide, the tour follows on from The Whitlams’ immensely successful collaborations with our state symphony orchestras over many years. This will be, for instance, the 11th Sydney Opera House Concert Hall show for Sydney Symphony and The Whitlams.
Tim Freedman said, “It is an honour to play with these musicians who in some cases have been playing their instruments since they were in the womb. I particularly look forward to hearing Peter Sculthorpe¹s beautiful string interlude to my song ‘Out the Back’ for the fist time since he passed away two years ago. It never fails to send audiences into raptures.”
The Whitlams have been a fixture on the Australian music scene since 1992. Their achievements include seven albums (three multi-Platinum and three Gold) and three ARIA Awards, including a Best Group gong
presented by Gough Whitlam in 1998. In 2011 Eternal Nightcap was voted 27th on the ABC ‘My Favourite Album’ poll, and more recently was voted no. 17 in ‘Triple J¹s Hottest Australian Albums of All Time’.
The Whitlams – 25th Anniversary Orchestra Tour
Presented by The Music House
Friday 28 April
Brisbane (Philharmonia Australia)
Concert Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre
Saturday 29 April
Melbourne (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra)
Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne
Tuesday 2 May
Sydney (Sydney Symphony Orchestra)
Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
Wednesday 3 May
Perth (West Australian Symphony Orchestra)
Perth Concert Hall
Friday 5 May
Canberra (The National Pops Orchestra)
Canberra Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre
Saturday 6 May
Adelaide (Adelaide Pops Orchestra)
Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre
Tim Freedman and the musical…
Tim Freedman and the musical built around his songs.
Whitlams tunes have been turned into plot points for a musical.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/tim-freedman-and-the-musical-built-around-his-songs-20140502-37ldf.html#ixzz315WwDfWX
Freedman Does Nilsson tour above Melbourne Pops Orchestra
In 2014, Tim Freedman will be honouring the legacy of one of the 20th century’s great singer-songwriters – the legendary Harry Nilsson.
Harry Nilsson (credited simply as “Nilsson” in his album titles) created a body of work throughout the 60’s and 70’s that is going through a resurgence of interest at the moment. A 17 disc box set “The RCA Albums Collection” has just been released, as has a full length biography: “Nilsson – The Life of a Singer-Songwriter”.
Nilsson won two Grammys for his most recognisable performances: 1969’s “Everybody’s Talkin” (theme song for the iconic movie “Midnight Cowboy”) and 1972’s “Without You”. He penned such classics as “One” (famous in Australia from John Farnham’s version), the irrepressible cult favourite, “Coconut” and his first big pay cheque, The Monkees’ “Cuddly Toy”.
In a 1968 press conference, John Lennon and Paul McCartney famously referred to Nilsson as their “favourite American group” after Lennon had listened to his second album for 36 hours straight. Nilsson’s relationship with The Beatles was to become central to his life, and the infamous rabble rouser became best friends with Ringo Starr throughout the 70’s. John Lennon produced his 1974 album – “Pussy Cats” after their exploits during the notorious Lost Weekend and it was John who negotiated Nillson’s record deal with RCA that kept him recording long after drug and alcohol abuse had damaged his beautiful voice.
Before that in 1970, Nilsson recorded “Nilsson Sings Newman”. Never forgetting what inspired him, Nilsson recorded an album of Randy Newman’s early repertoire with little regard for fashion or chart position, even though he was near the peak of his own popularity at the time.
It is in this tradition that Tim Freedman has decided to do the same thing with “Freedman Does Nilsson”. While being a gifted studio artist, Nilsson suffered from horrific stage fright which meant he never performed his songs in concert, ever. With this tour, Freedman has decided to create a “live imagining” of what a concert of Harry Nilsson may have been like.
“Harry was either very very good, or very very bad. It’s a poignant and often hilarious story with great songs that I’ve loved putting together,” says Freedman.
Tim Freedman is one of Australia’s most accomplished contemporary songwriters. His lyrics have been described as having a “charming cynicism”, enhanced by an instinct for a poignant melody and a highly individual musical style. Like Nilsson his songs take sharp turns from the heart breaking to the whimsical, and like Nilsson his songs work wonderfully with just piano and vocal. Freedman interviewed Randy Newman for the Sydney Morning Herald in 2011, and looks forward especially to singing Freedman singing Nilsson singing Newman.
The Whitlams won ‘Best Group’ at the 1998 ARIA Awards, as well as ‘Song of the Year’ and ‘Best Independent Release’ for their third album “Eternal Nightcap”. In 2011 this album was placed 27th on the ABC’s “My Favourite Album” poll, and more recently was voted no. 17 in “JJJ’s Hottest Australian Albums of All Time”.
The Whitlams recorded output spans seven albums since 1993, and includes the double platinum “Love This City”, the No. 1 “Torch the Moon” and their “Truth, Beauty & A Picture of You – Best of the Whitlams” which sat in the Top 10 for six weeks running. More recently Tim released a solo album on Sony titled “Australian Idle”.
Tim’s solo performances are a treat for music lovers, as his intimate banter, caustic wit, honest vocals and stripped-back piano style have captivated audiences around the world, the highlights being his solo Sunday night residencies at London’s Ronnie Scotts in 2003 and 2005, and his nine year stretch of annual Christmas shows at The Basement in Sydney.
His interpretation of Nilsson classics accompanied by anecdotes of each song and of how they fit into Nilsson’s reckless life is an event not to be missed.
The Whitlams and Melbourne Pops Orchestra
We are excited to announce another orchestra show with the Melbourne Pops Orchestra on Friday June 28 at the Hamer Hall in Melbourne!
Tickets are available at:
http://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/event.aspx?id=3608 or 1300 182 183
http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/The-Whitlams-tickets/artist/729868 or 136 100
Hope to see you all there
The Whitlams & Melbourne Pops Orchestra!
We are excited to announce another orchestra show with the Melbourne Pops Orchestra on Friday June 28 at the Hamer Hall in Melbourne!
Tickets are available at:
http://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/event.aspx?id=3608 or 1300 182 183
http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/The-Whitlams-tickets/artist/729868 or 136 100
Hope to see you all there
Pete Murray, The Whitlams & The ASO
We are very excited to announce that we will be playing the Adelaide Fringe with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra alongside Pete Murray this March!
Check out the website for details & tickets
http://www.the-depot.com.au/events/pete-murray-the-whitlams-the-aso
Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne shows TBA!
Pete Murray and the Whitlams
We are very excited to announce that we will be playing the Adelaide Fringe with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra alongside Pete Murray this March!
Check out the website for details & tickets
http://www.the-depot.com.au/events/pete-murray-the-whitlams-the-aso
Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne shows TBA!
THE WHITLAMS JOIN FLIX IN THE STIX
We are pleased to announce that we will be joining the Flix in the Stix tour in 2013 throughout the regional cities in Australia. Flix in the Stix features an eclectic mix of award winning international short films curated by Australian film industry heavyweight, NASH EDGERTON.
All tickets can be purchased through Ticketek at http://premier.ticketek.com.au/Shows/Show.aspx?sh=FLIXINTH13 and you can check out the website at http://www.flixinthestix.com.au/ for more information!
FLIX IN THE STIX 2013 DATES:
Friday Feb 1 Lake Wyangan GRIFFITH NSW
Saturday Feb 2 Australian National Botanic Gardens CANBERRA ACT
Friday Feb 8 Lazy River Estate DUBBO NSW
Saturday Feb 9 Orange Botanic Gardens ORANGE NSW
Friday Feb 22 Bicentennial Park TAMWORTH NSW
Saturday Feb 23 Saumarez Homestead ARMIDALE NSW
Saturday Mar 9 Fairylands BALLARAT VIC
Sunday Mar 10 Big Hill Vineyard BENDIGO VIC
Friday Mar 22 Music Bowl WAGGA WAGGA NSW
Saturday Mar 23 Bong Bong Racecourse BOWRAL NSW
Friday Apr 26 Heritage Village ROCKHAMPTON QLD
Saturday Apr 27 Tondoon Botanic Gardens GLADSTONE QLD
VAULT SHOW MOVED TO FITZROY HOTEL
The scheduled show at the Vault has now been moved to:-
The Fitzroy Hotel
161 George Street, Windsor
Phone: 02 4577 3396
Existing Vault tickets are completely valid.
For Show Only Purchasers – Oztix will be contacting you to ensure you are aware of the change in location & obtain your permission to switch your tickets to new location.
For Show & Dinners – As the Fiztroy Oztix will be contacting you to refund the dinner component of the ticket (as there is no longer a dinner).
Full Refunds are available to anyone who wants them, but the Fitzroy is a lovely fully seated cabaret room & we hope to see you there!
ADDED SHOW TO TIM FREEDMAN’S FIRESIDE CHAT TOUR
Tim Freedman’s Fireside Chat Tour:
Another show at The Basement, Sydney, has been added to the tour on Wednesday the 4th of July 2012.
Tickets go on sale Friday the 18th of May through http://www.moshtix.com.au
REMEMBER, THE SPIRIT BAR & LOUNGE SHOW, VIC HAS MOVED FROM SATURDAY MAY 19TH TO THURSDAY AUGUST 9TH
