BRISBANE TELEGRAPH 27th
February 1976 |
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MELANIE COMES
TO BRISBANE
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ANOTHER tour is coming our way in March when Melanie Safka
visits Australia. Melanie was the lady who won fame at the Woodstock music
festival in the summer of 1969. There she appeared as a relative unknown, Following Ravi
Shankar, who had just delighted the audience with his brilliant sitar -
playing. It began to rain as she came on stage, and her show looked as
though it would be a performer's nightmare. But as she sang, accompanying herself on guitar, lights appeared
in the audience as people responded by holding lighted candles above their
heads. Melanie later remembered the occasion with her song Candles in
the Rain, one of her biggest successes and one of the theme songs of
Woodstock. Her other hits included songs - like Brand New Key, Ruby Tuesday
and Look What They've Done to My Song. Melanie is genuine in her belief in her gentle, emotional songs
she has been made an envoy for UNICEF and has raised large amounts for that
organisation by her concerts. Her Brisbane appearance on March 18 should be a concert well
worth seeing, with the excellent Mike McClellan as support act. |
. Melanie
Safka gives on intensity of emotion and atmosphere that makes her a cult in
herself |
BRISBANE COURIER 28th February 1976 |
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Melanie in March |
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A 29-YEAR-OLD
mother of two can count on a good house when she appears of The City Hell on March
18. Melanie Safka is one of the foremost artistes with 15 albums behind
her. She will include Western
Australia and New Zealand in a month long tour organised by Australasian Campus
Entertainment. Way back when Vietnam was still an issue, Melanie acted as a kind
of prophet and interpreter of the Woodstock generation. Her song, "Candles in
the Rain,' perhaps more than any other written at the time, articulated the feelings
of the Flower Children. Her new album, "Sunsets and other Beginnings" will be released to coincide with her tour here. |
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MELANIE … left over
from 1968, on tour March 1976. |
SUNDAY SUN, BRISBANE - 7th March
1976 |
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A galaxy of stars to
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A galaxy of talent passes through Brisbane over the coming weeks
- blues- men, rock acts, folk singers and country artists. Split Enz, the absurdly
good rock group from New Zealand, perform at Mayne Hall University,
Queensland on Wednesday in what may well be their last Australian
performance. According to a spokesman. (The band is as good as signed to a
British recording company and is all set to travel to London next month for
an assault on the world market. On March 13, it's the Big O - Roy Orbison - back at Festival
Hall for his tenth Australian concert tour . . . and on March 17. Leo Sayer
performs his songs. Also on March 17 . . . the first of two shows by U.S. soul trio,
the Hues Corporation. at Brisbane's Jet Club. (The group return on March 19.) Freedom For The Stallion. It will be interesting to see this top
group in an intimate club atmosphere. A sell-out
March 18 sees concerts by folk singer, Melanie, and U. S.
bluesmen Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. |
dazzle us!
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Melanie's concert at Brisbane City Hall is almost certain to be
a sell-out. And blues enthusiasts will not want to miss Sonny and Brownie at
Mayne hall. It is a pity the dates,
clash. Both acts attract a similar following. On March 19 Al Ward and
Jeannie Lewis sins at Queensland University . . . while ZZZ's Joint Effort on
March 21 will feature a band made up of musicians and cast from Jesus
Christ Superstar. For country music fans, the arrival of Freddy Fender in Brisbane
on April 2 will be cause for rejoicing. Freddy will also yodel at Mt Isa the
following night. David Essex hits
Festival Hall on April 17 for a concert appearance much awaited by his fans .
. . followed by Queen on April 22. Huge sales Queen boast that they
art Britain's hottest rock act at the moment, with massive worldwide sales of
their single, Bohemian Rhapsody, to back up the claim. This will be their
second Australian tour. |
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MELANIE |
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LEO SAYER |
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MURWILLUMBAH DAILY NEWS, N. S. W. 9th March 1976 |
MELANIE
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American songbird. Melanie Safka, will perform at Brisbane City
Hall on Thursday night, March 18. Brisbane will be her
third stopover on a six-city concert tour, which began in Melbourne on
Saturday night. For some reason
Melbournites were considered worthy of two concerts on consecutive nights,
but the other cities will have to make do with one. But Melanie will be
playing in both Newcastle and Canberra - a welcome move. Brisbane's City Hall,
although rarely used, is an excellent concert venue for performers who don't
fit in the "deafening volume" category. It's wonderful acoustics
and impressive, decor make a pleasant change from sterile old Festival Hall. Regular concertgoers
will remember the tremendous vibes when Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee played
at the City Hall in 1973. Melanie's distinctive
vocals and low-key backing should go over well in these surroundings. Melanie is best known
for her early 1970's singles Look What They've Done To My Song. Candles In
The Rain and the kinky Brand New Key. She also won many
friends with a haunting version of the Stones' Ruby Tuesday. On tour Melanie will be
featuring cuts from her latest album, released in the States just before her
departure for Australia. She will be backed by local musicians. |
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