The second annual Rocks At The Races in 2017 was a resounding success with 12 bands giving the people of Wagga Wagga their all.
This November Rock at the Races returns to Wagga along with a stellar line-up headlined by Daryl Braithwaite himself and featuring Ross Wilson, Choirboys, Thirsty Merc, Pseudo Echo and so many more Aus Rock Legends delivering Classic Hits Live for the 3rd annual MTC Rock at the Races on Saturday 10th November 2018!
Triple M are excited to bring you the 3rd year of the ROCK AT THE RACES concert featuring 12 of the biggest Australian acts of the 80s at Wagga Wagga’s very own Murrumbidgee Turf Club.
Triple M play the music we all love from the 80’s and host some of the best on air talent including Pottsy and Leighton who will come together to host the ROCK AT THE RACES concert event which will be a day of hits and memories with twelve of Australia’s most well-loved 80s hit makers gracing the stage and taking a whole generation back to a time when rock ‘n roll was a way of life and there wasn’t a camera phone in sight.
“It’s great to be part of Rock at the Races for a third year! Seeing the MTC come alive, and hearing our favourite songs live is a buzz that you can’t describe. If you’re looking for us on the 10th of November, we’ll be in the front row belting out Horses with the rest of the Riverina!” – Pottsy & Leighton, Triple M
The Murrumbidgee Turf Club is very excited for the return of Rock at the Races music event in November.
“After a very successful concerts in 2016 & 2017, the MTC is delighted to be bringing this event to Wagga for the third year’’ Many of these acts are household names and they will perform some of their biggest hits throughout the afternoon,” MTC Promotions Manager Michelle Merrylees said. “They have stood the test of time and will no doubt be very popular with all generations of music lovers..”
Without further ado, the legendary artists set to rock the race track are (drum roll please) …
In a distinguished career spanning more than 45 years, DARYL BRAITHWAITE is proof that he is of our country’s true music icons. He was recently inducted into the coveted ARIA Hall of Fame and the longevity of his recording career is a testament to his enduring talent. His many timeless songs have crossed generations of Aussie music fans and his consistency as a performer has never wavered – he’s touring regularly to packed crowds around the country. Starting his career in the 1970s as the front man for Sherbet, Daryl was crowned King of Pop and the band produced 20 national Top 40 singles. In the 1980’s, Daryl set out on his own solo career, releasing smash hit singles such as One Summer, As The Days Go By and The Horses to name a few. The compilation, Days Go By, was recently released on 24th November – the double album contains four new songs and his solo hits including The Horses, which is now part of Australian culture.
Now Listen! Mr Eagle Rock, ROSS WILSON, 2 time ARIA Hall of Fame Inductee, founder of Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock continues to have a Hell Of A Time while Living In The Land Of Oz. Always believing Ego Is Not A Dirty Word, the Skyhooks and Jo Jo Zep producer hasn’t stagnated by Living In the 70’s, but continued moving like The Fugitive Kind through the Summer of 81 into the 21st Century following his credo All I Wanna Do Is Rock. When the Chemistry is right to Come Back Again, he’ll get up off his Bed Of Nails, bring A Touch of Paradise to your Cool World and examine your State of the Heart. With No Time to lose practicing Primitive Love Rites in Primal Park, Things Are Hotting Up with Wilson’s song I Come In Peace being covered and becoming Joe Cocker’s last hit single. Come Said The Boy, to a Ross Wilson show in a venue near you, because we all know You’ve All Got To Go!
CHOIRBOYS led by charismatic frontman Mark Gable formed on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in 1979. They were soon scooped up by legendary producer George Young from the Easybeats for Alberts Music. Their first album spawned the hits “Never Gonna Die” and “Boys in the Band”, but it wasn’t until 1987 that they realised the classic rock anthem Run to Paradise which is the 11th highest selling single of the 80s. That song propelled them to legendary stays in Australia and the embarked on many sell out pub tours of their own as well as bills with The Angels, ColdChisel, Bon Jovi, Deep Purple and Def Leppard. To this day Mark performs the classic “Run To Paradise” and a singalong is 100% guaranteed.
THIRSTY MERC are an Australian pop rock band formed in 2002 by Rai Thistlethwayte (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Phil Stack (bass guitar), Karl Robertson (drums), and Matthew Baker (guitar). Thirsty Merc have released 4 albums: Thirsty Merc (August 2004), Slideshows (April 2007), Mousetrap Heart (June 2010) and Shifting Gears (September 2015). The band have sold over 200,000 albums, toured extensively around Australia, and received national radio airplay for their tracks. Their smash hit In the Summertime is the theme song of TV Show Bondi Rescue and hits like 20 Good Reasons, The Hard Way and now their latest hit the Good Life are radio and fan favourites.
PSEUDO ECHO formed in 1982, releasing their first album, Autumnal Park, in 1984 which skyrocketed the band to household name status across the country. Their second album, Love an Adventure, spawned another string of hits including its title track, Don’t Go, Try, Living in a Dream and their remake of the Lipps, Inc. song Funkytown, which brought the group their biggest international success and spent seven weeks at No. 1 in Australia from December 1986. In 2012 PSEUDO ECHO celebrated their 30th anniversary and this year released their sixth studio album, Ultraviolet.
UNCANNY XMEN formed in Melbourne in 1981 and worked the pub rock circuit. Uncanny X-Men are known for their hits such as The Party, How Do You Get Your Kicks?, 50 Years and Time Goes So Fast and Everybody Wants to Work as well as their crazy onstage antics and massive singsongs. Ever the show-man, Mannix became known for his mischievous and comical send-ups of other artists. Brian is without doubt one of our most charismatic lead singers and a well-known larrikin. Mannix was also a regular on the ABC1 television quiz show Spicks and Specks. and in 2006 performed in the Countdown Spectacular and at the 2006 AFL Grand Final. Mannix also appeared as a contestant on Channel 7‘s series of Dancing with the Stars in its twelfth season during 2012 where he came fifth.
WENDY MATTHEWS is an honorary Aussie, born in Canada and relocating to Australia to sing back-up vocals at the invitation of Glenn Shorrock for his ’83 Australian tour. That 6 week visit became a rather extended visit as Wendy found herself in demand as a session vocalist. She sang on albums by Jimmy Barnes, Richard Clapton, Tim Finn and Icehouse. After singing backing vocals on Models’ 1985 album Out of Mind, Out of Sight , she became a regular vocalist for the band. Wendy, along with The Models’ Sean Kelly and James Valentine, Gary Beers of INXS, Roger Mason and Mick King formed the all-star Absent Friends and Wendy featured as lead vocalist on I Don’t Wanna Be With Nobody But You which reached No 4 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Wendy now enjoys a solo career. Her soulful sound and crystal clear vocals helped make tracks like Token Angels, Let’s Kiss (Like Angels Do) and The Day You Went Away became huge hits for this multiple ARIA Award winner.
Originally formed for a one off show in 1986, THE CHANTOOZIES amassed quite the following and went on to tour Australia extensively. They achieved great success with their original material Wanna Be Up, Kiss And Tell, Walk On and covers of Witch Queen, He’s Gonna Step on You, Love the One You’re With and I’ll Be There; all top 20 hits reaching platinum and gold sales. Throughout the 80’s and 90’s they shared the stage with many of Australia’s biggest acts and supported international act Billy Joel for an Australia wide 38 show tour. After taking time out to pursue their individual careers the girls reunited for ‘The 25 years of Mushroom Music’ in 1998, the ‘Countdown Spectacular’ tour in 2006 and again in 2012 when they supported Rick Astley on his Australian tour. THE CHANTOOZIES released their first new recording in 23 years in 2014, a cover of the Promises hit Baby It’s You.
Best known for their hit songs Short Note, Mancini Shuffle, Hot Cover and Fade Away, classic Australian rock band MATT FINISH are one of the most independent, inventive, powerful and popular live bands from the eighties, influencing and influenced by friends and contemporaries in Midnight Oil, INXS, Cold Chisel, Icehouse, The Ramones, XTC and U2. Matt Finish 2018 features founding member and multi-award winning composer and producer John Prior, star of stage and screen Ric Herbert, Steve Williams from Wa Wa Nee and Phil Hall from The Lime Spiders.
John ‘SWANEE’ Swan is a blue blood of the Australian rock scene. In 1978 he released his first album ‘Into the Night’ but his first major chart success was a rendition of Tim Hardin’s If I Were a Carpenter from the album ‘This Time It’s Different’. Success with the next two singles from the album immediately followed. Lady What’s Your Name and Temporary Heartache both screamed up the charts. SWANEE played all over the country, winning new fans wherever he went. He built a reputation as one of the best and most respected rock n roll singers in the country. Along came the Party Boys self-titled album which went number one in 3 weeks due to the success of the number one single He’s Gonna Step On You Again and top 10 hits Hold Your Head Up and Gloria. SWANEE is a classic Australian rock artist with a bluesy feel and a voice that never disappoints much to the delight of his loyal fans Australia-wide.
The Sports were formed in Melbourne in 1976 by STEPHEN CUMMINGS and are best known for their classic top forty singles ‘Who Listens to the Radio?’, ‘Gymnasium’, ‘Strangers on a Train’, and ‘Don’t Throw Stones’ to name a few crowd favourites. The Sports achieved historic status with three albums reaching the top 20 charts in Australia; ‘Don’t Throw Stones’ (Feb 1979), ‘Suddenly’ (March 1980) and ‘Sondra’ (May 1991). After disbanding in 1981, Cummings persued a solo career and in 1989 released his third album ‘A New Kind of Blue’ which won the 1989 ARIA award for Best Contemporary Album the same year. His third album Lovetown, saw Cummings hit his creative stride – critical praise was showered on the album, and it is now revered as a classic amongst fans and followers of the Australian music scene. Stephen has now released 20 albums, consisting of 15 studio albums, two ‘’best of’’ compilations, a live disc, an album of acoustic re-workings of his songs and a rarities collection. His fourth album, A New Kind Of Blue, won an ARIA award for ‘’best adult contemporary album’’ and his eighth album, Falling Swinger, was included in Australian Rolling Stone’s list of ‘’100 essential Australian albums’’.
STEVE BALBI has been a mainstay of the Australian rock music industry since the mid 1980’s and was a founding member of iconic pub rock band, Noiseworks. Formed in 1986, Noiseworks produced three top 10 singles which have become the soundtrack to a generation of Australians, ‘Take Me Back’, ‘Touch’ and ‘Hot Chilli Woman’. Balbi has worked with David Bowie and has a voice double in the film Moulin Rouge! More recently Balbi embarked on a solo career releasing the album Black Rainbows in 2012 to much critical acclaim. Since 2011 he’s continued the MI-SEX heritage as their front man and fans are happy to confirm he has the right chemistry that would once again ignite their passion for the band.
If it is anything like 2017 these are expected to sell out so don’t miss this opportunity!
ROCK AT THE RACES – Saturday 10th November 2018
Murrumbidgee Turf Club
Featuring:
Daryl Braithwaite
Ross Wilson
Choirboys
Thirsty Merc
Pseudo Echo
Uncanny Xmen
Wendy Matthews
Chantoozies
Matt Finish
Swanee
Stephen Cummings of The Sports
Steve Balbi of Mi Sex & Noiseworks
TICKETS $99*
On sale from Monday 14th May at 9am from www.ticketmaster.com.au and 136 100
*Transaction fees, processing fees and other charges may apply.
