COR BABY THAT’S REALLY FREE – JOHN OTWAY TO TOUR AUSTRALIA
Signed by Polydor at the height of punk, and joining The Jam, Sham 69, Stiff Little Fingers, and The Cure on vinyl and in the record racks, John Otway’s plans to fly a jet full of fans to witness him perform at the Sydney Opera House never quite eventuated, but 50 years into his career Otway is thrilled to announce his debut Australian tour.
The ever-eccentric showman, Otway, armed only with his guitar and theremin, will perform shows in Melbourne and Sydney this November.
Said Otway upon confirmation of the run of concerts, “I’ve had more UK hit singles than Led Zeppelin, performed more than five times the number of gigs the Beatles managed, appeared at Glastonbury more times than Beyonce, and starred in more lemonade commercials than Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift put together. And now I’ll be performing at Memo Music Hall & The Vanguard – venues that David Bowie notably never managed to play. I’ve now discovered there are quite a few fans down under, and their reaction is ‘IT’S ABOUT TIME!!’ So I’m REALLY looking forward to these shows!”
- Otway’s “Cor Baby That’s Really Free” was a UK Christmas Hit in 1977.
- Pete Townshend produced four tracks on Otway’s first album (with Wild Willy Barrett).
- Otway has performed over 5000 shows including a sold-out concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
- Otway’s song Beware Of The Flowers Cos I’m Sure They’re Going To Get You Yeh! was voted the 7th Favourite Lyric in a nationwide BBC Poll ahead of anything written by Bob Dylan or Paul Simon.
- Otway appeared in The Young Ones’ episode Summer Holiday.
- 25 years after his first Otway had a second hit with “Bunsen Burner” when loyal fans bought enough copies to have the single chart in the UK top ten.
- Otway the Movie: The Story of Rock n Roll’s Greatest Failure was voted 2nd best film of 2012 in a Guardian newspaper readers poll beaten only by Gravity.
Melbourne – Wednesday 15th November – Memo Music Hall
Sydney – Thursday 16th November – The Vanguard
