Would you like to join John's Fair Dinkum Club and receive the True Blue Newsletter by email? CLICK HERE...
ANZAC Day 2008
One of the great benefits of having a website is that we receive constant feedback from the many visitors to these pages. Earlier this week, a journalism student sent us these questions. John's answers give an insight of how much ANZAC Day means to him.
How did it feel to be performing on such a commemorative day such as ANZAC Day? Firstly it's always an honour to sing in any ANZAC Day ceremony. While I am comfortable singing my old song 'True Blue', it's never easy at these occasions to keep the emotions under control.
Did you feel you needed to live up to a certain expectation? I guess I always know that 'True Blue' is the right song for the job. So as long as I know I have my concentration in gear, I know I will live up to expectations.
How was performing against such a beautiful landscape (Currumbin's Elephant Rock)? I think performing on the beach was obviously appropriate to the ANZAC Gallipoli story. Also the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean has a special significance considering the Second World War.
Do you think the service and performance at Elephant Rock served to strengthen the awareness of ANZAC Day amongst the community? I think Currumbin was well chosen also for the spectacular clear sunrise over the ocean, which naturally attracts bigger crowds, which of course promotes the awareness of ANZAC Day. ANZAC Day to me has become more of an 'Australia Day' than Australia Day. The character of the ANZACs at Gallipoli for the first time in history defined the Aussie character.
John Williamson's recording and sound engineer, Steve Newton, made a short documentary of some of the Currumbin Beach ANZAC Day activities and John's sound check prior to his appearance on the Seven Network's Sunrise program that morning. Click on the arrow to play...
John Williamson's 'Wildlife Warrior on Tour' returns to the road this coming weekend with performances at Lithgow (Friday 9th May), Dubbo (Saturday 10th May) and Parkes (Sunday 11th May). The show stars John Williamson with special guest Warren H. Williams and together they perform many of the old favourites plus selections from John's forthcoming album including the father/daughter song Cydi, Dark Irish Eyes and the title song Hillbilly Road. For complete tour details, please check the Gig Guide.
And talking of Cydi, we received the following email this week:-
"My name's Yvette, I'm 22 from Sydney. I just heard your song Cydi and loved it. It's a song that I think my dad and I can really relate to. We have just come back from Perth's National Surf Life Saving Championships. We compete in surf boats and dad is our sweep. This was our first year and we got Silver! Your song sums up the bond we have developed over the years. Standing up on the podium with him was a proud and awesome moment. I cannot wait to give him your new album."
Regular visitors to this website will have noticed that we have removed the story of Quambatook / The Australian Folk Musical from this section. All Quambatook information including many pictures of the rehearsals and actual performances can now be found by clicking on the Quambatook - The Musical link at the top of this page.
By the way, you can still purchase the Polo Shirt, Souvenir Program and the Original Cast CD from this site. Just visit the Merchandise section. As a special offer, anyone purchasing the Original Cast CD in future weeks will receive a free Souvenir Program!
Over recent months John & Warren have travelled to many towns in New South Wales and Victoria. It has been a joy to greet many longtime fans as well as meet a whole lot of new ones. We have some pictures to share. Please click on the photos to view an enlargement...
John by the banks of the Murray River near Mildura.
Fans who gave John and Warren a 'True Blue' cake they'd made after the show at Warragul, Vic.
Close up of the cake! It was enjoyed by all the crew!
Following the devastating death of Steve Irwin, John Williamson (Steve's favourite artist) was inspired to write a powerful tribute song entitled 'Wildlife Warriors: It's Time'.
The song is the leading track on an exciting new CD of John Williamson's most important environmental songs, many of which were an inspiration to Steve Irwin. It's hoped that the CD will continue to raise many thousands of dollars to support Wildlife Warriors. John Williamson is an ambassador for the cause. More info, full lyrics, sound samples...
August 2006 - EMI Music Australia proudly released John Williamson - The Platinum Collection.
Covering more than 60 songs over 3 CDs The Platinum Collection covers John's song writing & recording career in chronological order and is a true retrospective, to date, of what has been an astonishing career that continues to go from strength to strength.
True Blue and True Blue Two (both double CDs) contain the best of John's career from the early 80's up to 2003.
True Blue contains the original version of the song from 1986 and True Blue Two contains the version with orchestral backing to which John sang at the Steve Irwin memorial service.
ANZAC Day 2008
Following the devastating death of Steve Irwin, John Williamson (Steve's favourite artist) was inspired to write a powerful tribute song entitled 
August 2006 - EMI Music Australia proudly released
