The Everly Brothers . Photo – Karen Lowe

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There are moments in history where we look back on today and realise that without them, our lives today would have taken a completely different path. In fact, if you are one of the many that believe in the multiverse theory, then there is a universe where people like Buddy Holly or The Everly Brothers never got their big break…and that thought is just terrifying indeed.

It was the 1950s was a different time. Rock n Roll was in its infancy up with acts like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis. Parents didn’t like it and indeed felt threatened by it but the kids were eating it up as fast as it was churned out. It was different, it spoke to them…..and the fact that their parents hated was just an added bonus.

1955 was the year that Buddy Holly decided to start up a career in music. As we all know, it was to be a short but extremely successful career and one that would still be celebrated over 50 years later.

The Mandurah Performing Arts Centre was sold out and it seemed like it was the oldies’ night out to see The Robertson Brothers and Scott Robin perform hits from The Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly. In fact, there were only two young people there that I saw…myself…and one other person. Otherwise, the median age was around 70 – people that would have potentially seen the original acts in person but, at the very least, grown up listening to their music so the expectations were high.

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Buddy Holly . Photo – Karen Lowe

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Scott Robin (who has been playing Buddy Holly for only 26 years…) opened the night with Ready Teddy, Maybe Baby and a song that was written for his wife Maria, Heartbeat. Robin told us that Holly started out as a country singer but That’ll Be The Day was the song that thrust him into the limelight.

Robin is very personable and was brilliant as Holly. He told us how a cab driver asked him if he (as Buddy Holly) had any new songs coming out. Robin had to gently let the poor guy down and explain that Holly had actually been dead for years. As a result, he always dedicates Think It Over to him now.

He also sung a few other covers – Blue Suede Shoes (Carl Perkins), a song that Holly said was the best song ever written – Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochran) and unfortunately, Chantilly Lace by The Big Bopper. Why unfortunately for that song? Well not only was it a lot faster, but he also missed some lyrics and it just didn’t do the song justice.

He finished the night with Johnny B Goode (Chuck Berry) and Oh Boy. Robin has a great voice and really does sound like Holly. With the stories interspersed with the songs, it made it so much more than just a concert and turned it into a true performance. All the hits were sung and everyone singing along and chair dancing although three brave souls did get up and were jiving away.

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The Everly Brothers . Photo – Karen Lowe

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After a short interval and a little introductory film about The Everly Brothers, The Robertson Brothers took the stage and opened with Wake Up Little Suzie, Bird Dog (their first No 1 hit in Australia) and a song that Roy Orbison wrote but let them record, Claudette.

“Thank you so much for coming out tonight! We have a full house. We hope we do The Everly Brothers proud!” Ben Robertson told the audience. They played Til I Kissed You, Ebony Eyes and Cathy’s Clown. The whole room was singing along and everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves.

As Geoff Robertson mentioned, they are real brothers and they may sound a lot like The Everly Brothers but they don’t look like them. Of course, with something like this – the voice is everything and they have nailed it.

They played all the hits including Walk Right Back, Crying In The Rain (dedicated to James Dean and Marilyn Monroe), Be Bop A Lula, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, Bye Bye Love – the undisputed No 1 break up song in the 50s and finished up with Let It Be Me.

After a quick outfit change, they came back out and sung hits like Runaround Sue (Dion) with a little bit of Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing (Chris Issak) mixed into the beginning, Lucille (Little Richard), Runaway and had the audience up on their fee for the last song of the night Do You Wanna Dance (Bobby Freeman).

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The Everly Brothers. Photo – Karen Lowe

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With a show like this, it’s important to get the mix of songs right, the performance, the story and the right amount of humour etc to ensure that the audience is entertained throughout the night and The Robertson Brothers have it down to a fine art and Geoff even scored a kiss from one lady….in exchange for a sweaty tea towel….

The only thing that was missing from the night was the younger generation. It was a shame that there was only a few people there under the age of 40. It was a highly entertaining night and listening to these songs played live, you can see just how many artists both acts influenced and especially Buddy Holly in his short career. Lucky for you though, they postponed their Perth show to 3 November 2017 at Riverside Theatre so take your parents and enjoy a night out with them listening to the music that they grew up with. Trust me…they will love you for it.

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Check out Karen Lowe’s gallery of this show HERE

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AMNPLIFY – DB

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