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.SUZI QUATRO
@ Adelaide Entertainment Centre,
Adelaide,
24th October 2025
(Live Review)Review by Colin Reid
Photos by Michael Selge (@oz.craftypics)
On Friday night the legendary Suzi Quatro, celebrating 61 years in show business and on her 41st tour of Australia, played to a sold-out Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Just let that sink in for a minute….41 tours of Australia! That’s an incredible statistic, and throughout the night, it was clear just how much we still adore her—and how deeply she loves us in return.
Anticipation was palpable and the majority female crowd, some of whom in the front row had brought the sleeves of the vinyl LPs that they had bought in 1970s in the hope of getting a precious autograph, were generating a level of excitement that made the air almost crackle.
The band took the stage, the screen behind them playing clips of Suzi’s career. The drums kicked in driving the atmosphere to higher intensity and out came Suzi with her trademark Fender bass slung over her shoulder striding to the microphone and the band kicked into ‘The Wild One’. “All my life I wanted to be somebody and here I am!” the opening lyrics pretty much setting the scene for the whole night.
The backdrop has now switched to a huge photo of Suzi from the early 1970s. It looks amazing and let’s face it she still looks, moves and sounds amazing today! For that matter so does her band which comprises two guitarists in Tim Henwood and Nat Allison, keyboardist Paul Cecchinelli and drummer Johnny Salermo. Suzi still has that same smile, her eyes are wide and full of humour as they flit across the front rows of the audience and her energy is simply infectious. She’s the kind of artist who makes you feel both privileged to be in the same room as her whilst also making you feel completely at ease, like you’re catching up with an old friend. She is simply sparkling on stage and that is figurative as well as literal; the brightness of her ever-present smile, the chains around her neck, the glitter in her jeans and the sparkle of those amazing ankle boots.
The set charges on with ‘I May Be Too Young’, ‘Daytona Demon’ and ‘Tear Me Apart’. Suzi is pleasure to watch on stage, she is having so much fun be it punching the air, kicking out her left leg and making mock snarls or comedic eye rolls and the audience are loving her for it.
The front rows are swaying in their seats, their heads nodding along and singing the choruses with gusto and some of them tackling the verses too. The band are loud, tight and polished. This isn’t any sort of going through the motions old time feel good try out. This is a loud, full-on rock and roll show!
Queen of rock and roll takes a few moments to talk her audience and we are welcomed to the musical journey of her life. “Who has seen me before?” she askes and probably 90% of the people around me raise their hands “Where are the virgins” and I’m one of very few willing to admit to it. “well”, says Suzi to much laughter “they say you never forget your first time!” The comedy continues as Suzi says I need a man in the audience to sing this next song too. A victim is found and she announces that the next number is ‘Mama’s Boy’.
Next up the background screen plays a short clip of the recent techno dance style remix of ‘Stumblin’ In’ before Suzi says “don’t worry we will be playing the original!” She duets this with Tim and also tells the crowd that “you can all help too and I’m going be watching to make sure you do”. True to her word she lets us sing part of the song and applauds our efforts.
Enough of the slower stuff, it is time that we move back to 1973 with the smash hit ’48 Crash’ and the crowd goes wild especially when she hits those high screams! She tells us that the song is about the male menopause which, according to Suzi, is worse than the female one. The crowd scream out their laughter and approval and I’m feeling rather outnumbered!
Suzi talks about the ‘No Soul, No Control’ album that she made with her son Richard Tuckey as a giant picture of the two of them is shown on the big screen and this draws squeals and sighs from the female members of the crowd. Suzi jokes about him being 6ft 2 and her not being that tall. “I used to be 5ft 2 … now I’m only 5ft 1 but boy do I make it count!” Nobody who is witnessing this show would argue with that statement!
Next up the band perform an incredible, powerful version of Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’. Suzi is literally hammering her bass with her fist before she withdraws to the raised platform with keyboard player Paul and allows the twin guitars of Tim and Nat the spotlight where they trade searing guitar solos. So much talent in this band.
She closes out her first set with the tender and poignant song ‘Can I Be Your Girl’ dedicated to her parents which has nearly ever cell phone around me recording.
Prior to the second set the screen is running images of Suzi’s early career including with her sisters in ‘The Pleasure Seekers’. The loudest cheers come when a short clip of her in 1977 TV show ‘Happy Days’ playing ‘Leather Tuscadero’ alongside Henry Winkler’s character ‘Fonzie’. The she re-appears and there has been a custom change; she is now in that trademark leather jumpsuit and calls out “I feel like me now” prompting a huge roar of approval from the crowd.
Set two kicks off with ‘Rock Hard’ and some of the ladies in the front row are no longer content to nod their heads and sway in their seats; they are up and out of them dancing as Suzi pumps a clench fist into the air in mock rock and roll fury although her eyes and smile reveal that she is too nice to mean it.
Suzi tells us that she will never play a cover song live unless she has actually recorded and released it herself before choosing ‘Bad Moon Rising’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival. “It was a no brainer to choose of their songs as they recorded Suzi Q” she quips.
Next Suzi takes time out to give a potted history of her life and her career. It is such a great story and no matter how often you have heard it or how much you already know it is a privilege to hear her tell it again.
They set continues with ‘She’s In Love With You’. It sounds great, much harder and guitar driven than the record. The ladies are trying to film it as they sway and dance – there will be a look of wobbly videos uploaded to Facebook later! Next comes ‘Shine a Light’ and Suzi asks us to turn on our phones and instantly the audience becomes a sea of phone lights waving back at her.
Suzi makes the effort to honour her supporting band and gives them all an extended introduction and an opportunity to showcase their skills and the crowd acknowledges them warmly before she announces “it’s time to meet your bass player”. Accompanied only by Johnny on the drums she gives a searing masterclass in bass playing that was worth the price of admission in itself. Finishing her solo she stands, guitar held aloft in triumph, and acknowledged the well-deserved standing ovation from the crowd before she grabs a second set of drum sticks and squeezes in besides Johnny to play a drum duet again to huge applause, whoops and hollers. Seriously is there nothing this woman can’t do? She sings, plays the bass, the piano and now the drums all brilliantly!
Everyone is encouraged to get up out of their seats and start clapping and dancing as we are taken back to where it all began. First with ‘Can The Can’ and then “Who wants to go down to Devil Gate Drive” she asks us three times each time getting a louder and louder affirmative from the crowd.
They aren’t finished yet by a long shot. Next comes ‘If You Can’t Give Me Love’ which builds into an epic and then ‘Sweet Little Rock ‘n Roller’ which Suzi certainly is!
She came back for one final song, it’s another cover this time The Eagles ‘Desperado’, a version of which she had released in 2007. She wanted to say thank you to the audience and give from “her heart to ours”. She sang the song backed only by the piano and it certainly seemed genuinely heartfelt and there was more than a tear or two in her eyes at the end. It was a very poignant and emotional way to end the gig.
She left us with a video of her track ‘Singing with Angels’ a tribute to Elvis Presley playing on the big screen. For me this was somewhat of an anti-climax, an odd way to end what had otherwise been an outstanding gig and was the only downer in the whole evening. It just didn’t seem to fit right and certainly left the ladies in the front with their memorabilia that they were hoping to get signed confused.
Upcoming Dates
TOOWOOMBA, Empire Theatre
Thursday 30 October 2025CAIRNS, Convention Centre
Saturday 1 November 2025BRISBANE Convention & Exhibition Centre
Tuesday 4 November 2025TOWNSVILLE, Entertainment Centre
Thursday 6 November 2025
Check out Michael Selge’s (@oz.craftypics) full gallery of this event HERE
Follow SUZI QUATRO
Website – Facebook – Instagram – Twitter
AMNPLIFY – DB
