Perth
Perth Convention Centre- Thu 7 Sep @7:00 pm
It’s one of the most successful Beatles events ever staged in Australia. After three sold-out tours in 2009, 2014 and 2018 Chris Cheney (The Living End), Phil Jamieson (Grinspoon), Tim Rogers (You Am I), and ARIA Award-winning solo artist Josh Pyke are reuniting for a 2023 tour in a nod to this very special album.
The standing ovation was deserved … this band did something miraculous
Not only an amazing tribute but an amazing experience
Like stumbling into a cave full of treasure
As the frontman for rock band The Living End, Chris Cheney is the first to admit that, growing up, he was too big a fan of Elvis, Buddy Holly and all things 1950s rockabilly to pay much attention to The Beatles. “Whenever I saw footage of them, they never looked greasy enough,” he jokes. “But when I finally sat up and paid attention to the music, I became a big fan.”
Described by Rolling Stone Magazine as “one of our greatest guitarists”, Chris is one of Australia’s most valued performers and songwriters. His band, which he formed as a 17-year-old school kid in 1992, is most renowned for its intense live performances, its 1990s fist-punching anthems Prisoner of Society and Second Solution, and its multi-award winning single and album White Noise.
As one of Australia’s own four fabs selected to perform The White Album, Chris jumped at the chance to step out of his hard rock comfort zone, drawn by the chance to delve into the record’s diversity. “The Beatles’ musical influences appear all over The White Album and they just nail every genre they try, all while really pushing the envelope,” he says. “You can hear the different personalities in each song, probably because they supposedly recorded so much of the record separately.”
Capturing the spirit of The White Album is a huge challenge. Chris acknowledges it is one of the most analysed artworks of the late 20th century and stands firm on his reverence for it. “It’s so beautiful and it’s too clever. This is the biggest of them all and we know many of the people who come to this concert will have imbibed the whole album – word for word, note for note – so it’s been our goal to really get behind the sentiment of the music while putting our own stamp on it.”
Chris is no stranger to performing tributes to other artists. His band started out playing covers in Melbourne pubs and band rooms and, in 2004, he took up lead guitar duties for all-star outfit The Wrights, in honor of former Easybeats singer, Stevie Wright.
With The Living End, Chris has released six studio albums, four EPs and 26 singles, and has toured with the likes of Green Day, rock royalty AC/DC & The Rolling Stones and has also shared the stage with US rockabilly outfit Stray Cats. The Living End has also headlined three times at Australia’s Big Day Out and taken on the US Warped Tour, the UK’s epic Leeds and Reading festivals, plus other major festivals and clubs the world over. Chris’s almost freakish ability as a guitarist has earned him a place among Australia’s most legendary performers, walking away with Jack Awards for Best Guitarist in 2004 and 2005 and the Best Male Performer Award in 2006.
In 2008 The Living End’s magnum opus White Noise picked up the 2008 ARIA award for Best Rock Album, followed by 2009’s prestigious APRA Song of the Year award for the album’s title single.
In 2008, Chris was also honoured with the release of his own signature model Gretsch guitar. Famed for playing the classic Gretsch White Falcon for his entire career, this was a colossal distinction, with the signature model bearing his own modifications and The Living End logo emblazoned on the pick guard.
In 2011 The Living End released their sixth studio album The Ending is just the Beginning Repeating. That same year The Living End was nominated for three ARIA AWARDS taking out two of them for Best Rock Album and Best Live Band.
In 2011 Chris re-located to LA with his family.
In 2012 The Living End undertook their ‘The Retrospective Tour’ on which they played ALL of their six albums in full over numerous nights in 5 Australian cities. It was an epic undertaking, an incredible live show, and quickly sold-out with extra shows added to what started as seven shows in each city.
The Living End celebrate their 20th Anniversary this year and continue to play together having outlasted Silverchair and Powderfinger.
Chris is currently working on a solo album due out in late 2014.
I always loved the sound of The Beatles when they let loose and sounded tough, and to me The White Album has a perfect balance of rock’n’roll abandonment with the incredible songwriting skills they’re so revered for.
Phil Jamieson has spent the last quarter-century fronting one of Australia’s popular and successful bands. An accomplished singer, songwriter and guitarist, Jamieson’s generation-defining lyrics and vocal melodies first became etched into rock fans’ DNA in 1995, when the Lismore-born quartet he helped form as an 18-year-old rode a new wave of alternative music to become the first act Unearthed by national youth radio station triple j with its debut single “Sickfest”.
So began a love affair that maintained its heat and passion for over one thousand live shows, six consecutive Top 10 debuts and multi-platinum album sales. That initial romance with Triple j’s listeners blossomed into full-bloom infatuation: an incredible 17 Grinspoon songs have polled in Hottest 100 countdowns over the years, led by the much-loved ‘Chemical Heart’ (#2 in 2002; #63 in 2013’s Hottest 100 of All Time).
Jamieson’s live performance talents have continued to diversify and develop as he has explored new stages and formats. Embracing a solo career, Jamieson also made the transition from live music venues to the boards of theatres around the country in 2017, being cast as St. Jimmy in the Australian stage production of American Idiot. The Broadway musical made an impactful debut with its initial Australian premiere in Brisbane, leading to a national tour in 2018 – a performance that earned Jamieson acclaim: “Phil Jamieson carried the role in Perth, and absolutely nailed it. Jamieson has more of a swagger than an in-your-face psychopathic Jimmy, which I enjoyed more than I expected…whenever Jimmy is on stage, it’s difficult to focus on anything else.” – SYN MEDIA
As well as working on his solo career in recent years, Jamieson has also been involved in several philanthropic and industry-specific initiatives.
In 2013, he co-founded the Rock N Ride Tour for the national Youth and Mental Health Foundation, headspace. Bringing awareness to mental health issues faced by young people, the initiative saw a group of media figures, musicians and friends of Jamieson’s engage with local communities across a five-day motorcycle road trip, taking in over 5000km on the road. Additionally, profits from Jamieson’s solo touring have been donated to national initiative Support Act, who continue to assist and uplift those in the music industry who are in need.
Since 2015, Jamieson has also been an industry judge for the Australian Music Prize, arguably the most prestigious award in Australian music.
From fronting a generation-defining band, enjoying success as a solo artist and in the musical theatre world, as well as using his skills behind the scenes across numerous projects; Jamieson remains a multi-faceted creative, 27 years on from his debut.
2022 welcomes the debut solo album from Phil Jamieson, featuring singles ‘Trouble’ and Lights On’. A project years in the making, it has already grabbed the praise, as that doyen of the arts, Tim Rogers says of it: “Phil’s puckish performance style is underscored by a voice that can turn choirboy or demon’s spawn in a blinding grin. This has at times overshadowed his humour and empathy but no more. Teasing open his lapels to show heart and scars, but also hope and the lessons learnt from throwing yourself into this art that compels and damns us. Pop music with fire and finesse.’
It’s hard to imagine growing up without The Beatles. From the nursery rhyme Yellow Submarine to the songbooks we got in primary school with Help From My Friends, they have been omnipresent in my life. They have provided a soundtrack to so many moments, I mean, my wife walked down the aisle to I Will, for Christ’s sake.
Since breaking out to widespread success with the release of his debut album MEMORIES & DUST in 2007, multi-ARIA Award winner Josh Pyke has cultivated a strong community of supporters around Australia and beyond. Renowned for his multi-layered melodies and lyrics that are both deeply personal and highly relatable – a testament to his authentic and deep-set connection to the craft of music and its uniting appeal, each record Pyke has released in the years since has brought him closer to his fans, while his profile has elevated to being one of the most beloved and respected Australian songwriters of the last decade.
With six acclaimed albums under his belt and after the success of 2020’s ARIA nominated Rome album, Pyke latest album To Find Happiness – featuring the singles ‘The Hummingbird’ (Ft. Gordi), ‘Your Heart Won’t Always Weigh a Tone’ and ‘Circle of Light’ shows creativity has long extended well beyond.
Pyke’s creativity has long extended well beyond that discipline. He has ventured into the world of children’s books, releasing the award-nominated Lights Out, Leonard as well as the much-loved Chatterpuss series. His upcoming book Family Tree has been announced as the ALIA National Simultaneous Storytime book for 2022, where it will be read by over a million children at the same time.
His philanthropic work has included the development of the Josh Pyke Partnership, as well as his Busking For Change initiative and continued work as a lifetime ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
The Beatles were the first band that made any kind of impact on me as a kid, curled up in the front room with my parents’ record collection. The harmonies, the deceptively simple songs, and the amazingly creative production are all elements that I still draw upon in my music today.
With a career now motoring along in its third unique decade, Tim Rogers remarkable resume encompasses the world of Music, Film, Television and Stage.
As the frontman of You Am I, one of the essential Australian rock n’ roll bands, Tim Rogers has released 10 studio albums, three of which have debuted at number one in consecutive order – 1995’s Hi Fi Way, 1996’s Hourly Daily and 1998’s #4 Record – with the records receiving ARIA Awards and multiple platinum and gold status for commercial sales. The band has been released internationally, and toured worldwide, headlining shows across North America and Europe.
2013 saw You Am I reissue remastered versions of their first three albums, Sound As Ever, Hi Fi Way and Hourly Daily, complete with extra tracks including never-before-released live material, Demo’s, alternate versions and B’sides. In support of these releases You Am I presented live performances of Hourly Daily and Hi Fi Way back-to-back in a lush theatre-styled extravaganza. You Am I sold over 10,000 tickets in Sydney and Melbourne alone, and this sold out run of national shows proved to be one of the most successful tours in the bands long and illustrious career.
In addition to You Am I, Tim Rogers has released critically acclaimed solo albums, and a number of collaborations with fellow musicians including Tex Perkins, The Temperance Union and The Bamboos. In 2012 Tim released his fifth and most recent solo album (his second without a backing band) the critically acclaimed “Rogers Sings Rogerstein”.
Tim has also lent his talents to acting in film – with one of his most notable roles in the 2013 musical/thriller film ‘The Boy Castaways’. He has also performed significant roles in theatre and on television. In 2013 Rogers hosted the Television music performance/interview show ‘Studio at the Memo’”, and also fronted the in-house band, The Syndicate, performing with a slew of guest artists as they journeyed through the vibrant worlds of music, burlesque, cabaret and circus.
Tim’s career has spanned over 2 decades – not just across music, film Television and Theatre. He is a published writer in the likes of The Age and The Monthly, and has encapsulated the passion of every AFL football fan as the face of the AFL final series on TV screens across the country. He has stood in front of 50,000 screaming rock fans, but is just as at home playing an acoustic guitar and joking with the locals in a community run country town venue.
Hailing from a mining town in WA, Tim Rogers has spent his considerable energy over these very memorable years, taking his talents to the world. And now in his early 40’s and with a kit bag of experience and wisdom under his belt, has become a fully formed truly modern Australian icon.
The White Album gives me the fear. It’s denim and silk. Flickers of beauty washed out by blinding anxiety. I had a babysitter who’d play Revolution No.9 as I was just about to go to sleep. It made a mess o’ me and I love it deeply.