Dragon
Iconic rockers Dragon are hitting the road in 2017 celebrating an Australian institution, the legendary TV music show Countdown. Expect smash hits such as 'April Sun in Cuba', 'Rain' and 'Are You Old Enough', as well as more chart toppers from the 70s and 80s. Dragon singer and bassist Todd Hunter spoke to Off The Leash.
You’re on tour around Australia this year playing not just your own hits, but the hits of The Countdown Years. Why did you want to celebrate the music from Countdown?
Well, in 1976 we were in Sydney, playing for food and the taxi fare home, with our minimal backline in the boot. Everyone hated the band, including us. No one knew our songs so the shows were agonising. As soon as we were on Countdown everything changed.
What have you done to get back in the Countdown headspace?
All we had to do was start reverse engineering those great songs that everyone has in the back of their minds and it was easy. We did some Countdown Years shows in 2016 and they were great fun. This year a huge number of venues wanted to book Countdown shows so we said yes to everything.
What are your greatest memories of Countdown, as a guest or a viewer?
My most enduring memory is a party in a suburban garage in Adelaide in the late 70s. The sun was going down and Countdown was on the TV above the bar. The Sex Pistols came on with ‘God Save the Queen’ and I just knew that rock music had changed forever in an instant. It was unbelievingly exciting.
The Countdown years were a great period of Australian music, but what current Australian acts do you enjoy listening to? Who is making music now that excites you as much as the music of the 70s and 80s?
I think Australian music is in great shape. You just need to find it. I’m currently listening to Spit Syndicate, Horrorshow, Jackie Onassis, Joyride and anything by Briggs.
Like other successful Kiwis Russell Crowe, Crowded House and Phar Lap, we claim Dragon as our own. Can you please provide us with a deï¬nitive answer – are Dragon Aussie or Kiwi?!
Ha! We are our own League of Nations. We have two New Zealanders/naturalised Aussies, one Canadian and our only authentic Australian, Pete Drummond. So you might have to work it out, because we can’t!
Fri 18 Aug | 8pm | SKYCITY Darwin
