The Fast Five - John Williamson
Australian Country Music Legend John Williamson is on the road again, touring his latest album, Butcherbird, and playing all his hits.
He’ll be on stage at the Darwin Entertainment Centre this November, and answered The Fast Five for Off The Leash.
What’s the first album you ever bought?
I think it was a Harry Belafonte album. I have always admired his work and he was one of my earliest influences. It was definitely a vinyl, but before then we used to listen to radio out in the bush or made our own music around the piano with Mum and Dad.
If you could see any artist or band – living or dead – this weekend, who would it be?
I love reggae so if I had a choice it would probably be Bob Marley as I have been lucky enough to see many of the other great acts that inspire me, like Johnny Cash, Joan Baez and James Taylor. I think all these artists were trailblazers and honest to their craft. I have enormous respect for that and the music they have made.
Whose posters did you have stuck to the wall as a teenager? Do you still have them?
I grew up in a modest house in Quambatook in the Mallee of Victoria with four other brothers, so there was no chance of getting wall space for a poster. Getting an extra potato was hard enough!
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor is what I want.
Finish this sentence. The thing people would be surprised to know about me… is that when I’m performing I’m a perfectionist, because my shows are really important to me. Away from the stage I like to paint, draw and make things with rocks. Every rock has a place, it just has to let you know where to put it.
SAT 17 NOV | 8PM | DARWIN ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE | See the event listing
