Mister Brisbane: Idol moments
A State of mind | Bill's back | Riff-offs | Old eateries
In the last newsletter, I noted that certain television shows rated better in Brisbane than they did in other parts of Australia. I’ve since realised that there’s something just as interesting happening on a global scale — with certain shows. Why is it, I asked myself, that America’s Got Talent has failed to impress Australian viewers? The program was seen by a lousy 283,000 metropolitan viewers on Tuesday last week, just 38,000 of them in Brisbane. Like most people, I didn’t watch the show, so I can’t say this for certain but I imagine the standard of the acts was quite high. The performers were probably as good as, or maybe even better than, those on Australia’s Got Talent, which didn’t set the world on fire but at least scored 752,000 viewers for last year’s grand final.
It would seem that, at least when it comes to talent and “reality” shows, geographical proximity and cultural relatability are big factors. Which raises the question: how well would Brisbane’s Got Talent do? I can think of plenty of homegrown acts of an international standard. I know the TV networks won’t touch it, but perhaps an on-stage variety talent show — or a radio program — would be a hit. Who would you like to see on such a show?
Join Brett Debritz and Spencer Howson for the Mister Brisbane show on Reading Radio at 1296AM or DAB+ in Brisbane on Tuesdays at 6.30pm, Wednesdays at 4am and 7am, Fridays at 4am, Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 5pm. It is also available as a podcast on popular platforms including Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts.
I’M NOT SOLD
Photo: Jason Hudson on Scopio
It’s a great time to buy property in Brisbane. Or to sell for that matter. I know that because I keep getting flyers in my letter box, and seeing stories in the newspaper and on television, all driving home that point. The thing is that it’s always a great time — or so they say. I guess it’s true that, over time, an investment in real estate pays off. And even if the price doesn’t rise, you’ve got a roof over your head. But it is possible to make a bad real-estate investment, especially if you’re forced to bail out due to unforeseen circumstances such as a pandemic. So, the endless optimism in the media should be taken with a grain of salt. Especially since our two major media groups also just happen to have financial interests in real-estate websites.
FITS THE BILL
Radio 4BC has added another Brisbane show to its line-up, bringing the total to four — up from zero last year. Joining Neil Breen, Scott Emerson and Peter Psaltis in the local line-up is Bill McDonald. Describing himself on Twitter as “a man for all seasons”, former newsreader McDonald has now worked for all three commercial TV networks (albeit in a radio role for Nine, which owns 4BC). He’s also been on ABC radio and — fun fact here — he’s trodden the boards as an actor. I saw him many moons ago in a Brisbane Arts Theatre production of Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution, and he apparently did shows for a couple of other companies too. Oh, and he’s also a real-estate agent (so I assume he reckons this a good buy and/or sell moment, see above). I guess it pays to be multiskilled in the current job environment.
SOUNDS FAMILIAR
News last week that Led Zeppelin had won a protracted lawsuit, over claims the band had stolen the opening guitar riff to its megahit Stairway to Heaven, brought back a few memories. When I think of musical plagiarism claims, the first stop is George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord, which was said to have borrowed a little too heavily from the Chiffons hit He’s So Fine. That was in 1970, and there have been quite a few cases since.
One of my favourites involved a bloke called Ray Repp who tried to sue Andrew Lloyd Webber, claiming the British composer had stolen from him the melody for his musical Phantom of the Opera. The court found that the tune was based on public-domain works and some of Lloyd Webber’s own previous compositions, including Close Every Door from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. His lawyers essentially, and successfully, argued that if Lloyd Webber had stolen from anybody, it was himself.
And that reminds me of a discussion I had on the ABC with Spencer Howson many years ago, positing that Aussie artist John Paul Young had released two songs — Love is in the Air and Standing in the Rain — that began in a remarkably similar way. When you’re on a good thing …
I’ll leave this subject with advice from serial hit-maker Pete Waterman, which is if you’re going to borrow music, go back a few hundred years and borrow from the likes of Wagner, Mozart (below), Chopin, Pachelbel and Bach, whose work is in the public domain.
MATTERS OF STATE
Without getting party political, I think it’s fair to say that state election time tends to highlight the divide between urban southeast Queensland and rural and regional Queensland. The call for a separate state of “North Queensland” waxes and wanes, but the idea and its supporters never truly go away. The argument is that northerners’ interests are very different to those in the southeast, yet governments inevitably concentrate on the places with the most voters.
The bigger question is: does the current system of six states and two (or three or 10) territories serve Australia well? The border lines that separate us are a contrivance and a legacy of a colonial past. While we may come together as a state to watch Origin football, there’s really nothing particularly distinctive about Queenslanders (apart from our TV-viewing and radio-listening habits, as I noted last week). In fact, as was highlighted by the pandemic, many of us have “communities of interest” that cross border lines. And, while I admit that I feel some affinity with the people of Cairns, it’s really no more than I do with people in Hobart, Adelaide, Newcastle or Broome. Or London, Paris, New York, Shanghai and Cape Town for that matter.
If the issue is administrative efficiency, then maybe we do need more states. Many, many more states. Perhaps we need dozens of them built around clusters of people with common interests. These authorities could have less power than the current states and be more like super councils. The big issues such as health, education and policing could be handed over to the Commonwealth, thus avoiding a lot of the current duplication, while the states concentrate on implementing policies that benefit their constituency. I reckon it’s worth discussing, even if it will never happen.
Meanwhile, calls for West Australia to become a separate nation have reignited. That probably won’t happen either.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Thanks to the many people who answered the call in last week’s missive about old Brisbane restaurants that are still operating. Costa suggested Gino’s at Hamilton which, according to its website, has been around since 1975. Both Stephen and Shane mentioned the Pancake Manor in Charlotte Street, which opened in 1979 and, for a long time, was the go-to place for students and night owls. I fondly remember the blinis. And, here’s a fun fact: it was the scene of a first date, down in the crypt at the back. I remember having a cold at the time and not being especially pleasant company. Despite all that, I’m still in touch with my dining companion today.
Another blast from my own past, as suggested by Terry, is Giardinetto in the Valley, which opened in 1966 is quite possibly the oldest restaurant in the city (although Paul pointed out that it’s a very different place now than it was in the 1980s). A discussion on Twitter led to the acknowledgement that the Enjoy Inn and the Vietnamese Restaurant, and perhaps a few other spots in Chinatown, are still going strong after many decades.
Meanwhile, Robert posited the Corinthian cafe in Albion. Royce suggested Jo-Jo’s, a long-time CBD stalwart, but it has given way to a big McDonald’s. (The last I heard, Jo-Jo’s was operating at West End, but the website suggests it has a new name, so I’m not sure of its status.) When it comes to businesses other than eateries, Mikey nominated the Keri Craig Emporium in Brisbane Arcade, while Robert named Oxlades art supplies, which has been around since 1894, and Queen brand vanilla, which was established by chemist Edward Taylor in Brisbane in 1897 and is still pumping out liquid gold.
FEEDBACK
On the subject of footy anthems, Darren pointed me towards an article that explains how fans have already resisted an attempt to re-record their team songs. So it looks like the AFL and NRL are stuck in the past — which, surely, isn’t the overall impression that they want to give. Reading the article led me to research The Fable Singers, the group that recorded all the old Aussie rules tunes in 1972 on the famous Fable label. The group comprised nine people, including John Caddy, who said recently that he still enjoys hearing the recordings played at matches even though he doesn’t receive any royalties. Also part of the Fable Singers line-up were Ivan Hutchinson, who went on to be a movie critic, and jazz musicians Frank Traynor and Smacka Fitzgibbon. I can’t quite ascertain whether Barry Crocker was part of the group — it’s not in his official bio — but he certainly recorded at least one footy anthem, C’mon the Cats, for Geelong.
Meanwhile, regarding the return of Borat, Oliver wrote: “My wife watched Borat for the first time the other night and was literally crying with laughter at times. [Sacha Baron Cohen] will likely never top that but I for one am intrigued by the sequel. Hopefully it will be closer to Who Is America than Bruno.”
And on the closure of Sizzler, James wrote: “My wife will be devastated. Every time we go to Queensland it’s our first eat out.”