This September you’ll have the chance to re-live and celebrate the 1980s all over again with ‘80's Mania’.
Featuring four of Britain's best-loved music icons of the '80s – Paul Young, Go West, Nik Kershaw and Cutting Crew – ‘80’s Mania’ will combine '80s music and influences on-stage.
English singer and musician, Paul Young, is currently working on his set for the show. “I’ve worked out we’ll be doing about half an hour each, so I’ve got to work out what songs I’m doing, and that’s what I’m actually working on at the moment,” Paul says.
You may remember Paul as the frontman of short-lived bands Kat Kool & The Kool Cats, Streetband or Q-Tips. Following this, however, Paul became a 1980s teen idol with famous hits such as: ‘Everytime You Go Away’ and ‘Come Back And Stay’. Paul has since continued to write and perform with his band Los Pacaminos, as well as dabbling in the food industry on TV and writing a cookbook.
For ‘80’s Mania’, Paul, Nik, Peter Cox and Richard Drummie from Go West, and Cutting Crew will be performing their beloved, '80s hits. “You can bet your life that Nik Kershaw will be doing ‘Wouldn’t It Be Good’ and all that stuff and I’ll be doing ‘Everytime You Go Away’,” Paul explains.
Nik and Paul have performed together a few times previously, but most notably was their involvement in Live Aid in 1985. Paul has also worked with Cutting Crew and Go West but never together in one place. “It’ll be interesting because we’ll all be in the same bus, I would imagine, at the same time and in close proximity, so that’ll be different. But I’ve certainly done shows with them and I like them all.
“I’ve done some songwriting with Richard [Drummie] and a little bit of recording with Pete [Cox] that didn’t see the light of day. With Nik, I’ve toured and done some shows in Europe with him. But it’ll be nice to be altogether,” Paul says.
The 1980s according to Paul was a decade that witnessed a lot of change. “The thing about the '80s was what we had on our side. We had a technological explosion with CD, super sizes, and drum machines. So '80s music has got an identification all of its own and also it was the visual because it was the invention of video – the music video as a marketing tool. So, you don’t just remember the music, you remember, sometimes unfortunately, what everybody looked liked and dressed liked.”
While on tour, Paul will hone his foodie passion as every foodie does. “As a person I love to find great places to eat, it doesn’t matter where I am. Honestly, Australia’s got the 'greats'. Great seafood and stuff like that. And there’s that something Bay Bug that I love. Do you know the one I’m talking about? It’s a bit like lobster?” The Moreton Bay Bug! “Yeah, I discovered that last time I was there… and I’m definitely lining myself up to get some of that because you can’t get that this side of the Equator,” Paul says.
Once Paul has finished touring ‘80’s Mania’ it’ll be business as usual for him getting back into all of his other projects. “After this tour it looks like I’ll be going back into the studio to finish off the album I started with Arthur Baker. […] There are a lot of things going on at the moment. […] I’ve got the Pacaminos album, the retrospective box set, the Arthur Bakes stuff and trying to break into TV - putting music together with food. So I’ve got plenty of things on my plate at the moment,” says Paul.
‘80’s Mania’ will help you re-live the music and influences of the 80’s, and if you weren’t there the first time, you can experience the 80’s and all it has to offer. Don’t forget your shoulder pads!
80s Mania Tour Dates
Wed 9 Sept - Astor Theatre (Perth)Fri 11 Sept - Rooty Hill RSL Club
Sat 12 Sept - Twin Towns Auditorium (Tweed Heads)
Fri 11 Sept - Eatons Hill Hotel & Function Centre (Brisbane)
Wed 16 Sept - The Gov (Adelaide)
Thurs 17 Sept - Southern Cross Club (Canberra)
Fri 18 Sept - Palais Theatre (Melbourne)
Sat 19 Sept - Enmore Theatre (Newtown)
Sun 20 Sept - Wests Leagues Club (Newcastle)
Wed 23 Sept - Waves Towradgi Beach Hotel (Wollongong)
