Disco dynasty The Pointer Sisters will be in Australia next month for the Summer Series and matriarch Ruth Pointer (I can't believe I'm about to say this) is so excited, she just can't hide it.
The Pointer Sisters join The Jacksons, Kool & The Gang, Village People, Sister Sledge and Sounds Of The Supremes together in a veritable disco inferno. “These are all my friends, so for us to be able to get together once in a while is just magical,” Ruth says.
Glittering and glamorous icons of the heady days of disco, The Pointer Sisters achieved massive success with hits such as 'I'm So Excited' and 'Jump (For My Love'), both of which admitted the group to the upper echelon of musical immortality.
Reflecting on the peak of disco fever, Ruth says she feels extremely lucky and blessed to have been part of the culture. “People really enjoyed music, went out and had wonderful times,” she says.
“We didn't have any issues like people getting shot at clubs and stuff like that, there was none of that going on. Everybody was just happy and having a ball, and we would just go from disco to disco. It was the Studio 54 era in New York City and [The] Bottom Line; little clubs in Los Angeles and clubs in Chicago – oh, it was good.
“All these different disco clubs that popped up all over the country, and skating rinks – there were skating clubs. We had such a good time – everybody would get dressed up in spandex and big hair – oh my God, it was just so much fun. I'm so glad I was able to be part of that musical time.”
Originally a sisterhood made up of siblings June, Bonnie, Anita and Ruth, with the passage of time the group has undergone a series of transformations and rebirths. Bonnie left the group in 1978 to pursue a solo career, and youngest sister June – who struggled with drug addiction throughout her career – left in 2004 and passed away from cancer in 2006.
Now, The Pointer Sisters are a true family legacy that spans three generations of Pointer women: Ruth, her daughter Issa and granddaughter Sadako. “They bring an element of youth to the show that probably hasn't been seen,” Ruth says.
“My granddaughter is a professional dancer and she does some very exciting moves onstage, and I just kind of stand back and let them go for it.
“It's something that I never could have dreamed of happening and it kind of spontaneously went that way because of certain circumstances – losing June then Anita having some health issues – so it turns out we had these wonderful, beautiful siblings and people in our family who could step in there, and they were born into this music and it just wasn't much of a stretch for them.”
Summer Series 2019
Sat 12 Jan - The Domain (Sydney)Sun 13 Jan - Sandstone Point Hotel (Brisbane)
Tue 15 Jan - Gold Coast Convention Centre
Wed 16 Jan - Sidney Myer Music Bowl (Melbourne)
Fri 18 Jan - Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Sat 19 Jan - Sandalford Winery (Perth)
