For the past 30 years – a period encompassing the formation of The Whitlams, their time atop the ARIA charts, and the last 14-year hiatus from producing new material – Tim Freedman has lived just three kilometres from the Waterloo and Redfern Housing Commission.
It is perhaps one reason why The Whitlams back catalogue is laden with poignant, intimate and sometimes funny odes to our nation's disadvantaged and downtrodden; songs like 'God Drinks Down At The Sando' and 'Love This City'.With their first new single in 14 years, 'Ballad Of Bertie Kidd', recently released Tim and band traverse Sydney's seedy underbelly once again as they take us back to the '80s and under the balaclava of a Rabbitohs fan who has been cajoled to take a ride in a stolen Sigma with one of Australia's most notorious bank robbers, Bertie Kidd.
It's a track that sits neatly alongside 'Torch The Moon''s 'Kate Kelly', about the surviving sister of Ned Kelly, in Tim's solo tour set list, as he explains.
"I've got a little mini-set, a set within a set, of all the criminals, a bit of true crime for 20 minutes within a solo set; once you've got them in that terrain, keep them there for awhile.
"[As a nation] we've always viewed our outlaws quite fondly," Tim adds. "We've given them a bit more humanity than they've given to others.
"Because we like the underdog, we tend to realise that a lot of these guys became criminals because they were maltreated as children or they came from the Boys Homes where they were raped and abused. When you look a bit deeper, it was society that created them."
Tim is so fascinated by Australia's abundance of criminal tall tales and failed escapades that he has considered doing a Nick Cave's 'Murder Ballads'-style concept album, but so far this hasn't entirely come to fruition.
"If I was going to do a whole album of hapless criminals, which did cross my mind, I started researching the Fine Cotton Fiasco; I think there's definitely a song in that, but I haven't quite found a way in yet.
"When Mr Cave released 'Murder Ballads', I did a bit of a satire that never made it to record; it was a jaywalking ballad about a guy who really rebels by walking crooked across the road. I remember performing it for about two weeks, but then it was just silly."
Musically, 'The Ballad Of Bertie Kidd', is a non-satirical nod to The Bad Seeds, as snarling guitars, tubular bells and the tick-tick of the drumstick augment Tim's lyrics in progressing the narrative.
"It's supposed to be from the protagonist's point of view, the person who was cajoled and threatened to come along and help out and so as soon as he sits in the stolen Sigma, you get the tick-tock thing to hopefully raise some tension.
"I wanted it to be a bit rough, so I had to slap Jak [Housden] around the face and invoke the name of Roland S. Howard. Get a bit of danger in it, because just me and the piano can be a bit sweet."
The track's production is indicative of the sound of the forthcoming new album from The Whitlams, the long-awaited follow-up to 2006's 'Little Cloud'. "We want to sound like a four-piece band on this record," Tim says.
"We don't want to overdo the production. There's no click tracks. We want it to breathe.
"I'm not aiming for big production pieces or orchestras or anything. We're aiming for the sort of sound that people will hear from a band that's been playing together for 25 years."
Fans can get a glimpse of the new record on Tim's current run of solo shows, which includes a performance at Feedback Festival as well as a special NYE performance (Sunshine Coast) for Social Sessions (that pairs a classic Aussie songwriter with a chef-curated four-course meal).
Tim Freedman 2020-2021 Tour Dates
Fri 4 Dec - Country Club (Launceston)Sat 5 Dec - Altar (Hobart)* early & late shows
Thu 10 Dec - Feedback Festival @ Soundlounge (Gold Coast)
Fri 11 Dec - Bar Wunder (Toowoomba)*early and late shows
Sat 12 Dec - Villa Noosa Hotel (Sunshine Coast)*early and late shows
Sun 13 Dec - Ipswich Civic Centre
Tue 15 Dec - Brisbane Powerhouse
Wed 16 Dec - Brisbane Powerhouse
Thu 31 Dec - Social Sessions @ Buderim Tavern (Sunshine Coast)
2021
Tue 30 Mar - Rockford Wines (Barossa Valley)
Wed 31 Mar - The Gov (Adelaide)
Thu 1 Apr - The Gov (Adelaide)
The Whitlams 2021 Tour Dates
Mon 2 Aug - Lizotte's NewcastleTue 3 Aug - Lizotte's Newcastle
Wed 4 Aug - Lizotte's Newcastle
Fri 6 Aug - The Gov (Adelaide)
Sat 7 Aug - The Gov (Adelaide)
Tue 10 Aug - Lizotte's Newcastle
Wed 11 Aug - Lizotte's Newcastle
Fri 13 Aug - Odeon Theatre (Hobart)
Wed 25 Aug - The Art House (Central Coast)
Thu 26 Aug - Lizotte's Newcastle
Fri 27 Aug - Anita's Theatre (Wollongong)
Sat 28 Aug - Blue Mountains Theatre
Sun 29 Aug - Blue Mountains Theatre
Thu 2 Sep - The Corner Hotel (Melbourne)
Fri 3 Sep - The Corner Hotel (Melbourne)
Sat 4 Sep - The Corner Hotel (Melbourne)
Fri 10 Sep - Astor Theatre (Perth)
Sat 11 Sep - Astor Theatre (Perth)
Fri 17 Sep - The Triffid (Brisbane)
Sat 18 Sep - The Triffid (Brisbane)
Sun 19 Sep - The Triffid (Brisbane)
Thu 23 Sep - Canberra Theatre Centre
Fri 24 Sep - Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre (South Coast)
Sat 25 Sep - Enmore Theatre (Sydney)
'Sun 26 Sep - Enmore Theatre (Sydney)
