By Hollie Harris
Thirty years ago, at Mark Gable’s home in Church Point on the northern beaches of Sydney, the Choirboys were formed.
Armed with a humble four-track studio set-up in the bedsit, the band would gather to create music.
These demos would lead the Choirboys to their first recording deal with Alberts.
The Choirboys’ journey had begun.
No one expected it would lead them into the hearts of the Australian public and the history pages of Australian music.
Fast forward 30 years and Mark Gable is as cheeky as he ever was and still lives and breathes Aussie rock‘n’roll.
As the Choirboys make their way up the coast from beautiful Central NSW coast to the Sunshine Coast, Gable said touring with the band had changed over the years.
“These days we fly and use hire cars and decent hotels. It’s all very civilised, really.
“Thirteen years ago we toured Australia in a Tarago and then we had a bus with Choirboys painted up the side.
“We were on tour for 14 months and did every town in Oz. Let’s just say, there was a lot of nude pictures from that tour, for some reason,” Gable said.
Perhaps the years of drinking had something to do with that. Rock‘n’roll in the ’80s and ’90s went hand-in-hand with partying and Gable admits to doing his fair share of it.
“I don’t drink any more. I gave up 11 years ago,” he said.
These days, the rocker looks after his health and is more likely to come off stage and slam down a refreshing peppermint tea than a beer.
The iconic Choirboys are an essential part of our Australian culture having penned one of Australia’s unofficial anthems Run to Paradise.
With other great Aussie rock hits such as Boys Will Be Boys, Struggle Town and Never Gonna Die, the Choirboys epitomise the essence of the Australian pub culture and are viewed by many as the quintessential Australian rock band.
The Choirboys have been entertaining young and old for 30 years, have multi-platinum albums and have survived when so many others have fallen.
So why stay around so long?
“Because we bloody love it!” Gable said with much enthusiasm.
“Choirboys is exactly the kind of band that I always wanted to be in as a kid, so why not keep on doing it till you die. It is so much fun being in this band.”
The boys are releasing a very special, very mysterious collection of music later this year which Gable is keeping under lock and key.
“It’s called 1965, but that’s all I can say. That was a very special year, such a cool time. We love a bit of controversy, we do,” he said.
With tongue in cheek, Gable shares his plans for coming into Noosa.
“We are only in town for one night. We like to get in, trash the town and get out! You know, do the rock‘n’roll thing,” he said.
Something tells me, although this guy loves to cause a bit of mischief, his feet are planted pretty firmly on the ground and his head is screwed on straight.
Changing his diet to become vegetarian and “borderline vegan” is a sure sign that this rock‘n’roller has learned to look after things rather than trash them.
“I always wanted to change my diet and cut out meat. We eat so much meat and processed food,” he said.
So how does an Aussie rocker prepare his body for a gruelling tour?
“I’m about to head out for a nice salad and a peppermint tea.”
Join the boys in all of their cheeky glory in Noosa as they pay homage to their idols AC/DC and Bon Scott by performing tracks from two of the greatest rock albums of all time, AC/DC’s High Voltage and Highway to Hell.
AC/DC fans can relive tracks from these two historic albums being performed by one of Australia’s quintessential rock bands, the Choirboys.
They perform at the V Room at Villa Noosa on Saturday 25 February at 8pm and tickets are available online at www.villanoosa.com.au for $35.
Grab a ticket now and don’t miss these Aussie icons perform all the well-known hits.
