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What happens when a frontman who’s lived two decades in Adelaide decides to compress Australian rock history into a one-hour Fringe blowout? We sit down with Dave Gleeson to chart the making of Long Way To The Top, a full-throttle, sing-it-louder celebration packed with anthems from Johnny O’Keefe and the Easybeats to ACDC, Cold Chisel, Australian Crawl, Killing Heidi, and Baby Animals. The plan: tight medleys, zero fluff, and a setlist designed to keep the crowd moving from the first riff to the final chorus.
We get into why a local run changes everything. Instead of flights and 3am hotel check-ins, Dave leans into the luxury of consistency: same stage, same sound, and same room to refine the show night after night at the Fantail in Gluttony. He spotlights Adelaide talent with powerhouse vocalists Zkye and Rachel Vidoni stepping forward, and teases special guests—from Jack Jones to a possible John Brewster cameo—so each performance carries the spark of surprise. Along the way we trade stories that ground the myth: toilet-roof posters, private boxes on FringeTIX, and the joy of a community that knows every word before the first chord lands.
There’s reverence, not preciousness. We talk Kate Ceberano’s Australian Made Tour revival, why stripped-back sets still sell out, and how nostalgia isn’t about looking back—it’s about singing together right now.
Dave’s pride in his son James’s band sits next to a plea for endangered venues like the Woodshed, a reminder that the posters on the wall matter as much as the players onstage. We close by lifting Support Act, the charity that catches artists and crew when life bites, because a healthy scene needs both volume and a safety net.
Grab your tickets, warm up your voice, and meet us down the front.
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