The extraordinary career and lifetime contribution of music legend Russell Morris was honoured recently with two sell out performances at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall and Arts Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall.
The concerts sold out in days and the performances were so well received that a show for Brisbane has now been added as well as encore performances for Melbourne and Sydney and dates in Adelaide and Perth.
Russell Morris, The Real Thing will take place at Brisbane Convention and
Entertainment Centre on Saturday, 9 December .
“Performing my songs in front of a 54 piece orchestra and band in July was a career highlight
that I could never have imagined. David Hirschfelder has done a spectacular job turning my
songs into orchestral arrangements, they sound truly amazing!” he said.
Two time Academy Award nominee BAFTA recipient David Hirschfelder (Shine, Elizabeth)
has arranged the score for the 54 orchestra musicians and the 10-piece band that will
accompany Russell as he journeys through a career that started with a remake of Joe
South’s Hush and was then took off like a rocket with the rich, psychedelic rock masterpiece
The Real Thing that topped the charts as man landed on the moon in July 1969.
It will follow his various incarnations – including the hits Hush, Sweet, Sweet Love and Wings
Of An Eagle – through to the acclaimed blues trilogy that began with the landmark, recordbreaking No.1 album Sharkmouth in 2012. It rose to the top of the ARIA charts and stayed there two years, becoming his most successful album, and winning the 2013 ARIA Award for
Best Blues and Roots Album while going platinum.
In addition to the awe-inspiring music power that emerges from the union of a band and
symphony orchestra, audiences will be treated to never-before-heard stories, offering a rare
and intimate glimpse into the life of the man and his music.
Russell is a member of the ARIA Hall of Fame and Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame with a
career spanning more than five decades. He was awarded an Order of Australia on Australia
Day 2018 for “significant service to the performing arts as a musician, singer, songwriter and
entertainer, and as a supporter of charitable organisations”.
The concerts, under the banner of The Real Thing, promise an unforgettable night of
musical excellence.
Russell Morris, The Real Thing
Monday 30 October Hamer Hall, Melbourne
Tuesday 31 October Hamer Hall, Melbourne
Saturday 11 November Crown Theatre, Perth
Friday 17 November Festival Theatre, Adelaide
Wednesday 22 November Sydney Opera House
Saturday 9 December Brisbane Convention and Entertainment Centre
