2 July 2025 – The Princess Theatre, Brisbane – words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi – pictures by Nino Lo Giudice
Aussie music legend, Glenn Shorrock brought his ‘Reminiscing’ tour to the Princess Theatre with the night filled with carefully curated songs and stories that followed his life and his music making career from the Hoadley Chocolate sponsored song competition where The Twilights won, to The Groop, Axiom, Little River Band and today. The night was skilfully supported by The Little Steely Brothers as the audience took a walk down Glenn Shorrock’s memory lane as the songs he made and performed were celebrated and new memories were created around them.
With a career spanning 50 years, the audience was guaranteed to hear some truly amazing stories and songs from Glenn Shorrock. But the audience had to wait just a little bit longer as the evening was commenced with a set from The Little Steely Brothers.
The Little Steely Brothers are a Brisbane-based ‘Bayside’ band who delivered a high-quality live set to warm up the audience. The band gets its name from showcasing the music of four legendary bands: The Eagles, Little River Band, Steely Dan, and the Doobie Brothers – but last night they threw in songs from Jackson Browne, Beach Boys, Toto, Christopher Cross and Huey Lewis And The News as well. They delivered a fun and engaging experience and were well-known by the audience. They kicked off the evening with ‘Hip To Be Square’ and it was audience participation right from the start with a big sing along of the key song lyrics.
The Little Steely Brothers – The Princess – photos by Nino Lo Giudice
The Little Steely Brothers are a six-piece band of experienced musicians who deliver the music with skill and passion. The band consists of Murray Thomas (Lead Vocals, Guitar, Percussion), Andrew Jolly (Guitar, Vocals), Greg Eastwood (Keyboards, Vocals), Greg Richards (Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals), Scott McDuff (Drums) and the terrific guitarist with backing vocals Luke Palmer. They were perfectly matched to play and support Glenn Shorrock.
Their set included ‘Running On Empty’, ‘Rikki Don’t Lose That Number’, ‘Africa’, a great cover of the Beach Boys ‘Do It Again’ that highlighted the band’s focus on musicianship and vocal harmonies and they closed out their set with ‘Ride Like The Wind’. During the set the audience clapped along, sang along, and there were jokes about ageing, the need for oxygen and surprises. It was great that The Little Steely Brothers were going to underpin Glenn Shorrock’s performance as there was real love for the music.
With The Little Steely Brothers having warmed up the crowd, their instruments and they had cemented in the Southern Californian vibe of West Coast USA music we were going to hear, it was time for Glenn Shorrock to come to the stage.
It was a real gift to see a musician like Glenn Shorrock present his musical legacy and truth his way. In the bustle of the music business, it can be easy to forget how we got here and the importance of bands and people like Glenn Shorrock and Brian Cadd (who we send our best wishes to as he recovers from a stroke). The bands like The Twilights, The Groop, Axiom, Little River Band and others like The Easybeats put Australia on the map musically.
And, Glenn Shorrock knows how to tell a story through song. His set started with ‘It’s A Long Way There’ that set the prominence of The Little River Band in his life. He interspersed stories of the ‘Bomb Cyclone’ halting flights and jokes about Daryl Braithwaite and Russell Morris and the “donkey song” and the audience lapped it up. Then, he took as back in time to those early days in South Australia where his English family landed to live and his memories of his first band The Twilights and how they entered that Hoadley Song Competition and the band won with their brilliant song ‘Needle In A Haystack’ and got a tonne of Violet Crumbles he is “still eating his way through” even though he is a declared “polly waffle man”.
Glenn Shorrock – The Princess – photos by Nino Lo Giudice
Then, he took the audience on the journey into Axiom. He began with the songs ‘Arkansas Grass’ and ‘A Little Ray Of Sunshine’ being delivered. There was praise for Brian Cadd as Glenn Shorrock thanked him for the wonderful songs he wrote. Glenn Shorrock played with the audience as he engaged in the age and faux dementia cards with jokes about the USA Civil War that “he all remembers” as he told an audience member “Madame – shut up – and don’t clap at my silly jokes” and the Madame loved it!
As he slowed down to drink some “Jimmy Barnes’ water”, he spoke eloquently about the Countdown years as he got the audience to sing the theme song. There were stories about “soirees” at Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum’s house, “fairy cakes and baking” and filming Countdown in the Melbourne live music scene of the mid-1970s. Glenn Shorrock,then, delivered the huge hit song ‘Curiosity (Killed the Cat)’ and this was followed quickly with ‘Emma’.
The Little Steely Brothers were underpinning the performance with real class as the substantive part of the set was delivered with the huge classic songs ‘Take It Easy On Me’, ‘Lady’ and ‘Reminiscing’. Glenn Shorrock’s voice was in fine form and has not really changed. The audience were taken away with joy at hearing and singing along with these classic tracks. What was really stunning was that these iconic songs were not at the end of the set as more was to come.
Glenn Shorrock and The Little Steely Brothers, then played the fantastic songs ‘The Jumping Jeweller of Lavender Bay’ as Glenn Shorrock told the story of the jeweller and the lady and how he thought it was funny. Then, the classic song ‘Lonesome Loser’ followed. These two songs spoke to the night and the set: it was all about the songs, the musicians and their instruments. There was no artifice here. No fog, no backing tracks, no electronics – just a few lights, harmonious voices and great music bringing the songs to life.
Glenn Shorrock – The Princess – photos by Nino Lo Giudice
Glenn Shorrock and The Little Steely Brothers, then delivered the next part of the set with the affecting song ‘Home On Monday’ with its ode to home sickness, being stuck in Las Vegas and Elvis was nowhere in sight. Then, it was ‘Cool Change’ and the iconic ‘Help Is On Its Way’. It was an audience favourite as they clapped along and just loved the vibes. This song won Best Single at the Australian Rock Music Awards in 1978. At this point, the younger crowd members were dancing in the aisles and sides and the older crowd were bouncing in their seats.
Cleverly, Glenn Shorrock ended the evening, and the set, with a Beatles cover ‘Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End’. It had multiple purposes as it showcased the musical skill and musicianship within The Little Steely Brothers, it highlighted that bands end but the music continues on and that once a musician has a legacy that carrying that weight is heavy and will last a life time and compel them to perform for as long as they can. And, his self-confessed jests at his diagnosis of Parkinson’s and cancer were highlighted.
Glenn Shorrock’s ‘Reminiscing’ Tour was a historic and poignant night. It was so great to hear all those classic songs in a live setting from the person who performed or wrote them. Glenn Shorrock and his wonderful backing band The Little Steely Brothers gave an emotive performance that was truly appreciated by the audience. See this remarkable musician while you can – you won’t be sorry.
