ROSS Wilson smiles whenever he hears John Farnham’s hit A Touch of Paradise.
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Wilson, of Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock fame, co-wrote that song with Gulliver Smith, a song that was originally for Mondo Rock.
But a decade later after that group failed to make it work, Farnham put it on his ultra-successful Whispering Jack album.
‘‘That song means a lot to me, as it was the first song I wrote when I was putting together a new band that I would call Mondo Rock, and it stands out as it is far more sensitive than other songs I was writing at the time.
‘‘We tried around three times to record it and we demoed it, until in 1981 Mondo Rock put it out on our Nuovo Mondo album, but it was just at the end of the album, but a lot of people missed it and it never came out as single.
‘‘And then Farnham was putting his album together, and everyone thought he was washed up and he had a big career and nothing had been happening for a while and his manager Glenn Wheatley was the publisher of the song, and Mono Rock’s manager at the time was a mate of John Farnham’s.
‘‘He was encouraged to do it, and the next thing I know John has got a version of A Touch of Paradise.
‘‘It wasn’t a huge hit, but it was one of those songs that because the album was so massive, they just kept putting songs on the radio, and that was one of them.
‘‘So 10 years after it was written, John redefined what it was all about.’’
Farnham acknowledges Wilson when he performs the song live, and it is something you should expect to hear when the two are part of the line-up for the sixth A Day on the Green at Relbia’s Josef Chromy Wines on Saturday, December 5.
Tickets go on sale for the concert on Monday, which will also feature Daryl Braithwaite.
‘‘It’s quite a daunting line-up,’’ Wilson said of a trio he says has ‘‘survived the journey’’.
‘‘We’ve all had resurgences along the way, but a lot of it is to do with stagecraft.
‘‘Not only do we enjoy what we are doing, but we know how to make it a communal experience.
‘‘It is not just about us, as we are nothing without our audience, what do you want to do, sit home and play your guitar?
‘‘Once you appreciate that, the whole experience turns around, as it becomes about being other people, and that’s what music is about to me.
‘‘When they (the audience) are having a good time, I’m having a good time, and if they are not having a good time, I find ways to make sure they are having a good time.’’
Wilson will play his band Ross Wilson & The Peaceniks at Relbia, where he will play key songs from the Daddy Cool, Mondo Rock catalogues, as well as his own solo work.
‘‘A show like this where you know all the other musos, where you hang around together backstage and there is a certain amount of comradery there.
‘‘Those two guys in particular are probably two of the biggest stars in rock and pop, and there is a weight of experience and expectation that the audience will place on them.
‘‘We’re almost like army buddies, who have survived it all and come out the other end as better people.’’
He described the A Day on The Green experience as having something ‘‘different’’ as people are usually so relaxed at the vineyard settings.
Tickets will be available from Josef Chromy Wines, Mojo Muisic in Launceston or ticketmaster.com.au
WHAT: A Day on the Green featuring John Farnham, Daryl Braithwaite and Ross Wilson & The Peaceniks.
WHEN: Saturday, December 5.
WHERE: Josef Chromy Wines, Relbia.
HOW MUCH: Platinum tickets $199 (plus booking fee), gold $169 (plus booking fee), silver $139 (plus booking fee), general admission (BYO chairs and rugs) $105 (plus booking fee).
Tickets on sale Monday from ticketmaster.com.au, with general admission also available from GA also available from Josef Chromy Wines and Mojo Music.