The best of Dragon
Subscribe
X

Subscribe to Forte Magazine

The best of Dragon

Australian pub rock royalty Dragon is back in 2020! This time it’s the 20/20 Tour, fuelled with the top 40 songs that you know and love in a glorious musical mashup over two 20 song sets which will be coming to the BC next month. We sit down with bassist Todd Hunter ahead of the gig.

Geelong is very excited for you to perform at The Barwon Club in February, have you ever played in Geelong before?
We used to play Geelong a lot in the 80s. It’s good to be back doing it in the 20s.

Dragon has been performing since the 1970s and the band has undergone a lot of evolution, how different is the experience now that you’re touring your top hits than it was back when you were making them?
We don’t look at it like that. We are a working band that can and does play anywhere every weekend of the year apart from a few. We feel lucky that we can play for two hours and the crowd sings every song.

And how much do you feel the influence of past Dragon members in the music you play now?
On any night whether we are playing a huge festival or a tiny pub or theatre where the crowd is belting out the words, you can feel how Marc and Paul live on in their music. It’s great fun to play the dragon songs and it’s an honour to be able to keep them alive.

You recently had to cancel your Mudgee gig because of the bushfires, how much were you guys affected by that?
We hated not being able to get to that show. We drove from Penrith that morning until they closed the roads at The Hydro Majestic and we had to turn back. It’s the only show we couldn’t get to in living memory.

Audiences will hear the top 40 Dragon songs throughout this tour, but can you tell us some of your top career highlights from over the years?
It would take 40 years to tell of our ups and downs. The best is yet to come.

Apart from your current tour, including the upcoming appearance at The Barwon Club, what else does Dragon have planned for kicking off the decade?
An album of new songs for the middle of the year and to play every weekend till the end of time.

Guitarist Bruce Reid adds, “I’m very honoured to be in the 30 plus group of musicians who have been part of this band’s history. It’s an impressive list and I’m always aware and grateful to all of them for keeping the songs alive for Dragon fans all these years.”

Dragon 20/20 will take to The Barwon Club in Geelong on Saturday, February 1.

Written by Olivia Hurley