40 years after their debut album, Shane Howard, Rose Bygrave, Marcia Howard and Graham Davidge are reliving those treasures, as they embark on a year of paying homage to the Goanna spirit again.
Fresh from supporting Midnight Oil’s final concert at Mt Duneed Estate earlier this month, 1980s trailblazers Goanna have announced an extensive national tour to commemorate and celebrate 40 years of their acclaimed, multi-platinum debut album Spirit of Place and the album’s truly iconic first single ‘Solid Rock’.
The 40th Anniversary tour will kick off in June and go through to December. It will take in all capital cities and major regions, from the Top End to Tassie with stops at Warrnambool, Melbourne, Warragul, Bendigo and Ballarat. There are currently around 25 shows already locked in with more to be added.
The key takeaways
- Goanna announce an extensive national tour to commemorate and celebrate 40 years of their acclaimed, multi-platinum debut album Spirit of Place and the album’s truly iconic first single ‘Solid Rock’.
- The 40th Anniversary tour will kick off in June and go through to December. It will take in all capital cities and major regions, including Warrnambool, Melbourne, Warragul, Bendigo and Ballarat
- Tickets are on sale Monday, March 21 at 10am
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In the early ‘80s, during Australian rock’s golden age, Goanna came out of Victoria’s surf coast and helped forge a new national identity with mainstay Shane Howard as singer-songwriter and guitarist.
Before Midnight Oil and Paul Kelly addressed similar issues, the iconic Solid Rock stoked a fire for Indigenous rights that hasn’t gone out, while the latter anthem Let The Franklin Flow was a call to arms for the emerging environmental movement. Soulful, lyrical, brimming with musicality and creative volatility, Goanna mixed classic folk songcraft with spirited and rootsy rocking, helping to establish a musical thread that remains vital and ubiquitous in Australian music today.
Solid Rock reached No.1 nationally. It remained in the Top 50 for 26 weeks. Goanna’s debut album Spirit Of Place followed in December. It featured liner notes by previously unrecognised pop pundit, noted Australian historian Professor Manning Clark, who said “Goanna Band are not just entertainers – they are also serious… Their music is about that great human longing. They sing about the spirit of place in Australia.”
Spirit Of Place debuted on the Melbourne charts at #1; the first Australian album to do so since Skyhooks‘ 1975 record-breaking blockbuster Living In The Seventies. It reached No. 2 on the Australian Albums Chart within two weeks of its release and remained there for 10 weeks, alternating with Midnight Oil’s 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 for the No. 1 & No. 2 spot. Spirit of Place would go onto achieve 4 x platinum sales, and it has remained in print ever since.
In their 40 years, Goanna released three studio albums: 1982’s Spirit of Place, 1985’s Oceania and 1998’s Spirit Returns.
Goanna’s legacy remains and their impact not only endures but grows greater with passing time. Their return for the 40th Anniversary of Spirit of Place could not be more timely, and that spirit – which is not only about this place Australia and our place in it, but Australia’s place in the world – has perhaps never been more vital.
In 2022, the core trio and ever-beating heart of Goanna – Shane Howard, Rose Bygrave, and Marcia Howard – together with Spirit of Place guitarist Graham Davidge and several special guests, will embark on a new journey, paying homage to their classic songs and reigniting the Goanna spirit once more, marking the group’s first full-band shows in over 20 years.
Pre-sale begins Thursday March 17 10am, with general public tickets on sale Monday, March 21 at 10am. You can find full touring information and tickets here.
