The Crystals
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The Crystals

They’re one of the most defining girl groups of the ’60s singing such hits as ‘Then He Kissed Me’ and ‘Da Doo Ron Ron’ and now they’re coming back to Australia – and Geelong – for the second time, proving to all girl bands out there they’ve still got what it takes.
Hi there, thanks for taking the time to chat with Forte magazine, how are you and what are you up to at the moment?
It’s a pleasure. We are just about to depart for Australia and our tour Down Under. It is exciting!
This tour marks your third trip to Australia, are you looking forward to visiting again?
Coming to Australia is always fabulous. It is such a beautiful, clean country. And the people are so friendly!
Have you had the chance to actually see the sights while you’re down here? Any highlights?
This time we will have a couple of days in Sydney and Melbourne. We will be sure to get to the Sydney Opera House, the harbour bridge and we have heard the restaurants and coffee shops are excellent in Melbourne. It will all be a thrill.
The Crystals are known as one of the defining girl groups in America from the ’60s, what are your thoughts on how girl groups have developed over time?
The development over time has been quite astounding. Girl groups have featured in movies and in Australia there has been the Sapphires movie based in the late sixties. Probably the most significant thing has been the improvement in recording technology. We were one of the very first that recorded with Phil Spector and what he claimed was his Wall of Sound. Recordings today are much clearer and sound fabulous
Surely back then there was so much pressure placed on appearance and the ‘unified appearance’ of the group, was it hard to always maintain that with the pressure you were under?
On the Dick Clark rock n roll tours in the fifties we would do 60 shows in 60 days. The pressure to have a unified appearance was great. Just imagine the washing that is needed on the tour and the very little time to do it. It is a lot easier now.
It must be nice though to get back together and dress up, what’s your favourite thing about touring again as The Crystals?
The most favourite thing is bringing joy to the people who have enjoyed our records over many years. We are very appreciative of their on-going support. And to see young people getting in to the music is a special thrill.
And you’re touring alongside some other legendary performers (The Allstars and Ray Burgess), are you glad to have such icons support you?
We have heard about the Allstars from other American acts who have toured with them. They have an excellent reputation. We have also heard about Ray Burgess and that he toured with Michael Jackson. We are going to have some fun with these guys as we rock n roll.
Your music is rather timeless as well, having been played on numerous movies and television shows to this day, is it nice to know that your music will live on through numerous forms?
Yes it has been on vinyl, cassette, cartridge, compact disc, video, movie and now it is available again on vinyl. It keeps on spinning around and that is fabulous and we are very grateful.
Have you ever been caught off guard watching a show/movie and heard one of your songs played?
We were caught off guard when we first heard our first recording on the car radio. That was a blast and it sounded so different from in the studio.
When & Where: The Capital, Bendigo – August 5, Frankston Arts Centre, Frankston – August 6, The Geelong Playhouse, Geelong – August 7 & The Palms at Crown, Melbourne – August 8