Legendary Australian band Hunters & Collectors are reforming for one night only to be the support act for Bruce Springsteen’s Melbourne concert in February 2014. The band will be special guests exclusive to the Melbourne shows only on the American superstar’s Australian tour, with fifteen years having past since they called it quits. Apart from another one-off reformation for 2009’s Sound Relief concert, the prospect of the band performing again has been almost completely unlikely, with members all busy with their own projects. Now, on the eve of a brand new compilation of their songs performed by popular Aussie musicians being released, the band and the memories have come flooding back to many.
It’s hard to have a night out at the pub without hearing a Hunter’s & Collectors classic. Songs like Holy Grail, Do You See What I See and Throw Your Arms Around Me are still hugely popular, the latter having been voted in the Triple J Hottest 100 Top5, three years in a row. These pub anthems will be given a whole new twist with the release of Crucible – The Songs of Hunters & Collectors, out in late September. The album will feature a host of some of Australia’s most talented musicians such as Matt Corby, Missy Higgins, The Rubens, Birds of Tokyo, The Living End, Cloud Control and Paul Kelly, just to name a few, who have all recorded covers of Hunters & Collectors’ songs.
“It is deeply rewarding for me as a writer to know that beyond the years and all the hard work that was done in the crucible of the Australian suburbs, the songs of Hunters & Collectors have reached the cream of Australia’s talent, great singers and bands young and older, who have stepped up to record the best of what we delivered in those pubs so many years ago,” says lead vocalist Mark Seymour. “I’m honoured by the respect they have shown. Songs are what we share, and sharing itself is crucial to our identity as a people.”
For a band that gained such a reputation in the 80s/90s for being one of the best live acts in the country, it’s a great opportunity to appreciate their gifted songwriting ability through the voices and interpretations of some other great artists. Crucible – The Songs Of Hunters & Collectors is released September 27, but while you’re making plans to grab your copy, make sure you don’t miss your chance to see them live when they support Bruce Springsteen early next year. The opportunity may never arise again!
To preorder Crucible – The Songs of Hunters & Collectors, visit http://bit.ly/1cLG4HB and for more information on the Bruce Springsteen shows, check out www.brucespringsteen.net.
JESSICA MILLS
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