THE ‘SWEETHEARTS OF SONG AND FRIENDS’ LIT UP THE STAGE AT TOOGOOLAWAH’S RSL

The Sweethearts of Song : Kathie, Susie, Carolyn and Maree 

Down a quiet street in Toogoolawah on that muggy humid late afternoon of 29^th March, the old wooden building which has stood the test of time as the town’s RSL Hall appeared silent, workmanlike, perhaps a little scruffy but purposeful.  Inside, the ol’ edifice was telling an entirely different story, for within, it was a hive of activity with preparations under way for that evening’s concert by the ‘Sweethearts of Song and Friends’

At 7.00pm the hall began to fill, its proportions swelling with the influx of concert-goers who found their places around the colourfully decorated tables.  With the ever- capable Tom Byrne poised at the audio apparatus and an eager audience already fortified by drinks of choice from the bar, expectations heightened as Kathleen Watts, Susie Walker, Carolyn King and Maree Lansdown who are the ’Sweethearts of Song’, stepped out to take their places at their microphones.  With their colourful costumes, upbeat harmonies and rhythms of well-loved songs from the 60s and 70s, the girls lit up the stage with their first bracket, leaving the audience in no doubt that they were in for a fabulous night of entertainment.

Stop In The Name Of Love:  the Sweethearts of Song 

Making their sparkling debut on a Sweetheart concert stage, the irrepressible duo of Roland Cox and Denis Hawes aka ‘Glenrock Harmony’ charmed the audience with their quartet of enduring evergreens.

Glenrock Harmony:  ' Wake Up Little Susie'

With raffles drawn and won, along came Pete ‘the Plumber’ Edwards who could possibly be riding a fast track to becoming the ‘Fifth Sweetheart’ so regular and welcome are his fabulous performances at Sweethearts’ concerts.  With his many voices, Pete carried concert goers on a life’s journey of first love, lust, the resulting ‘Little Ray of Sunshine’ and finally, remorse…any reference to company present, purely co-incidental!

With an ‘ABBAlanche’ of visually dazzling songs from this celebrated group, the Sweethearts burst onto the stage in a vision of blue and white with their lively performance of ABBA originals, taking the audience back in time and out of their seats to move to the beat of those hits they knew so well.

Sweethearts of Song (SOS) :  Super Trouper

Following a quick costume change and with concert-goers sated on perfectly presented plates of flavoursome finger food put together by catering king, Vern Doyle, the time had come for a final bracket of rockabilly Country classics.  Kicking off with Pete’s ‘Midnight Special’ it was a case of, ’move over Mick Jagger!’ when Pete and the girls commanded the stage with ‘Honkey Tonk Woman’.  Maree’s fabulous lead with Dusty’s ‘Son of the Preacher Man’ and the magic of youth wrapped up in others from Kathie, Susie and Carolyn had concert-goers clamoring for more.  The set culminated with a couple of Shania Twain’s feminist fire-power songs which had many in the audience on their feet along with talented Kilcoy Line Dancers who hit out on the dance floor.  Too much of Pete Edwards is apparently never enough as cries for an encore had Pete with his Joe Cocker tones taming the madding crowd with ‘You Are So Beautiful’…and that’s precisely what they were.

While this has been another successful concert by ‘The Sweethearts of Song’, it did not happen without the support of many.  We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Mr Doug Cook, Toogoolawah RSL President and Mr Sam Turner, RSL Vice President for allowing The Sweethearts the freedom to turn their revered domain into a fabulous concert venue and to Carolyn and Lloyd King for their tireless endeavours to that outstanding end.  We would be lost without the support of our crackerjack ‘roadies’ Tom Byrne, our ace on audio and the indispensable Joann Brown on just about everything else that needs to be done.  We are grateful to the Editors of the Somerset Newspaper who have allowed ‘The Sweethearts of Song’ to jump off their pages into the hearts of their readers.

It would be a gross oversight to not highlight the constant patronage of Toogoolawah IGA and thank them once again for their generous donation of a fabulous fruit and vegetable tray, our main raffle prize which, as it happened on this occasion, was won by a great devotee of Choir and Sweethearts, Felice Evans.   It was back in the latter half of 2018 when Felice’s badgering for ‘another concert by the Sweethearts’ paved the way for this performance and with her ability to ‘sell ice to the Eskimos’ was instrumental in spreading the word.  Finally, but never least, to all our fantastic supporters from within our Esk Choir ‘family’ and others from the Community who have jumped on the Sweetheart bandwagon and made us feel a bit like stars, we give our heartfelt thanks.  

By: Sue Walker