15 December 2023 – Royal Hotel, Brisbane – words & pictures by Bec Lee It was a stormy
15 December 2023 – Royal Hotel, Brisbane – words & pictures by Bec Lee
It was a stormy evening in Brisbane and rain was bucketing down. The streets were steamy, and I am sure many of us would have preferred to be at home on the couch with the air conditioning on. Lucky, we didn’t, as this was a fabulous evening with an incredible, wonderfully eccentric artist who is also a great storyteller and funny guy.
Steve Kilbey is currently touring pubs and small venues all over the country, and it’s a much more casual affair than when he tours with The Church. This creates a relaxing atmosphere, and the venue is a large separate room next to the main Royal Hotel. You know you’re getting old when you’re relieved that you’re at a seated gig – hey, some of us only just finished work 2 hours ago! The room is full of devoted gig-goers who have secured their seat for the night, and at the bar the beers are flowing. Tickets for this event sold out a few weeks ago.
The man himself casually arrives on stage, announcing his full name, date of birth, and place of birth. We are soon laughing at his quips, and Kilbey even makes a joke that he’s also a comedian. He’s become quite the extrovert over the years, compared to early interviews and stage persona, he was once much more serious and aloof.
Steve Kilbey – Royal Hotel – photos by Bec Lee
With a fascinating, often hilarious story for almost every song, we enter the world of Steven John Kilbey as he takes us on a trip from 1980 to 1992, which is one of many highs and just as many lows. The artist before us is very honest about his shortfalls, you only have to read his book, Something Quite Peculiar to get an idea of the person he has become; self-deprecating and incredibly honest. As a fan, it’s refreshing and allows us to feel like we are a part of his and the band’s history.
The Church released ‘She Never Said’ in 1980 and it did not chart, and of course Kilbey jokes about this. He speaks of his ego at the time despite the lack of success, however we get a real sense of his self-belief and determination, and the forming of a band with right people at the right time. The next single becomes one of their most successful (it still only charted at 22 in Australia) and is considered a classic to this day, ‘The Unguarded Moment’ will forever remain on our playlists. It’s one of those songs Kilbey once refused to play.
As we revisit the 80s through Kilbey’s eyes, we hear hilarious tales of band managers and producers with East London and American accents. We learn how The Church experienced a slump after ‘The Unguarded Moment’ and how it only started looking up when ‘Heyday’ was released in 1985, with singles such as ‘Tantalized’ and ‘Already Yesterday’. Personally, I’m a massive fan of 1983’s Séance so I enjoyed the story of what inspired ‘Electric Lash’, an amusing scenario involving Kilbey and drummer Richard Ploog running around hotel rooms giving each other electric shocks.
But the following album Starfish was when the band hit the big time, spawning their most popular single ‘Under The Milky Way’, a song Kilbey is grateful for, but remains forever perplexed as to why people love it so much.
Kilbey plays it subtly as we all sing along, and this track of course has its own story, which is amusing, and we get to gain some insight into song writing and what working in the studio can be like. One can’t help but get the sense that over the years, Kilbey has attracted drama and odd situations (and people) along the way.
A favourite of mine is 1989’s ‘Metropolis’ from the album Gold Afternoon Fix, a “terrible album” laughs Kilbey. I actually love it. As he announces it as the next song, we cheer, only to be warned that he doesn’t play it very well on acoustic guitar. Which turns out to be true, for a couple of reasons, one being that he’s not a lead guitarist and never was. First and foremost, Kilbey is a singer and bass player.
‘Ripple’ (I love this song) and ‘Feel’ from 1990’s Priest = Aura follow and conclude the evening. The merch is almost all sold out, the smiles have not left our faces and we cheer and wave goodbye to Steven John Kilbey, born 13 September 1954 Welwyn Garden City, England.
