Still Rockin' It - Cheryl Lee
Still Rockin' It - Cheryl Lee
What has John Swanee Swan been up to lately? OR Land versus boat as an investment strategy?
Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians.
Legendary Australian rocker John Swan opens up about his highly anticipated Adelaide homecoming show at the Governor Hindmarsh on May 30th, where he'll reunite with The Screaming Jets frontman Dave Gleeson and guitar virtuoso Kevin Borich for a night of pure rock magic.
The chemistry between Swan and Gleeson is palpable as Swan reveals, "Working with Dave is probably one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done in my life." This natural rapport promises to create an electric atmosphere when these two powerhouse vocalists share the stage. Adding Kevin Borich to the mix guarantees a performance that will resonate with any fan of authentic Australian rock.
The conversation takes a nostalgic turn as Swan shares the remarkable story behind "There's a Road," a song he co-wrote with Borich approximately 45 years ago in Bondi Beach. Recently rediscovered and recorded for Borich's new double album Duets, the track symbolizes the enduring nature of their musical brotherhood. Swan's excitement is evident when discussing his own forthcoming duets album featuring collaborations with Diesel, Mossy, Colin Hay, Jack Jones, and other Australian music icons—a project he considers might become his legacy.
Beyond reminiscing, Swan reveals his addition to the prestigious Empire Touring roster alongside Richard Clapton and Eurogliders, demonstrating his continued relevance in Australia's vibrant rock scene. His passion extends to nurturing the next generation of musicians, sharing stories about mentoring young talents like Stefan Hauk and advocating for better support systems for emerging South Australian artists. Don't miss this rare chance to witness three pillars of Australian rock music come together for what John promises will be an unforgettable night culminating in an all-star finale that will "bring the house down." Grab your tickets now and be part of this historic musical reunion!
What has Swanee been up to lately? Let's find out!!
Get out when you can, support local music and I'll see you down the front!!
Visit: ThatRadioChick.com.au
that radio chick, cheryl lee, here. Welcome to the still rocking it podcast, where we'll have music news, reviews and interviews with some of our favorite australian musicians and artists. John swan is heading back to his hometown and teaming up again with adopted south australian lead singer of the screaming jets dets, dave Gleeson. There's a recipe for trouble right there. They are also bringing their great mate, kevin Boric, with them, so hopefully he can keep these two likely lads in check. What is John Swan up to lately? Let's find out. To catch up on podcasts from other favourite artists, simply go to thatradiochickcomau.
Speaker 2:Hello Cheryl. What's that guitar in the background?
Speaker 1:That purple one is actually a CD player.
Speaker 2:Cheryl, you're fibbing.
Speaker 1:No, see this black bit. That's where you put the CD. And look, see my tag.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:I just got home from work, because I race home from work to do these interviews and go back and this dress arrived and I thought oh, that'll be nice. I'll wear my new dress.
Speaker 2:It looks good.
Speaker 1:It's still got the tag on it.
Speaker 2:You two are in such good shape. I can't believe it. I still see you going up and down the hill all the time and I just think, oh, I'd love to be able to do that. I'm going to start doing it next week because of my fall.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no more landscape gardening for you until you get here.
Speaker 2:I've done three different lawns.
Speaker 1:I saw the photos. It looks amazing.
Speaker 2:It's absolutely beautiful. I've got banana trees and oranges and apples. Did you see the porch at the back under the studio? Yes, Well, that's our building. My friend Jim, my neighbour two doors up. He helped me with the stairs and the wonderful thing is, when you've got good neighbours, they're gems.
Speaker 1:You've done a wonderful job, but don't kill yourself in the process, for goodness sake. See, I fall when he's not there. You've got to be careful, anyway, back to where we were.
Speaker 2:Where were we? Where were we? What are we doing? What's our?
Speaker 1:names. Where do we live?
Speaker 2:You are coming back to Adelaide with your great mate Dave Gleeson, Friday, May 30.
Speaker 1:Tickets are available from the Garble Austitch. Right now You're bringing another special guest.
Speaker 2:I've got two. I picked one up in Adelaide, dusty and Carla Lippert. You know fantastic act. I don't know if you've seen them during the Fringe, but they've got Fringe awards. They've got Sarah McLeod, so you know Sarah's not going to be there, it's just going to be Dusty and her. She's going to come out and play first. Then probably Dave and I will fight over who goes out first. I don, he doesn't care. So it's sort of like you go, no, you go, I'll follow you. So I go and start one of his songs, then he's got to rush out. Honestly, working with Dave is probably one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done in my life. You know he makes getting up and nerves and all that go away. And yet he's a nervous character too. I didn't realise. You know, shy the man, not the performer, you know I just love him. He's a sweetheart and my mate, kevin. Kevin has got an album at the moment. It's called Duets and I think it's a double album.
Speaker 1:You sing one with him, don't you?
Speaker 2:I do. Yes, there's a road. We wrote that in Bondi Beach. He had a house there about 40 years ago, maybe 45 years ago, because you always got around to your matchbox, you know like, and all the people I knew in those days was musicians. So we're sitting there playing. He said I've got a studio out of it. I said, oh bull. So we went out the back and Lucius wasn't big enough to fit in the drum kit, you know like. So that's how long ago it was. And we wrote If you listen to the words you'll understand. You know like we thought we'd never be here again, you know.
Speaker 2:And Kevin rang me up and he said I found this song that we wrote back in the old days. You know, can I send it to you? And I heard his version of it, you know, because he had Mickey'd it up, put beautiful backing vocals and everything like that. So I said yes, by all means. I said, but I've got to tell you I'm doing the same song. He said, great, you know, we'll just swap around all the vocals. And I went no, we'll just leave it as it is. Eh, you know, because he's perfected it. You are listening to Still Rocking it. The podcast with Cheryl Lee.
Speaker 1:Let's hear that perfect song now, shall we? It only took them 40 or 50 years, but here it is. There is a road, kevin borich and john swan back to speak some more to swanny after this.
Speaker 2:That's a road that I've been down.
Speaker 1:I may never go down again There'll be no more such a day.
Speaker 2:Now there's time that we've been through. We may never go through again. There'll be no more searching. I'll get there someday. Like lemon and honey, we'll come together like good friends, and there's one thing that I know I will love you till the end. Now there's a road that we've been down. We may never come down again. No more searching. We'll get there someday. You've got to do right, oh, oh oh. You've got to do right.
Speaker 1:All night Remember the deep down in your soul, deep down in your soul, you'll always be with you.
Speaker 2:There's one thing you'll know. There's one thing you'll know, you'll know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I play a song off it on the radio regularly, including yours.
Speaker 1:Looking forward to that.
Speaker 2:I don't know if you know much about Kevin, but he's a notorious. Get in a car and drive from Mullaney, which is a beautiful little place in Queensland. It's just outside Glasshouse Mountain. When I went there it was the most picturesque. It was all little tiny French windows and shops had all lace and stuff like that and I thought it was in another world. Mind you, I was half drunk at the time. But Kevin got out, I went to the newsagent, he went to the real estate agent and we both come back and I had my buy a boat, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars. And Kevin, he was sitting really quietly, smug, smug as shit, you know, and I said what are you laughing at? He said oh, nothing. I said I just bought a hundred acres. No, you want well, because we just got our checks in the morning, you know. And he said what did you buy? I said a boat, but it sleeps 10 people and it's, it's huge, you know that's not the bike that sank.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, hello know, years and years later it sank twice. I had five of those boats, you know, or Bertrams, which are really classy. They're like a Mercedes of boats. When you look at this band you'll see what I mean. I've been coming into Adelaide for a long time with Rob, but we played the same songs and it just never changed, you know. So I decided to have a chat to rob and he got it, you know. So the last time we came in I said I wanted, I want to use dave. He's just, you know, he. I've got a double album coming out. It's all duets with diesel mossy, colin hay, jack jones, you know a few dad singers yeah um, yeah, but it's really the best thing I've ever done.
Speaker 2:And people say that about their product because they've got new product. I don't. I don't listen to a lot of my music, but this has got me sucked in. John Stevens does a soul song with me and it's just. You know.
Speaker 1:Are you going to be singing any of those songs? Do you think, at the Gov, Dave?
Speaker 2:Gleeson is one of the guys who's on the album. Yeah, so we'll probably do that one and the one with Kevin, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I think he did the one with Dave last time if I remember correctly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, last time was awesome. This time's going to be even better because you've got, you know, a few more mates along for the ride, and you're quite right.
Speaker 1:Carla and Dusty from the 27 Club. We saw them every year at our Fringe. Wouldn't have missed it for the world. So you know I was already looking forward to it, you three gentlemen.
Speaker 2:I want to sing with Dusty and Carla as well. So does Dave and so does Boric, because Dusty's such a talented man, you know like he really is.
Speaker 1:Oh, he is, yeah, carla's, amazing, and I think you might get the chance, john, because I've read somewhere that at the end there's an all-star get-together performance that will bring the house down. Yes, there you go.
Speaker 2:It will be fun. Honestly I know everybody says that, but I mean this one I've put my backside on the line and decided to hire people and raise the level of the show up. You know I'm not an investments person, you know that, but Christ, you know. So one of the reasons why I said, cheryl, can we have a blab? You know, because it is going to be a great show. You know, I hope people like it because the next time I come in I'll be coming in with the album show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, we're looking forward to the three of you ragamuffins Getting on stage together.
Speaker 2:Kevin was there through all the Party Boys stuff too. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:We'll have one from the Party Boys. This is the Party Boys with John Swan Out the front, from the greatest hits, misses, rarities and b-sides. Party Boys album. Hold your Head Up Back to say goodbye to John shortly. Hold your head up, whoa. Hold your head up, whoa. Hold your head up, whoa. Hold your head high. I was so pleased when I saw that you were coming to Adelaide because you know you did miss the biggest social event of 2025 last month, your birthday party.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, I know, but I had fallen down the hill.
Speaker 1:I think you were booked into. Was it the Rock at the Races you have to get? Your people, to speak to my people and organise that I know it's terrible.
Speaker 2:They've just sent me a note saying we're about to shift some more acts and put you back into the Empire touring thing. So I'm on that thing with Richard Clapton, eurogliders, everybody.
Speaker 1:So what are you saying, John? You've got a better offer.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:Congratulations. That is awesome though.
Speaker 2:They're booked up so far in advance. So the people who run the show at Gosford said get Swanee in. That was the best performance of the day. You know I was opening the show. We had a great time backstage because Wendy Matthews is on the album as well, so she was there. It's not all about the album. I just wanted to drop a few hints that we've got this coming up Fairly soon. You'll be able to. I'll put all the details up where to go and where to get it. This is being handled properly because it may be my legacy. I'm not a morbid person but realistically, you know, this week with Brian Cad getting sick God bless him. Everybody should say a prayer for him because he's just such a great man great son, good friend he was really at the beginning of.
Speaker 1:Support Act. He was really instrumental in setting that up and I was actually going to say to you, when we were talking about getting your people to speak to my people, and getting it together next time you come need to do it near a support act lunch we haven't seen you know, I was on the national support act with him yeah, with chuggy, you know, and all the bigger guys in melbourne.
Speaker 2:That was with colin hay, who's also on the album, by the way. You know, the thing is that when you get Colin Hay in that I'll explain it next time I talk to you, because what I want to do is be prepared properly, you know, and hopefully I can give you little snippets.
Speaker 1:That'd be good. So I will see you at you, and Dave and Kevin at your rehearsal. We'll do a little thing for the telly, like we did last time, and then we'll chat again about the launch of the album as well.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Thank you so much for your support. You've always been there for me, and that's the great thing about Adelaide. You know, if you try, then your friends get behind you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, also, and I include you in this. Obviously we've come so far above our weight here in Adelaide in respect to talent, don't? We, we are such a talented bunch.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm going to be working on that as my next project. I want to see the South Australian government set up an agency run by musicians for musicians. Set up an agency and bring kids through. That's the only way you know how we got through Hitchhiking to Melbourne. Doing it, doing it. That's why I admire Stephen Hawke. He's off his ass and he's doing what he needs to do in order to get successful and he will do it.
Speaker 1:What a talent.
Speaker 2:See what I mean I've been mentoring him since he's 14.
Speaker 1:Yeah, with you at my 50th birthday.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep. And he also came out at Christmas Day when he was about 12 or 13 or something, and he caught a bus from Parahills to Hampstead Rehab and I was standing there on my own and I was really sad because they didn't have any visitors. And I went in and they said there's only a few that we can play to today, you know, because the rest of them are sick. So my girl, today, you know, because the rest of them are sick. So my girl, you know, like she came out, lauren, and uh, she, she can't speak. She was just sitting there crying through the whole thing and it was like I looked at stefan and he had his sister and his little brother. They were like this, but he got them on the bus with his acoustic guitar.
Speaker 1:What a support, you know even before he's made it, he's already giving back and contributing.
Speaker 2:Yes, love him.
Speaker 1:I know you are very, very busy with the garden and all and all the promotions, so I really appreciate you spending a little bit of time with me today.
Speaker 2:I love it. I know I should have spent more time talking about the Gov, but I don't want to give the show away because it's going to be fun.
Speaker 1:I'm talking to? What day is it today? This is first. I'm talking to kevin, next thursday. Okay, we'll be able to tee up dave as well, and we'll get all the info out, so nobody misses out you know, and then I'll see you at rehearsals and I'll have a little one for the adelaide people, the three us together, and then I'll see you down the front on the 30th of May at the Gov everyone.
Speaker 2:Okay, my friend, I love you very much. My love to Barry and the kids.
Speaker 1:Will do. Thank you, John.
Speaker 2:Bye. Now you are listening to Still Rocking it the podcast with Cheryl Lee.
Speaker 1:Last time John came to town and played with Dave Gleeson, they played tribute to their friend and musical colleague, bon Scot. So let's have another one from the Party Boys now. This has got John out the front again and it's an Akadaka hit, high Voltage. You're with Cheryl Lee, that radio chick. Thank you so much for joining me on the still rocking it podcast. Hope to catch you again next time. Get out when you can support Aussie music and I'll see you down the front.