Fourteen years ago, bassist Todd Hunter contacted Mark Williams and asked if he wanted to “join a rock and roll band and tour in a gentlemanly fashion”.
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That was the rebirth of 70s and 80s juggernaut Dragon, and all these years later the band still brings an energy on stage that has audiences coming back.
This August Dragon – now featuring Hunter, Williams, drummer Pete Drummond and guitarist Bruce Reid – are coming back to Dubbo with their third tribute to Countdown, the show the band credits with its early success.
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“Countdown launched Dragon in a big way,” Williams told the Daily Liberal.
“This year we’ve taken it a bit further and decided to take it to the 80s, the UK 80s sort of sound and we’re absolutely loving it!
“They were really great songs in the 80s. Wow. I didn’t realise just how good they were to play and sing and it’s really refreshing to be in a band that’s willing to go outside of themselves and try these sorts of things.”
Classic hits from bands like Queen, Tears for Fears, The Police, Madness and Duran Duran are just some of those that have made it onto the set list for the tour.
The tribute to the sound coming out of the UK in the 1980s was Hunter’s idea, Williams said, but the final set list had been a unanimous decision.
“He came up with a list of songs and if somebody didn’t like a song it was out,” he said.
“Then we got together to have a rehearsal, which is really rare, and that’s when we found out where the songs would sit.
“The ones that are left are the ones we fell we can sing and everybody else in the room can sing as well.”
The 80s UK Chartbusters! show will also feature some of Dragon’s biggest hits, and Williams says they’re bound to get the crowd buzzing.
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He loves to see the recognition of people’s faces when they here songs like Rain, Young Years, Still in Love, Dreams of Ordinary Men, Are You Old Enough and of course April Sun in Cuba.
And while Hunter my the only remaining original band member, but Williams says they all relish the chance to keep the songs alive.
And not just the songs.
Williams is adamant he never set out to fill the shoes – or mimic the iconic sound – of original lead singer Marc Hunter.
Instead, he hopes performing Dragon’s hits helps to keep Marc’s memory alive as well.
“That all had to do with the way it was put together … [Todd Hunter] wasn’t looking for a remake of the Dragon era, but just to keep the songs alive,” Williams said. “Marc Hunter was Dragon.
“When we got together for the first time we stripped it right back acoustically and a bond formed right away … it didn’t feel like we were stepping into shoes. We felt like we were refreshing the songs.
“That’s exactly what we wanted to do. We all know where it came from and we were thankful that we’re able to carry on the banner.”
Dragon brings 80s UK Chartbusters! to the Dubbo RSL Memorial Club on August 24 and Williams promises a few hours of “pretty special songs”.
“It’s a couple of hours of music they’ll love to hear,” he said. “We’re so excited to play them – that excitement most surely reflects outwards from the stage and grabs everyone.”