Australia’s weird and wonderfully hirsute, black-clad choristers ‘Spooky Men’s Chorale’ are set for another biennial blast round Britain, which includes a performance at next month’s Rhythmtree Festival on the Isle of Wight.
Following triumphant UK tours between 2006 and 2017, Spooky Men’s Chorale are busy packing multifarious hats in their native New South Wales, ready to whisk themselves away from the eucalyptus-infused Blue Mountains for a whistle-stop run of more than 20 performances in England, Scotland and Wales – a veritable bounty of big summer festivals and gigs – and a quick hop across to Germany too.
The ‘Spookies’ were formed by Melbourne-based Stephen Taberner in Sydney back in 2001 and could rightly be said to have almost singlehandedly redefined the world of men’s singing. With a sound variously described as “sexy, powerful, impossibly gentle and sad but unmistakably male” their repertoire ranges from Georgian drinking songs to whisper perfect ballads and a string of improbable original hits.
Stephen, the only Kiwi amongst the 15-strong group, says:
“The hats will be there, the sphinx-like vastness and the beard topiary but the Spooky Men are chalking up their 18th year by taking a good hard look at themselves in the mirror and it’s hard to tell whether they like what they see.
“That’s fitting for our new release – an album which explores all corners of the great spooky room including airport baggage carousels, the fine art of building pyramids and, more poignantly, what it is like to be closer to the end than the beginning. But the musical experience that results from all this uncertainty will be a great ride – a melding of classic songs from the Spooky back catalogue and tasty brand new morsels.”
Rhythmtree Festival takes place at three Gates Farm near Calbourne between 12-14th July 2019.
For more information and tickets visit https://www.rhythmtree.co.uk/the-spooky-mens-chorale.
