TV will give Mark Seymour’s ‘mysterious’ chorus a rousing rendition
An interview with Mark Seymour about Australia’s Biggest Singalong.
Author: Ben Pobjie, Sydney Morning Herald.
Date: 30 May 2021.
Article Text
Mark Seymour is used to hearing others sing the lovely line, “throw your arms around me”; it will soon be sung by the largest ever chorus.
Mark Seymour will lead a chorus of TV viewers into a rendition of his beloved song, Throw Your Arms Around Me.
Q. So what is your role in Australia’s Biggest Singalong?
A. I’m performing the song – I think – at the end of the program, joining with a bunch of choirs across the country simultaneously. There will be a teething process, I imagine, before my appearance. They may be recording that as well. There’s been a lot of preparation done already.
Q. It’s all new of course, a brand-new form of television, it’s all a bit experimental.
A. Yeah – in various incarnations I’ve kind of been involved in this sort of thing for a while now. You basically have to fly by the seat of your pants. But I’ve performed the song (Throw Your Arms Around Me) many times now, so …
Q. You’ve written and performed hundreds of songs in your career, do you ever get sick of doing that particular song?
A. No, not really. There may have been a time in the past when I was a bit more precious about it. I think the song has something a bit mysterious about it that just seems to capture people’s imagination, and I just think that has to be respected. In a strange way it has very little to do with me anymore. I mean it was written in a very specific time in my life and, kind of like all songwriting, you just have to surrender to a process and the good stuff rises to the surface. So whenever people want to hear it, I play it, simple as that.
Q. Is it strange to you when you hear other people performing it – it’s been covered many many times.
A. Yeah, it’s quite odd, actually. It’s strange, it’s actually not that easy to do – there’s something slightly awkward about that chorus: a long time spent on the first word. The first word travels through a series of notes and semi-quavers and … I always write pretty organically, I just sit down with a guitar and record it, whatever’s coming out of my mouth. That song is no exception. It’s the physicality of the line: people relate to that idea of love and affection, and it sort of covers a multitude of sins! That’s the thing about songs: people bring their own character to it.
Q. It’s the magic of music: someone sits down with a guitar one day, comes up with something, and it echoes down the years to millions of people.
A. Yeah, and I also think that it’s meant to be sung – its truth, its reality is in the space it’s performed in, and the people who are there in that moment. I’ve always kind of held to that basic idea about songs, I’ve always written them with that idea in mind: “Throw Your Arms Around Me” just seems to have that resonance. I remember the first time Hunters and Collectors played it, at a bar that no longer exists – which is no surprise. Down at this beer barn in St Kilda. I remember there were people in the green room afterwards going “What was that?” We didn’t really realise just what we had at the time, because it was pretty unusual for the band to play songs like that, this big expansive love ballad.
Q. Will Australia’s Biggest Singalong be the most people who’ve ever sung one of your songs simultaneously?
A. It’s a safe bet, yeah, I would say so.
Q. Given the somewhat fraught times we’re in and the difficult year and a bit we’ve had: do you think a singalong seems particularly appropriate right now?
A. I think it’s a good fit. Whoever dreamed it up is very creative, there’s some magical thinking there for sure. It’s just a great thing to do. But on the subject of COVID, lots of challenging things have happened in a short period of time, and I marvel at music’s capacity to adapt, and this song in particular is a good choice for the times, I think, on a number of fronts.
Q. When they came to you and asked you to be a part of the singalong, were you immediately like, “Yes, I’m on board”, or for a moment did you go, “What the hell are you talking about?“
A. (laughs) There’s always that question. If it isn’t a straight-ahead live gig in a club, you wonder, how does it work? Look, I’m still slightly mystified by it, but it’s television and it’s digital technology, so there are ways and means. But I do appreciate the idea that it’s regional as well. It gets to people who aren’t in the capitals, they’re not close to contemporary culture coming at them all the time. I’m a big believer in that, how music can get to people who are relatively isolated. I think that’s really important.
Australia’s Biggest Singalong! airs live on Saturday 5 June from 8.30pm AEST on SBS.
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