James Reyne and Mark Seymour’s Indian Pacific Outback Christmas Journey
An article about Mark Seymour and James Reyne’s Indian Pacific cross country gig.
Author: Ross Purdle, AAP.
Date: 1 December 2010.
Original URL: http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/james-reyne-and-mark-seymours-indian-pacific-outback-christmas-journey/story-e6frfmqr-1225964117474
Aussie rock icons James Reyne and Mark Seymour have kick-started the annual Indian Pacific Outback Christmas Journey with a railside gig in Sydney.
The pair performed to several hundred fans from a platform at Central Station this afternoon before boarding the historic train on its 4,352km journey across southern Australia.
The former Australian Crawl and Hunters and Collectors singers will perform nine shows in three days at stops along the way, including Adelaide and the trains final destination Perth.
But the biggest crowds are expected to gather at wayside stops in the outback, including some of the most isolated places across the Ampullary Plain like the towns of Cook and Rawlinna.
“I’m looking forward to seeing people and places along the way it should be a truly exciting and uniquely Australian experience,” said Reyne.
Seymour, who played Hunters and Collectors classics Holy Grail and When the River Runs Dry during the half hour performance, is looking to dusting off his hits in the outback.
“This is a rare opportunity to perform in some of the most remote parts of Australia, travelling across the continent,” he said.
It will be the 10th year that the Great Southern Rail train has helped bringing festive cheer to remote communities and raise money for the Australian Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Guy Sebastian, Shannon Noll, Marcia Hines and Jimmy Barnes are some of the musicians who have already performed on the annual festive journey – and there’s one sought after passenger who always makes the trip.
“Local children treasure the chance to sing with the super stars, but often it’s Father Christmas who steals the show,” the Great Southern Rail chief executive officer Tony Braxton said.
“For the communities we visit the event has become a well anticipated trip on the calendar. Some are known to travel hundreds of kilometres to meet the train each year.”
Members of the public are invited to attend public events featuring Reyne and Seymour at Bathurst, Broken Hill, Adelaide, Watson, Rawlinna, Kalgoorlie and Perth.
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