STANTHORPE recording artists Penny Davies and ROGER ILOTT ott helped shaped the musical hopes and dreams of folk legend Gary Shearston, who passed away earlier this month. Mr Ilott recalls fond memories of his long-time friend:
PENNY Davies and I first met and started working with Gary Shearston in 2005. From then, till his passing on July 1, 2013, we recorded exactly 100 songs together.
We put out four of his albums -The Best Of All Trades, Renegade, and The Great Australian Groove (these three released on Rouseabout Records), and Reverently … just released by Restless Music – and became close mates. These eight years proved to be most fruitful and prolific songwriting period of his life.
Gary loved (as he called it) our ‘funky little studio’. Before, after, or during a session we’d sit on our verandah taking in the trees, the birds and the sky, and yarn over endless cups of billy tea, accompanied by scones, sandwiches, or cake – and sometimes his favourite Bungawarra Foundation Chardonnay.
We learnt about his life and experiences through these chats – and through his songs.
To Gary’s great joy, his son, Luke Shearston, played on two of the albums we recorded. Our son, Jordy Davies-Ilott, and our long-time friend, Lee Williams, made numerous significant musical contributions to his albums and, as well, became his close mates.
I’d first heard Gary’s music when I was a teenager in the 1960s , but I was quite taken by his non-folky worldwide hit of 1974, I Get A Kick Out Of You – particularly the pedal steel part, the unrestrained violin solo, the pounding drum fills at the end of the song, and Gary’s casual vocal.
In latter days, Gary dismissed the song as a throwaway, and had no intention of ever singing it again.
However, in January this year, he performed it spontaneously, along with some of his other songs, with our band, The Ring-Ins (which includes Lee and Jordy) at a function at our place, Folkstone. This rendition included a violin solo comparable to the original by the Barleyshakes’ Kristin Kelly.
Though Penny and I had performed in the Sydney folk music scene from the early 1970s until our departure to Queensland in 1987, we never connected with Gary as that period coincided with his prolonged absence from Australia.
Nevertheless, we were kept aware of his music over the years by way of the ABC’s Australia All Over radio program – he also became aware of our music through that show. We finally met in 2005 when he was doing a stint for a few months as an Anglican Priest in Stanthorpe.
He was due to come over to listen to the final mix of the new album, Reverently … , record yet another song (another two albums of Gary’s songs, plus a live album, will also be released sometime in the near future) and sit and enjoy tea and scones on 2 July. He passed away the night before.
Gary believed in love, social justice, and peace. He believed the power of song could make the world a better place.
I’ll miss him, his cheery, but sometimes world-weary, ‘Hello mate’ – we’ll all miss him – but feel privileged to have been able to help him get so many of his musical thoughts, hopes and dreams out into the world.
