It was either Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, or us, just then, who made that happy declaration after witnessing Cameron Ling and Paul Dempsey on stage with Francis Leach at the Corner Hotel last night. From Lingy’s revelation that playing one reserves game for Hawthorn led to him being drafted to Geelong, to Paul’s celebratory version of ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again’, the night was another affirmation of the rare (or is it raw?) power of music and football to bring people together. Highlights included Lingy’s tale of Brad Ottens’ trip to the lock-up and Paul’s regret at declining an invitation to dinner with Bruce Springsteen due to (his own) recording commitments. Lingy’s revelation that ‘I just want to confirm here tonight that I’ve signed on to coach Melbourne next year’ – followed by a pause – ‘only joking’ was a very entertaining moment to say the least.Once the dust has settled and we’ve eased ourselves out the ice bath, a full report of another fantastically enjoyable evening will be forthcoming.
A massive thanks to everyone who came along to the show. It’s hard to express quite how gratifying it is to be in a room full of like-minded people who love music and footy equally, and are happy to sit down for two hours to listen to a conversation about both. Thankyou.
AK