ICEHOUSE frontman Iva Davies doesn't pretend that he's a motorsport enthusiast.
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He wouldn't know his Shane van Gisbergens from his Chaz Mosterts. But he holds a deep respect and excitement for the Supercars as an event, having previously performed at a race in Adelaide.
"What I find incredibly exciting is peeking in on all the workshops," Davies tells the Newcastle Herald.
"There's unbelievable things going on there that I couldn't begin to understand, but obviously it involves an incredible amount of technology and very skilled people.
"There's always such a buzz, generally speaking, and that's great from our point of view as people are incredibly excited before they even get near the stage."
Newcastle's Foreshore Park is expected to be buzzing this evening when Icehouse headline night one of the Supercars.
Davies and his Icehouse bandmates roll into Newcastle in red-hot form.
Their recent shows at Brisbane's Riverstage and Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl have received glowing reviews.
It might have been 43 years since the band formerly known as Flowers released their debut album Icehouse, but performing live remains pivotal for the 67-year-old Davies.
"When Midnight Oil last year announced they were wrapping up performing live I was quite shocked and heartbroken, because I know what it means for people who do what they do for so long, not to do it again," he says.
"I know how incredibly excited the members of my band are to actually get together in one place and play."
During their '80s prime Icehouse were one of Australia's most commercially-successful bands.
Their Australian take on new-wave produced classics like Electric Blue, Hey, Little Girl, Crazy and the timeless Great Southern Land.
Despite being released in 1982, Great Southern Land is perhaps more poignant now in modern Australia than it was when it peaked at No.5 on the ARIA charts.
The outworldly synths and Davies' lyrics singing of an ancient land where you "Listen to the motion of the wind in the mountains/ Maybe you can hear them talking like I do," was one of the first times First Nations culture and histories were recognised in mainstream pop music.
With a referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament expected later this year, Great Southern Land's message has never felt truer.
Davies, himself, is amazed by the evolution in meaning of many of Icehouse's songs.
"I don't know what was steering me in respect to Great Southern Land, any more than I know what was steering me with these other songs," he says.
"That part of it is a mystery. It was certainly not something done by design.
"I had no idea or way of knowing. I wrote that song before the Mabo decision went down.
"I'm not taking credit for being an amazing insightful person, it's more than anything an interesting mystery."
Icehouse headline the Newcastle Supercars concert at Foreshore Park tonight with Newcastle pub-rock legends The Screaming Jets and Noiseworks frontman Jon Stevens.
All Newcastle Supercars ticket-holders receive entry to the concert.
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Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
