Little River Band Reminisces About First Gig and More
Okay, picture this: Melbourne, 1975. A bunch of Aussie rockers got together with one bold idea—take over the U.S. music scene. And boom, Little River Band was born. Not your…
Okay, picture this: Melbourne, 1975. A bunch of Aussie rockers got together with one bold idea—take over the U.S. music scene. And boom, Little River Band was born. Not your average garage band, oh no. They had soft rock, killer harmonies, and an ambition bigger than the Outback.
Hits like “Reminiscing” and “Lady” had everyone swooning, and “Help Is on Its Way”? Let’s just say it made you roll down the windows and sing like nobody’s watching. Pure ear candy.
Now, these legends are still hitting the road, bringing their timeless jams to fans old and new. Little River Band is living proof that great music doesn’t age. It really just gets better and better with every spin. So next time “Reminiscing” pops up on your playlist, don’t just hear a song. Listen again and feel the history, the vibes and the magic of a band that’s been rocking since the ‘70s.
Chatting with Wayne Nelson of Little River Band
Jim O'Brien of WCSX caught up with Wayne Nelson of Little River Band, and they talked about the first time Nelson remembers going up on stage with Little River Band.
"Well, the first time we went live was in an Australian pub. I went down there to rehearse, and that was their routine, they would go out into pubs for a couple of weeks," he said. "Australian pubs are tough, because it's a very, very rock and roll. AC/DC, Midnight Oil... so, Little River Band's music is a little more tame than those things, but yet the history was there on stage. And if you can make it work for an Australian pub. You can take it to a big stage. And, so, that's the first thing I remember."
So, what about the first big show? "The first big show was in Olympic Olympic Stadium in Munich," Nelson recalled. "(There were) 125,000 people. So, we went from the pubs to we got off a plane and we did that show in Munich. As a matter of fact, on my 30th birthday. So, it was quite a quite a treat."
Nelson also said that everything just fell into place for that first big gig.
"The greatest thing was it was a cold, nasty, rainy, windy German spring day," he recalled. "And we went on stage, and I swear to you, the clouds parted, the sun came down, everybody got to dry out a little bit and it lasted for an hour. We walked off stage, and the rain started again. So we had a golden spot there in that day. It was very cool."
