A never-give-up
attitude is something Jason Stan shares with Johnny O’Keefe,
the man he will be performing as on stage. Amy Walker reports.
THERE
is more than meets the eye to the hip-shaking rock-and-roll
antics of Australian music legend Johnny O’Keefe. At
least, that’s what actor and musician Jason Stan found
out after performing as the celebrated icon in the high-energy
Sing Sing Sing – the JOK Show.
Stan will
put his hip-shake to the test when he visits the Taylors Lake
Hotel on November 3 and The Club, Caroline Springs, on November
5. Johnny O’Keefe had 29 Australian Top 40 hits between
1959 and 1974. ‘‘His moves are really strange,
a bit like Elvis. He liked to think of himself as the Australian
Elvis, and although the moves look simple, they are quite
hard to do,’’ Stan said. ‘‘For the
average person, when you are looking at a film clip, it looks
like he is just shaking his hips but it’s not actually
as easy as you think it is.’’
To prepare
for the shows around Australia, Stan said he practiced the
hip movements of O’Keefe but also studied his persona.
‘‘He was a very colourful character,’’
Stan said. ‘‘He never used to stand front on,
he would stand on the side and he used to wear a white leopard-skin
suit or a red suit with leopard-skin collar.’’
Performing as Johnny O’Keefe, Stan realised he shared
a never-give-up attitude with the star. He respected the impact
‘‘the wild one’’ made on Australia
and the local music scene. ‘‘What he left behind
was he changed the music industry for future Australian artists
by opening the door, the Australian pop rock scene was non-existent,’’
he said.
Stan has
performed in other states as Johnny O’Keefe. ‘‘Some
don’t strike me as devout JoK fans, and some people
are coming to see me,’’ he said. Stan’s
recent album is My Name Is Schapelle (2007), an album officially
endorsed by Schapelle Corby’s family. He has also been
in several films, including Serial (2007), Bonnie Babes (2005),
Hotel De Love (2000), and appeared in Neighbours and Blue
Heelers. Tickets are available through Tattersall’s
outlets or through www.jasonstan.com.
