Morgan bursts onto the stage to the sounds reminiscent of a long forgotten game show, with a voiceover from John Deeks to boot. Yes, Deeksie, the voice of everything from The Price Is Right to ads for JB Hi-Fi. But Morgan cracking cheeky jokes about the organ – his weapon of choice being the 1981 Hammond Aurora Classic – being an important ‘member’ of the family is only one part of the story that takes place in his World Of Organs, residing in Adelaide’s Sunnyside Mall.
Stephen Teakle, the man behind the moustache, illustrates his mastery of the Aurora through a number of camped up medleys – think of a safari-suited Girl Talk – while reminiscing over his departed mother and rallying against the incursions of a nearby electronic synthesiser store. It might all seem a bit thin if not for Morgan’s exuberance when leaping from the Black Eyed Peas to Pseudo Echo to the Doors. The Campari-swilling maestro leans on audience participation to bolster any low moments, striking that sweet spot between humour and humiliation – I bet the young sprat in the front row didn’t expect to go home with moustache drawn on with eyeliner when he woke up this morning.
Those who saw his many appearances on Spicks & Specks may be expecting a man playing camped-up pop songs for an hour, throwing back his head and flashing a mouthful of teeth for an hour. There’s a fair bit of that, but kudos to Teakle for fleshing the character out, even if it is one long joke about how tacky ’80s Australia was – tiny gherkin platters and all.
BY MITCHELL ALEXANDER
