One of Australia’s most sought-after summer festivals, The Red Hot Summer Tour has announced its next series of dates for the 2024 season.
These iconic outdoor shows will take place centre stage in Mornington, Yarra Valley, Bribie Island & Perth, and for series two, this mega-line-up will be co-headlined by Simple Minds and Icehouse.
It’s been over 40 years since Scottish superstars, Simple Minds toured Australia for the first time in 1981 when they were invited by their good friends, Icehouse. History repeats itself as they come together on stage all these decades later. Says Jim Kerr, “we had the best time during that six-week period, and we’re ecstatic to be able to come back and to do it all over again with our mates, Icehouse! We love everything about this band and Australia. We are always welcomed with open arms and have such a special bond with our Aussie fans. We can’t wait to get back there and play in some of the best outdoor locations in your beautiful country.”
Saturday 10th February 2024
- Mornington Racecourse, Mornington VIC. Featuring Simple Minds, Icehouse, Noiseworks, Daryl Braithwaite and Bachelor Girl. This is an 18-plus show
- Sunday 11th February 2024: Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley VIC. Featuring Simple Minds, Icehouse, Noiseworks, Daryl Braithwaite and Bachelor Girl. This is an 18-plus show
- Saturday 17th February 2024: Sandstone Point, Bribie Island QLD. Featuring Simple Minds, Icehouse, Noiseworks, Daryl Braithwaite and Bachelor Girl. This is an 18-plus show
- Wednesday 21st February 2024: Kings Park & Botanic Garden, Perth WA. Featuring Simple Minds, Icehouse & Bachelor Girl. This is an all-ages show
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Iva Davies went on to say “back in 1981, on Icehouse’s first journey overseas, we were introduced to Simple Minds and their great stage presence when we went on the same tour supporting them around the UK. It was an exciting time and we all got on so well that we asked Simple Minds to support us when we returned to Australia. They did and Australians became one of the most welcoming audiences in the world for them. I’m really looking forward to our co-headlining tour next year – it will be an opportunity to relive some memories and thrilling to see how far we’ve all come since those first shows.”
Icehouse
With a career spanning over 45 years, Icehouse is one of Australia’s most iconic bands, transcending age groups with their hit songs, well known and loved by audiences across generations, playing to sell-out, capacity audiences in Australia, New Zealand and throughout the world. Formed by Iva Davies, the band’s frontman and musical creative force, Icehouse went on to have an amazing 28 Platinum albums, eight Top 10 albums and over thirty Top 40 singles.
Icehouse’s unofficial Australian anthem, Great Southern Land, has been a part of almost every Australian’s summer soundtrack for the past 40 years and in 2014, it was inducted into the National Film and Sound Archive’s Sounds of Australia registry. It’s also been remixed a number of times, most notably Bill Laswell’s The Great Southern Mix, clocking in at almost 16 minutes, and the Byrralku Dhangudha remix from 1994, which features Indigenous musicians playing and singing the chorus in their own language. Its message is as current and relevant today as it was when it first appeared.
In 2017, the band received another tribute when Qantas invited the public to vote for the names of the planes for their new fleet of Dreamliner 787-9s. Out of over 60,000 name suggestions submitted, Great Southern Land won the honour of the very first plane in the fleet being named after the iconic hit. In the same year, Icehouse also celebrated 40 years of live performance with a national Australian tour and several outdoor performances in New Zealand and has continued to perform selected concerts for sell-out audiences in both countries since then.
Simple Minds
Simple Minds are one of the UK’s most successful bands that have achieved worldwide success. Having sold over 60 million albums, they have experienced a remarkable journey since releasing their debut album Life In A Day in 1979.
Over the course of their stunning career, Simple Minds have sold out stadiums and arenas across the globe. Constantly evolving, the band’s rousing choruses and booming atmospherics made them one of the most iconic bands of the 80s. Their trademark sound has earned them massive hits – with songs such as Promised You A Miracle, Glittering Prize, Don’t You (Forget About Me), Alive and Kicking, Sanctify Yourself, Belfast Child and Let There Be Love dominating the airwaves globally.
Australia was the first country in the world, outside of the UK, to embrace Simple Minds, giving the band its first-ever hit single Love Song and first gold album New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84). The love affair has continued ever since.
Noiseworks
Noiseworks provided the soundtrack to every big night in the 1980s, with rock anthems No Lies, Take Me Back, Hot Chilli Woman, Touch, and countless others. Get ready to rock as the original members reform to honour the memory of their co-founder and guitarist, the late, great, Stuart ‘Chet’ Fraser. Jon Stevens, Steve Balbi, Kevin Nicol, and Justin Stanley will be joined by very special guest Jack Jones on guitar and vocals. With the release of their new 2022 album, along with all their legendary hits, Noiseworks will reignite a passion for rock n roll.
Daryl Braithwaite
Daryl Braithwaite is an iconic Australian singer/songwriter and ARIA Hall Of Fame Inductee. As the frontman and vocalist for the 1970s band Sherbet, Braithwaite rode a wave of local and international success with songs such as Howzat and Summer Love propelling the band to superstar status.
Braithwaite went on to embark on a highly successful solo career which included a No. 1 ARIA Album Chart for his album Edge (1988), featuring the hit singles As The Days Go By and One Summer. Braithwaite’s 1990 follow-up album Rise included the single The Horses which reached No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart and to this day remains an anthem for generations of Australians. In 2020, he joined a host of local and international artists to perform at Fire Fight Australia, Concert For National Bushfire Relief in front of an audience in excess of 70,000 at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium.
Bachelor Girl
In 1992, Tania Doko and James Roche formed Bachelor Girl, and the duo became one of the most loved Australian acts of the 90s & early 2000s, enjoying Australian and international success in Asia, Scandinavia and the US (including signing with the legendary Clive Davis at Arista Records).
Standing out with their exceptional songwriting and Tania’s warm, powerful vocal, both PPCA and APRA have reported a massive achievement for the band – their hit single Buses and Trains was the most played Australian composition on Australian radio in its first year of release and during the last 25 years overall.
In 1999, Buses and Trains also received the coveted APRA Song of the Year award, while the critically acclaimed debut album Waiting for the Day spawned five chart-topping, radio-friendly singles (including Treat Me Good and Permission To Shine), reached double platinum certification and an ARIA win to the duo for Producer of the Year.
After a brief hiatus to pursue their individual musical paths as writers and producers for outside artists in Sweden and the U.K, Tania and James reunited to release their socially conscious single Speak, in 2018. With their hit-studded and dynamic live set, Bachelor Girl have secured impressive support slots, including international heavyweights Eurythmics and The Goo Goo Dolls.
More recently, the band has special guested on widely popular festival gigs such as Day on the Green (with John Farnham, Daryl Braithwaite et al.), the Red Hot Summer tour, and can also add Icehouse to the list of iconic acts they have toured with.
General public on-sale Thursday 3rd August at 10am (local time). Tickets are available here.
