It’s been 25 years since Elton John and Billy Joel brought their all-star Face To Face act to Australia, and now it’s coming to Shepparton on Saturday, July 29.
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The two musical superstars sold out shows across Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in the late ’90s.
Greg Andrew (Elton) and Anthony Mara (Billy) are Australia’s premier tribute artists for Elton and Billy respectively, and have come together to honour the legendary tour and will be performing a show at Riverlinks WestSide.
They both stumbled upon their signature act in quite the same way.
Both were musicians for more than 20 years, with Mr Andrew performing at casinos and resorts across Australia and Mr Mara performing in a cover band.
“I received countless comments saying I looked like Billy, and I thought that couldn’t be a bad thing,” Mr Mara said.
An opportunity came up in Mr Mara’s home town of Adelaide to put on a show, and he decided to give the Billy Joel act a whirl.
He hasn’t looked back since.
He began his Billy Joel tour in 2017 and has packed out theatres across Australia.
Mr Andrew would constantly get requests to perform Elton because, apparently, he looked so much like him.
“It was never an intentional thing,” Mr Andrew said.
“It just so happens that piano is my main instrument, and his vocals are a similar style to mine.
“It was a lovely feeling, performing as Elton, it just sort of gelled.”
Mr Andrew said he was a slow learner, and it took him a long time to dive into the world of tribute artistry.
But after 15 years of touring as Elton, it’s given him a wealth of experiences he never could’ve imagined.
“In 2017 I got an invite to Tribfest in the UK, the most prestigious tribute festival in the world,” Mr Andrew said.
“It’s invite-only, so that was a great honour and a great experience.”
Mr Andrew and Mr Mara were both there in 1998 at the original Face to Face tour, Mr Mara at the Adelaide show and Mr Andrew at the Brisbane show.
As his Billy Joel tour took off and he became aware of Mr Andrew’s acclaimed Elton show, Mr Mara got an idea.
“With the 25-year anniversary on the horizon, and after seeing Greg get around, I thought a tribute to the original tour would be really cool,” Mr Mara said.
“I didn’t know him from a bar of soap, mind you, but we talked about it and did a show, and here we are now touring together.
“It’s definitely different to performing on my own, but it’s also been a fairly natural transition.”
Mr Mara said he appreciated the chance it gave him to appreciate Elton’s music, as the duo break off during the show and perform individually before coming together to perform in tandem.
“That’s the great thing about it, you might come for Elton but leave with a greater appreciation of Billy, or vice versa,” he said.
Mr Andrew echoed Mr Mara’s sentiment and said he knew Billy Joel’s biggest hits but after performing with Mr Mara, realised he had completely underestimated just how deep and rich Billy’s catalogue really was.
“When we do it, it’s hit after hit, if you’re from that generation there’s not a song you won’t know,” Mr Andrew said.
“If you’re not, it’s a great opportunity to come along and hear some wonderful new music.”
While Elton and Billy performed brilliantly together, many fans believe there was a lasting tension between the two.
It was rumoured Elton cancelled his last tour with Billy, before Billy said he didn’t want to perform with Elton anymore because it limited his set list.
“Elton was a difficult person to work with,” Mr Andrew said.
“I mean, it’s two colossal mega superstars sharing the same stage.
“They would’ve had to kind of leave their egos at the door.
“Unfortunately, there’s not much gossip on our tour, Anthony and I get on so well and we’re really good friends off stage.”
Mr Andrew said that it was a tribute act, not an impersonation, and said he never felt the need to talk like Elton or pretend to be him on stage, and that there was enough in what he sounded like and dressed like.
“We do our best to pay respect to the music, not just with us but with the band as well — we’ve got great musicians in our band,” he said.
“If you want a top-quality representation of great music, get down to the show; I’ve never performed in Shepparton so I’m really excited for a great night.”
Mr Mara said the event was unique and hard to pull off, so he encouraged Greater Shepparton residents to relive the great sounds of the two iconic artists at the show in Mooroopna.
You can purchase tickets to Elton and Billy Face To Face 25th Anniversary Tour on Saturday, July 29 at 8pm at Riverlinks WestSide, Echuca Rd, Mooroopna at https://riverlinksvenues.com.au/whats-on/event-details/!/calendar/event/elton-and-billy-face-to-face
Cadet Journalist