Sunnyboys have announced that their forthcoming national tour of Australia will be their last, titling the run ‘The Last Dance’.
The tour, announced today (September 27), follows on from a run of dates the band undertook earlier this year, as well as a 40th anniversary show in December 2020.
‘The Last Dance’ will begin in the New South Wales border town of Tweed Heads in mid-January, and will continue for a month around various cities and towns across the east coast. Sunnyboys’ final show will take place on Saturday February 18 at the Enmore Theatre in their native Sydney. A full list of dates, as well as support acts for each, can be seen below.
According to a press release, the band’s end does not come acrimoniously – as it did when they first split in 1984 – assuring fans that its members have “no animosity [or] musical differences, just the satisfaction of a job well done and knowing that it’s time”.
Richard Bergman, the band’s founding lead guitarist, reflected on Sunnyboys’ legacy ahead of the tour in his own press statement. “Of the hundreds of bands, and thousands of people that we knew at the time, we’re one of the few that can stand up and say we were really good at what we did, and we’re really proud of what we did,” he said.
“We’re lucky enough to still be able to get up and say to people, ‘We’re really proud to be able to present this to you now.'”
Sunnyboys originally formed in 1979 in Kingscliff, on the north coast of New South Wales. Its original line-up consisted of brothers Jeremy (lead vocals, guitar) and Peter (bass) Oxley, Bergman and drummer Bil Bilson.
In 1981, the band released their self-titled debut album. It went on to achieve Platinum certification, while two of its singles – ‘Alone With You’ and ‘Happy Man’ – charted in the Top 40 of the Australian singles chart, then known as the Kent Music Report.
After their 1984 split, various iterations of the band would partially reunite through the late ’80s and into the ’90s. The full original line-up reunited in 2012, and have remained together ever since.
A documentary about Jeremy Oxley’s life, titled The Sunnyboy, was released in 2013. Along with the rise and fall of Sunnyboys, the film analysed Oxley’s struggles with schizophrenia.
A pre-sale for the tour will take place today, while the general sale will follow on Thursday (September 29). Tickets for all shows can be found via the Feel Presents website, with the exception of the Thirroul and Brisbane dates – those can be found via Ticketmaster here.
Sunnyboys’ ‘The Last Dance’ tour dates are:
JANUARY
Friday 13 and Saturday 14 – Tweed Heads, Twin Towns (with Painters & Dockers)
Friday 20 – Dee Why, Dee Why RSL (with Painters & Dockers)
Saturday 21 – Thirroul, Anita’s Theatre (with Painters & Dockers)
Wednesday 25 – Adelaide, The Gov (with Even)
Saturday 28 – Melbourne, Northcote Theatre (with Rocket Science and The Prize)
FEBRUARY
Friday 10 – Sunshine Coast, The Nightquarter (with Flaming Hands)
Saturday 11 – Brisbane, The Tivoli (with Flaming Hands)
Saturday 18 – Sydney, Enmore Theatre (with Painters & Dockers and Mick Medew & The Mesmerisers)