QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

“Schimmerndes Blau” The icing on the cake came when Steve Scanlon, who produced for Tina Arena, and Australia’s other musical export success that year, Vanessa Amarosi, engineered and re-mastered the eight tracks of Shimmering Blue in time for it to take Germany by storm. In that Sydney Olympics year, when ‘Absolutely Everybody’ in Hannover was listening to NDR Radio or watching ZDF television and just wanted to be somewhere Australian ‘On A Night Like This’ there were the mfn boys, on stage and at the bar, turning things ‘Inside Out’ … it simply wasn’t possible to feel ‘homesick’ when ‘home’ was right there in Hannover. “It felt like home ground,” said Chris, of the boys’ stay in rental digs, when they weren’t at the pavilion, or jamming in “four or five bars” around town. They still have fond memories – and many friends – from that time, when German audiences embraced the band’s relaxed, uniquely Australian, larrikin approach to life and music. Chris and Dan remain struck by the Germans’ “more complex appreciation” of their music: they were “very responsive, very attentive,” remembers Dan, with Chris recalling the German audiences as “a romantic people, great sense of humour and they love a good time.” A good thing too for, in typical Aussie fashion, the partying in Hannover was as legendary as the performances. “There was little or no language barrier,” recalls Chris, “as we learned how to order a schinken-und-käse-brötchen after having 47 beers!” Dan remembers discovering one suburban Hannover restaurant with an Aussie theme and didgeridoos on the walls – he took one down one night and began playing it to the delighted diners. Closer inspection of the venue’s wall mural of Australia revealed dreadful geographical inaccuracies, which honour demanded – with the owners’ willing consent – be rectified, in a well lubricated, post-closing time, affray of paint and enthusiasm which continued until dawn and set the record straight for future, less fortunate visitors. “We did everything by feel,” said Chris of the band’s music (as much as their appetite for life), “we learned it all by ear,” and this innate knack faced a surprising test as Expo 2000 wound up. Klaus Meine, from Germany’s legendary, 35-years strong rock band The Scorpions stopped by the

“Musically,” the website attempted to describe, “the band comes from acoustic, folk and rock traditions explored through current pop/rock trends. To these rich talents add the ability to compose brilliant, powerful original songs across the genres and it quickly becomes clear …” Quite. A glance through other reviews from the time reveals words such as “astonishing”, “stellar”, “revered” and “loyal and passionate following” keeping company with comments like the UK’s TipSheet remarks: “They’re one of those ‘don’t fit in / won’t be easy to break / will be enormous when they do break’ kind of bands.” It was a magical rise below the radar – although reviewers were always at pains to acknowledge the band’s “many years of hard work throughout the country” – from humble origins in a suburban Brisbane pizza shop in 1997-98. Remuneration then, according to Chris, was “pizza and $50 …” – “plus garlic bread if we were really good” interposed Dan – “…and whatever the punters threw into the hat.” It got to the point that people began booking tables of 20 “if the band was going to be there” and more than just the staff of Earth and Sea Pizza could detect there was something in the air. Along came band manager Leanne de Souza Opposite: the boys on-stage at the Pavilion in Hannover (top) and Chris (below) caught in mid-crowd-surfing at the Pavilion’s Sports Bar. All images courtesy of the author/author’s collection Above: promo shot of mfn members (left to right) brothers Mick and Dan Carter and Jeff ‘Kidd’ Reeves, with Chris Dillon leaning into the foreground; this was the band’s composition for the release of “Shimmering Blue” and Expo 2000 which, at various times, also included Mike ‘Boo’ Grabbe and Ben McCarthy.

m f n 191 (who had luminaries like Kate Miller-Heidke and Katie Noonan in her fold) and “we really became something,” said Chris; “special,” added Dan. Leanne shepherded the boys towards greater things and was joined by Marty Ryan’s take on the “bigger picture” as 2000 dawned. pavilion one evening and asked mfn if they’d perform the hymn Moment of Glory which he’d composed for the closing ceremony. Marty Ryan remembers the first rehearsal session with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, when the maestro conductor “handed over the score … and you told me sheepishly that you couldn’t read music!”