Composer John Willsteed

“Characters of the Outback” Words and music TED EGAN (Used by permission)

Lyrics:

Ted Egan’s song runs over the tail credits, in a truncated form, and with some lyrics shifted around from the usual form:

Talk about a mob of characters in the outback, You meet them as you’re travelling through the bush,

(Cut and shifted to later in the song:

You find ‘em in the scrub or drinkin’ in the pub, And if you don’t watch out you’ll finish up A member of the Characters Club. Oh, talk about a mob of characters in the outback, You meet ‘em as you’re travelling through the bush)

There’s bagmen, shearers, drovers, cooks, I reckon you could write a thousand books, In the outback, in the outback of .

I asked an old Aboriginal bloke, Why they called him Gallopin’ Jack, He told me a buffalo chased him One day on the Jim Jim track; Now the lowest limb on the only tree Was fourteen foot from the ground, Jack jumped for the branch and missed, But he caught it on the way down.

Oh, talk about a mob of characters in the outback, You meet ‘em as you’re travelling through the bush You find ‘em, you find ‘em in the scrub Or they’re drinkin’, they’re drinkin’ in the pub And if you don’t watch out you’ll finish up A member of the Characters Club …

Oh, talk about a mob of characters in the outback, You meet them as you’re travelling through the bush There’s bagmen, shearers, drovers, cooks, I reckon you could write a thousand books, In the outback, in the outback of Australia…

(As noted, this is a heavily compressed version of the song. Other lyrics available online run at shaggy dog length, and possibly wouldn’t survive in later politically correct times. For the sake of completeness, they run as follows ...)

There’s the Red Backed Spider and Springheel Jack, And there’s Pitjuri Pete on the Birdsville Track, In the outback, in the outback of Australia.

Mick the Miser came from The Isa, Very tight fella with a quid, And when the price of Epsoms Salts went up, Do you know what old Mick did? If his kids had constipation He’d lock ‘em in a room so dark, And then he’d tell ‘em a terrible ghost yarn, And let nature make her mark.

Chorus- (substitute last three lines with…) The Oracle says: “Now listen to me” And Machine Gun Billy says “How-ow-ow-ow’d yer be?” In the outback, in the outback of Australia.

Oh, there’s a Chinese bloke in the Territory, By the name of Eddy Quong, We call him the Yellow Peril, And that’s why he’s in this song, Quongy says that he never eats rice. Fair enough, I suppose, He said “I only ever had one bowl And look what happened to me eyes and me nose.” Chorus- substitute last three lines with… Old Rigor Mortis is hard to shift, And the London Fog, well he won’t lift In the outback, in the outback of Australia.

In the hot and cold bar up in Darwin They crowned Australia’s greatest talker, When old Frank Hardy downed Tall Tale Tex With tales about Billy Borker, For a while old Tex made mobs of noise, But when he couldn’t think of a story, Said Frank: You’ve run out of power mate, So it’s me who’ll get the glory.”

Chorus- (substitute last three lines with…) There’s the Singapore Hand and Disaster Dick, And the Born Loser can’t take a trick, In the outback, in the outback of Australia.

Once upon a time in the outback, There was a friendly undertaker, And many an old-time character, He prepared to meet the Maker, He had to go to post-mortems, But he never let it get him down, For the Undertaker said, He had the best-fed dog in town.

Repeat first Chorus.

Composer John Willsteed:

Willsteed has a detailed wiki listing here, and he had a QUT listing here, which included this short profile:

John Willsteed remembers most of a long and varied career as a musician, travelling the world and leaving a legacy of hummable bass-lines. He has performed with many iconic Australian acts including The Go-Betweens, The Apartments, The Riptides and . He has been a guitarist in award winning band Halfway since 2010. He is a graduate of the AFTRS, Griffith University and QUT, and has an abiding interest in the musical history of his hometown (Brisbane) and the ways in which it might be told. As a sound editor and composer he has received national and international awards including three AFI Awards for sound. Willsteed also embodies a deep commitment to the wider concept and reality of the creative industries. He has acted on the board of QPIX and was state representative of the Australian Screen Sound Guild. He has been president of Feral Arts management committee since 2005, and currently serves on the board of the Music Festival. Career History He has been a teacher at private film schools, TAFE and universities since 2000 and his current role at QUT is Senior Lecturer in the School of Creative Practice.

There was an earlier resume available at Trove here, which took Willsteed’s career up to the time of Mate:

1998 Music and sound for short films/animations/documentaries in Brisbane Lecturer in sound post production at Qld Film and Television School 1997 Music and sound for short films/animations/documentaries in Brisbane Music For Film workshop for AFTRS Summerskill 1996 Reconform sound for US recuts of COSI and CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION Tutor at AFTRS - Digital Audio Workstations Graduate of Australian Film, Television and Radio School (Sound Extension) Quantegy International Award for Audio Excellence for END OF THE LINE Various AF-FRS shorts as sound recordist/boom swinger 1995 Student at Australian Film, Television and Radio School (Sound Extension) Stage tech for The Blackeyed Susans for various shows Music for Museum of Sydney multimedia exhibits AFI Award - Best Sound in non-feature for THE BEAT MANIFESTO 1994 Student at Australian Film, Television and Radio School (Sound Extension) 1993 Musician for THE TWO STAR CLUB Musician for COW, DISGRACELAND, THE WELCOME STRANGERS, SUMP etc 1992 Musician for THE DRUNK THE MONK & THE SPUNK 1990 School music project for Qld. Dept. of Health 1989 Musician for band PLUG UGLIES, THE RIPTIDES 1988 Musician for band THE GOBETWEENS 1987 Freelance graphic artist 1986 Musician for band LET'S GO NAKED 1985 Writer/performer of comedy spots for 2JJJ Musician for bands MACHINES THAT WALK & TENDER MERCIES 1979 to 1984 Musician for ZERO/XIRO/XERO Freelance graphic artist/screenprinter Music for theatre: Popular Theatre Troupe and La Boite Theatre

Music Credits:

THE THUNDERING SKIES OF DISGRACELAND. disgraceland - musician, producer (she said pop). crush76 - musician STARVING HYSTERICAL & NAKED. the drunk the monk and the spunk - musician, producer, writer BEARD. cow - musician RIGHT HERE (compilation). the drunk the monk and the spunk - musician, producer VIVA BRISBANE (compilation). various bands - musician, producer DRIFT. apartments - musician POUNDING GRACE. plug uglies - musician, producer BIG HOPE, LITTLE TOWN (compilation). plug uglies - musician, producer TOTALLY WIRELESS (compilation). plug uglies - musician 16 LOVERS LANE. gobetweens - musician ZIP START/TOO/3. zip collective - musician, producer, writer LUST IN THE DUST. xero - musician, writer Film and Television credits:

1998 NEVER THE TWINE- James Rose/Linda Murdoch - C(rnposer DANNY AND THE COUGARS. James Stephens/sBs - Sound editor/ mix HIPSI, THE FOREST GARDENER. Mark Chapman/Al3C - sound editor/composer/ A DOZEN EGGS. WIFT/SBS(various directors) - Sound editor/mix GRACE. Wesley Enoch - Sound editor/mix

1997 RIGOR MORTIS. Michelle Sotheren - Sound editor/mix RAGE OF INNOCENCE. ABC/Nicole McCuaig - Sound editor/mix THE DEAD CAN DRIVE. SBS/EatCarpet - Sound editor/cornposer/ rnix KITU & WOOFL. Henderson Bowman Productions/ABC - Series Composer MATE. Evan Clarry/Mate Productions - Sound editor/composer/rnix ADVANCED MATHEMATICS: QUESTIONS 1 -1 0. Bill Marsden - Composer INSIDE MR. MORRIS. Charles Blake - Sound editor

1996 ANOTHER WAY. Trish Fitzsimons/SBS independent - Sound editor/ composer/ DWELL. Blurrred Communications - Sound editor and composer MEDIA RULES. Nehi/Jacabowsky/SBS Independent - Sound editor and compos RANDY'S DEEP SEA RAMPAGE. Juliet Johns/Linda Murdoch - Sound editor and composer SIBLING BLISS. Elizabeth Carlon/AFTRS - Composer SEDUCTION 1 01. Tony MacNamara/AFTRS - Sound mix and composer END OF THE LINE. Rebecca O'Brien/AFTRS - Sound editor and mix GOBLIN MARKET. Harding&Hall/AFTRS - Sound editor

1995 KICK TO KICK. Tony MacNamara/AFTRS - Sound editor/composer/ mix THE EVOLUTION OF HERB. Caitlin Lawes/AFTRS - Sound editor and mix THE BEAT MANIFESTO. Daniel Nettheim/AFTRS - Sound editor and mix

1994 LONG WAY ROUND. Realworld Pictures/SBS - Composer BAD BY DESIGN. Blurrred Communications/SBS - Sound editor and composer

1993 CAN IT HURT LESS? David Blackall - Composer NOTHING PERSONAL. Huzzah Productions/Workcover Authority - Composer BEATING ROSS RIVER. Qld. Dept. of Health - Composer ?

1992 WILD. Huzzah Productions/Ross Gibson - Co-composer

1991 I DECIDE VIDEO PROJECT. Qld. Dept. of Health - Composer SACRED. Fiona Allon/Lindsay Barrett /AFTRS - Sound editor and composer

1990 FERAL TELEVISION. Damien Ledwich/Toadshow - Sound editor and composer BUM STEER. Acme Films/Eurydice Aroney - Composer DEAD TO THE WORLD. Huzzah Productions/Ross Gibson - Co- composer

1987 GAIJIN, NO GAIJIN. Eurydice Aroney - Co-composer TELEGRAM FOR MRS. EDWARDS. Kriv Stenders/Liz Cotter/AFTRS - Co-composer

(Below: John Willsteed in later years)