A Little Ray of Sunshine Comes to Dandenong

It was very lucky that Chelsea SES was on hand at the Drum Theatre on Sunday evening (20/2/2011) as the roof was lifted off by a capacity audience who were obviously having just too much fun.

City of Greater Dandenong Mayor Cr Roz Blades officially opening the Show

From the opening address by the Mayor of Dandenong Cr Roz Blades, to the stunning finale featuring the entire cast on stage performing the Lennon / McCartney classic, with a little help from my friends, the audience was treated to a cavalcade of  comedy and world class musical performances capped off with Glenn Shorrock singing one Australian classic after another for almost an hour.

Host Des Dowling was brilliant and hilarious as our MC for the evening

In the comedy department, Lehmo and Dave O’Neil kept the crowd holding their sides with tales from Afghanistan to Ringwood and memories that we could all relate to. They were a sensational way to start the night, having the audience in the palms of their collective hands as one story after another had the laughter levels rising throughout the theatre.

Lehmo got the show off to a fantastic start with some great Aussie stand up

Songs from Axiom, The Twilight's and of course Little River Band, had the crowd on their feet for much of the performance with a special place held in every heart for the song that the show was named after, A Little ray of Sunshine. Something that many didn’t expect was just how funny the Aria hall of famer would be.

Dave O'Neil took the crowd back to some of the good old days including a Geography lesson on Brazil?

His little chats with the audience between songs had them roaring with laughter and feeling that they were enjoying an evening with an old friend instead of a major concert event. The audience were given some insights to where and how a number of the biggest hits of LRB were born and the story relating to an upcoming reunion show for the Twilights had the audience in stitches listening to how much equipment was needed for the members just to get them on stage, with one needing scaffolding! A warm, funny, wonderful insight to a true legend of the Australian music industry and one that was not to be missed.

Chelsea SES member and co-organiser for the evening Phil Wall introducing a DVD presentation

Chelsea member Phil Wall presented a DVD presentation to remind people of the real reason they were there, to raise badly needed funds for the victims of the Queensland and Victorian floods. As Phil said, “the headlines may be gone but the devastation remains. The cameras have moved on, but the tragic stories that they captured continue to unfold and even though we don’t see them every night in our lounge rooms, the victims are still there doing whatever they can to repair, rebuild and recover”.

Memorabilia Magic provided sensational auction items to finish the first half

Memorabilia Magic ran a silent auction for a week leading up to the concert with a large number of items on display at the Theatre. Just prior to the intermission, an auction was held in the auditorium where 6 items went under the hammer and between the two they raised $2,000 which was a fantastic effort!

Co-Organiser John Wells got the musical half of the show off to a great start

Another highlight was the return to the Drum stage by show organiser, John Wells, in a virtuoso performance as Roy Orbison in the tribute, The Big O & Friends. In June last year, John was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer and this performance was absolute proof that he had fought and won and had indeed come back better than ever.

The Big O & Friends had the crowd jumping

John as Roy Orbison hitting the high notes in a spectacular performance

The host for the evening was Des Dowling and what a fantastic job he did. Not only did he keep the show on track and almost on time, but he had the audience wanting for more as he kept them in stitches between each and every one of the performances.

Lisa Edwards showed just why she is one of Australia's premier vocalists

Lisa Edwards dazzled with her vocal talents including a stunning performance of the Carole King classic, Natural Woman and then rocked the crowd with songs from Pink and a host of other great singers. The Melbourne singer best known for her long time association as backing vocalist with John Farnham; proved beyond any shadow that she was just as comfotable at the front of the stage as she captivated the audience with her dazzling performance.

One of the true highlights of the show, Natural Woman

Lisa kept the crowd jumping

Australian rock royalty Glenn Shorrock as the hits just kept coming

Performing the title song for the night, A Little Ray of Sunshine

The audience just couldn't get enough of the brilliant Mr. Shorrock

There was a very special moment for one couple in the audience when Glenn announced that he was dedicating his next song just for them; the song was his massive number 1 hit, Cool Change, and the couple was our very own Deputy Controller of Operations, Dean hard and his wife Kerri; now that's really cool!

As the evening came to a close, John & Phil joined the cast on stage for the finale

Relief and reward, the evening was deemed a huge success by cast and audience alike

With a Joe Cocker impression that left even his fellow performers stunned, Glenn Shorrock led the entire cast into the finale which saw the evening end with a spontaneous standing ovation from the packed crowd.

The man from the SES singing backing vocals with John Farnham's backing vocalist...does that mean that now he's a backing vocalist too? 6 degrees of separation...WOW!

And then it was done. The final bows at the end of an unforgettable night

The audience were on their feet in a spontaneous ovation

The final, exact amount of money that the evening raised should be known within a couple of days but we can now tell you that the event raised just over $12,000 which is a wonderful effort by everyone concerned and a huge thank you must go to everyone involved.

After the show Lisa & Glenn joined Chelsea SES members to say a big thank you

Special thanks must go to photographer extraordinaire, Darren Calder who ensured the wonderful memories of the event would last forever and Chelsea SES thanks him for the use of these pictures. For more info you can visit his website at imagearth.com.au

N.B. All photographs courtesy of Darren Calder