There will come a time when Australia’s own disco queen Marcia Hines removes her well-deserved crown and hangs it with pride in the pool room.
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She will direct her magnificent voice and years of performing experience to other songs. Other musicals. Other stage shows. But now is not that time. As she tells Weekender, she’s “not disco-ed out just yet”.
Hines is part of a star-studded A Day On The Green line-up that is all about shaking that groove thing. She will be joined on stage by KC and the Sunshine Band, Sister Sledge and the Village People.
“Oh, it’s going to be a hoot. All these people have had such great songs,” she says.
“They weren’t just big, they were humongous. You know what I mean? A lot of people came in and out of the disco era but these are three of the biggest, ever.”
Known for engaging with her audience and, at times, walking through the crowd to shake hands and sign memorabilia, Hines is a very giving performer.
“It’s a lovely feeling to give because you get so much back from your audience. It makes people happy,” she explains. “Disco and performing is my primal scream, you know? I love it. It doesn’t feel like work.”
She says meeting her audiences mid-set is partly prompted by her “nosy nature”.
“I want to see who’s out there,” she says, laughing. “But I am shy by nature, which is interesting. When it comes to performing a different me comes out – the extroverted me. Does she have a name? No, but she is most definitely present.”
Hines came to Australia in 1970 from Boston to star in the stage musical Hair. She was crowned Queen of Pop in 1976, 1977 and 1978, and had hits spanning three decades – think You, From The Inside, I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself and Music Is My Life. She was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2007, received the Order of Australia (AM) in 2009 and starred in the smash hit musical Velvet.
The Grammy-Award winning KC and the Sunshine Band have sold more than 100 million records, have a star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame and have ruled dance floors around the world for decades with their irresistible blend of funk, disco and R’n’B.
Original lead singer and “cop” Victor Willis will front the Village People for the first time in 35 years. The revamped group will also be backed by a full live band for the first time in decades. As for soul sisters Debbie and Kim Sledge, they are one of the original “girl groups”.
Together, these acts will get you up and dancing to songs like That’s The Way (I Like It), Give It Up, Boogie Shoes, Get Down Tonight, Please Don’t Go, Shake Your Booty, Can’t Stop The Music, Y.M.C.A, In The Navy, Macho Man, We Are Family and He’s The Greatest Dancer.
