DUTC#17 May 7, 2023

Featured Artist/Group

Hindley Street Country Club

I featured a song by this group in DUTC#10 (Mar.12) and promised that I would feature this group at some later time. Well, that time is now. The Hindley Street Country Club are a cover band from Adelaide, South Australia, formed in 2017 by Constantine Delo and Darren Mullan. Widely regarded by their fans as the “greatest cover band in the world”, the group has achieved a staggering quarter of a billion views on their official YouTube channel, which now has almost 600,000 subscribers.

Delo is in charge of picking the songs and the arrangements, as well has handling the bass guitar duties, and I must add that he does that with amazing virtuosity! He will tell whoever else is playing that day if he wants the song played in a slightly different key, or if a chord needs changing, any way they can make the song their own. However, it is Mullan who owns the studio and who is in charge of recording, making them the perfect team. The two founding members team up with a variety of local musicians, many of whom are local legends, to produce and perform covers of hits from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. These live performances are broadcast weekly on a Friday afternoon.

Performing much loved hits from the past fifty years has made them popular with audiences of all ages, but they seem to appeal to the over fifties in particular. Speaking to “Manopod,” a lifestyle podcast for men over fifty, Delo said he covers music that takes you back to a time where you have your whole life ahead of you. To him, music is “like love: you think you pick it, but it picks you.”

The group’s name pays homage to Hindley Street, Adelaide, and its buzzing live music scene, where many of the band’s ever-changing line up started out. But they do not limit themselves to only playing with established musicians. While they may appeal to a more mature crowd, The Hindley Street Country Club have been known to perform at schools, inviting young, budding musicians to join them for a jam session or two.

I absolutely loved their rendition of the song by Hall & Oates that I featured last time, and for this group feature, I wanted to use covers they have done of artists and/or groups that were as disparate as possible as well as being covered less often that other songs/artists. So, for this week’s installment, I have chosen the following: Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman” (1978); Foreigner’s “Urgent” (1981); George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” (1984); and finally, k.d. Lang’s “Constant Craving” (1992). I feel that they not only do justice to these great songs, but their harmonies and musicianship are second to none. Their covers of these songs are instantly recognizable both musically and vocally, but they manage to put their own stamp on them in ways that do not detract from the original. But as always, you have the final say! Enjoy.

HSCC “I’m Every Woman” Chaka Khan cover, Feb. 2019. Lead vocals: Sarah Lloyde; Backing vocal: Melissa McCaig and Pina Del Re; Bass & vocals: Constantine Delo; Drums & vocals: Brad Polain; Percussion: Steve Todd; Guitar: James Muller; Strings: Dave Ross; Piano: Darren Mullan.

Chaka Khan

Yvette Marie Stevens (1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan, is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the “Queen of Funk,” Khan was the first R&B artist to have a crossover hit featuring a rapper, with “I Feel for You” in 1984. Khan has won ten Grammy Awards and has sold an estimated 70 million records worldwide. She has collaborated with many celebrated artists; including Steve Windwood, Ry Cooder, Robert Palmer, Ray Charles, and Quincy Jones, as well as many others.

“I’m Every Woman” was Khan’s debut solo single, appearing on her first solo album Chaka (1978). The song resurface in 1992 when Whitney Houston covered it for the 1992 movie “The Bodyguard.”

Chaka Khan “I’m Every Woman” 1978

HSCC “Urgent” Foreigner cover Mar. 2022. Lead vocals: Jordan Lennon; Drums: Mario Marino; Keyboards: Dave Ross; Guitar: Jake Milic; Guitar: Tom McGrath; Saxophone: Jason McMahon; Bass guitar: Constantine Delo.

Foreigner

Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in New York City in 1976 by veteran British guitarist and songwriter Mick Jones and fellow Briton and ex-King Crimson member, Ian McDonald, along with American vocalist Lou Gramm. Jones came up with the band’s name because of the British-American heritage of the band’s members. In 1977, Foreigner released its self-titled debut album, the first of four straight albums to be certified at least 5x platinum in the US, with two songs, “Feels Like The First Time,” and “Cold as Ice,” reaching top ten on several country’s charts. Their 1978 follow up, Double Vision, featuring the title track as well as “Hot Blooded,” also charted very well. By the time they released their fourth album, simply titled: 4 (1981), they had been reduced to a quartet. This album hit No.1 in the US for 10 weeks, No.2 in Canada, and was the band’s break-through album outside of North America. Three songs off that album were hits, including the song featured here “Urgent.”

Foreigner “Urgent” Official music video, 1981.

HSCC “Careless Whisper” George Michael/Wham cover. Mar. 2022

George Michael/Wham

George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; June 1963-December 2016), was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, with his sales estimated at between 100 and 125 million records worldwide. He was known as a creative force in songwriting, vocal performances, and visual presentation. These accolades tend to overlook the fact that his early success came as a member of the pop duo Wham with fellow countryman Andrew Ridgeley. They were active as a group from 1981-1986, becoming one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more than 30 million records worldwide from 1982-1986. The featured song is from their 1984 album Make It Big, which also included another hit single, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.”

Wham “Careless Whisper” Make It Big 1984.

HSCC “Constant Craving” k.d. Lang cover. Mar. 2022. Lead Vocals: Pina Del Re; Backing Vocals: Kat Jade & Jordan Lennon; Drums & vocals: Brad Polain; Percussion: Steve Todd; Keyboards & vocals: Dave Ross; Keyboards: Mark Fogliano; Guitar: George Klironomos; Acoustic Guitar: Jake Milic; Bass Guitar & vocals: Constantine Delo.

k.d. Lang

Katheryn Dawn Lang (1961), known as k.d. Lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter. She has won both Juno awards and Grammys for her musical performances and has had many hit songs including “Constant Craving,” and “Miss Chatelaine,” both from the 1992 album, Ingénue. She is a mezzo-soprano and has contributed songs to movie soundtracks as well as collaborating with artists such as Roy Orbison, Tony Bennet, Elton John, The Killers, Anne Murray, Ann Wilson, and Jane Siberry.

k.d. Lang “Constant Craving” Ingénue (1992). This performance is from MTV Unplugged (2017) is from the 25^th Anniversary edition of the album.

Los Angeles 2023