Stevie Wright was a talent ahead of his time. His mate, Wollongong entertainer Scott McRae, is making sure we never forget. CYDONEE MARDON reports.
Stevie Wright sure knew how to let his hair hang down, just like the Evie he made famous.
The scars of drug and alcohol abuse were plain to see, his dark eyes a window into his troubled soul.
But the late rocker never really stood a chance, bursting to stardom when he was just a boy and left largely on his own to deal with the pleasure and pain of fame.
Wright's good mate Scott McRae describes him as the Justin Bieber of the 1970s.
''They were similar in age, and both successful on the world scene,’’ Wollongong-based McRae says.
‘’But Justin has a huge team of minders, management and I am sure his parents to guide him, and he still has made plenty of choices that have been questioned and judged.
‘’Stevie Wright had the boys in the band, Ted Albert and that’s about it.’’
Wright’s bad choices were front and centre – a life ravaged by excesses, all well documented in the media.
''It’s too often in life that we sit back and judge someone else’s life choices,’’ McRae says. ‘’Most of us do it, even if the idea of doing it doesn’t sit well with us at all.
‘’The media, social media, like things to be as dramatic as possible .. this sells papers, achieves good TV ratings and gets you plenty of likes on your Facebook and Instagram pages.
‘’Stephen Carlton Wright was definitely one to be judged by many for his choices and I don’t try to justify his choices or to condone the excessive use of drugs or alcohol either.
''But I want to give a little insight into why he may have made those choices and to also make sure you are aware of the positive achievements Stevie had on the Australian music scene.’’
Stevie left school at 14 to follow his dream of becoming a singer and before he had turned 15 he was singing in nightclubs around Sydney, McRae says. ''Not the ideal place for a kid of that age.’’
When The Easybeats formed and made their first record he was all of 16 years of age and was fast becoming a household name in Australia.
''The more hits that he and George Young wrote, the bigger the star shone. Then, as a group of very young men they took on the world music scene by packing up and moving to England.
‘’This in anyone’s eyes was a massive thing to attempt at such an age.
’’But the bottom line for me is, even with Stevie’s ill-fated choices, he should be remembered for his head turning stage presence and endless energy.
‘’His ability to write catchy and hit making lyrics and his love of performing for his many many fans.’’
Wright on his good days was a ''a quick witted, knock-about gentleman, that loved his music and telling a good story’’.
‘’I will miss him and I know there are many thousands that will too,’’ McRae says.
McRae first saw Wright in 1979 at a concert outside the Sydney Opera House.
"I was 12 or 13 and pretty much mesmerised by this wiry dude. He just had this aura that made you fixate with him," McRae says.
Fast forward 30 years, and McRae contacted Wright to see if he would collaborate on a show. By then, he was overweight from methadone, struggling to walk, with bad-fitting teeth.
'I thought what the hell has happened to this guy? My memory was of him on the steps of the Opera House firing on all cylinders.
'’I started thinking why hasn’t this story been told - this is a great story. I look forward to keeping his music and his story alive for as long as I can.’’
McRae has been criticised for taking the Stevie Wright story to the world.
Riding on his fame and talents, some say, but the entertainer knows in his heart he’s doing the right thing.
Most importantly he has the blessing of Wright’s son.
‘’There’s been some controversy, I’ve been accused of ripping him off, but the best thing for me was his son Nick told me he knows where I am coming from,’’ McRae says.
''He said to me ‘don’t ever worry dad loved you and what you are doing’. So it doesn’t matter what anyone else says.
‘’When somebody as close to Steve says that to me that just makes it all worthwhile.’’
Wollongong's Centro CBD hosts the show on March 12. It covers the highs of our first international superstar who led Australia's biggest band of the era and the lows of drug addiction.
McRae performs 18 hit songs including Friday on my Mind, Evie, Sorry, Wedding Ring, Goodtimes and She's So Fine against the backdrop of some archival footage and imagery.
The production gave Wright's career a shot in the arm when he was 64, but his hard living took its toll late last year. He died aged 68.
'’To me, Stevie Wright is the greatest frontman that Australian music has ever had,’’ McRae said.
‘’These guys did so much, they set the bar, they really did, they took the biggest risk anyone had taken in Australian music. They were ahead of their times … their songs still stand up today.’’
For show details: www.scottmcrae.com.au
