Ollie English: “My favourite memory is supporting Robbie Williams to 20,000 people”
Blues and roots connoisseur and three-time South Australian Music Awards winner Ollie English headlines our next Foyer Fridays series on November 19th. We speak to Ollie about some of his favourite musical memories, including performing at Adelaide 500 for thousands of punters.
Describe your music in three words.
Soulful eclectic rock.
How did you come to where you are today? Was music always on the cards for you?
I’ve been playing guitar since I was little. My dad got me into classical guitar, but Led Zeppelin stole the spotlight and electric guitar was the catalyst.
I never planned it to amount into career though. I had originally enrolled to study visual art, however, I couldn’t keep my mind off writing and playing guitar when I should’ve been doing my homework. I deferred my studies and jumped straight into performing at random variety shows and Billy Bob’s BBQ Jam at the Grace Emily. One gig lead to another and I met some extremely talented musicians/engineers along the way. Couldn’t of done this music thing without them.
Favourite music memory?
Performing at the Adelaide 500 supporting Robbie Williams. We were opening the festival and everyone had turned up early to get a good spot for Robbie. We walked on stage to a crowd of 20,000 people. Pretty bloody nerve racking, but the adrenaline kicked in to save the day. It was so much fun though. I’ll never forget the feeling of performing to such a big audience with my best friends. I think we had the crowd singing along at one point.
What influences your music?
Experiencing life. Love, heartbreak, loss… all the emotions influence the writing and theme of the music. At the moment I’m loving INXS, Sam Fender and War On Drugs. However, whenever I listen to BB King, he pulls me in line and reminds me why I’m doing it.
What do you love about the music scene in Adelaide?
Adelaide is a super creative scene. It’s very inspiring to listen to all the new music coming out of town. Everyone is doing their own thing, it’s super diverse. I love that.
What can we expect from your Foyer Fridays set? Will you be debuting any new music?
I’ve been creating a lot over the past few years since my last release and I’ll be debuting some exciting new material at Foyer Fridays. I think you can expect everything from Rock to R&B and in between. It’ll be a pretty eclectic set. I’ll definitely be playing tunes from the last release just in case you don’t like the new songs!
What are you most excited about your upcoming gig at Woodville Town Hall?
Playing in the Woodville Town Hall! What an incredible venue. I fell in love with it instantly when I first saw it, such a historic South Australian venue. So grateful to Foyer Fridays for inviting us to play there and providing an opportunity to be doing what I love during such an uncertain and weird time. So excited to play!
