By Jesse Graham
AFTER seven years of playing to crowds around the valley and in Melbourne, the dukes behind the Dukes of Despair have decided to call it a day, with one final show to finish up.
On Sunday, 11 December, the Dukes of Despair will play their final show at the Yarra Glen Grand Hotel, performing with Luke Austen from 4-7pm.
The band’s drummer, David Johnston, said the decision to wind up was not the result of a feud or falling out among members, but a realisation that they’d done their dash.
“I’m feeling quite philosophical about it – and we all are, really – because we gave it a fly, we did it for seven years, we played a bit down in Melbourne and we sort of hoped we would step up to a higher level, maybe get into some bigger festivals … but that didn’t happen,” he said.
“It’s a pretty competitive world for musos of our age – it’s not easy, so we just accepted, ultimately, that we’d done everything that we really could and it was time to call it a day.”
During their stint, the dukes put out three albums, performed live on radio and performed at numerous venues around the valley.
Mr Johnston said one of his favourite shows with the band was when they performed with popular 70s band Dingoes at Stones of the Yarra Valley winery.
“We were really pleased to be able to support them,” he said.
“Apart from that … we’ve always thoroughly enjoyed festivals.
“We always have a lot of fun when we play, and the way we line up … standing along the front, there’s a lot for people to see when they watch us – it’s very lively and we have a lot of fun and jokes in between songs.”
Each band member has other projects running, with Kim Farrell and Jeff Jenkins performing in DYLANesque and Mr Johnston in the Soulsville choir; bassist Tony McKay will return to playing jazz.
But Mr Johnston said there was a “John Farnham principle” in place, in that he would not rule out a reformation down the track.
“I’ve jokingly said to people, if someone offered us a couple of million to get back together again and tour the Dukes again, we wouldn’t say no,” he said.
“In no way do any of the band members hate each other – we’re all really good friends, we all love each other … we love everything about the Dukes, and when we’re not in the Dukes, we’re all really good friends.
“It’s never say die, basically.”
For more information about the show, call the Yarra Glen Grand Hotel on 9730 1230 or visit at 19 Bell Street, Yarra Glen.
