David Was No Boy, No Keith

You are going to read something extraordinary. 

I was sure that Lanie Bray, my FB friend from Australia, and one of the David Cassidy-Greatest Fans Group's administrators, that she could write a great entry for my blog. But her memories of seeing David Cassidy in Perth in 1974, this text has exceeded my expectations. We can feel this excitement. We can understand her feelings. He was so close and so far away..like a dream. Thank you Lanie xxx

Lanie Bray

"On the 15th March it will be the 50th anniversary of David's 1974 visit to Perth. Wow where have all the years gone! I was lucky enough to go to the concert which was held at the West Australian Cricket Association grounds, affectionately known as the WACA. At the time that was the only one venue large enough to house the expected throng of adoring fans.

When Weronika asked if I would write about the Perth concert my immediate reaction was, oh I don't think I remember enough to write a blog. The memory of that night was merely a few snapshots in my mind, but as I've thought more over the last few days I've realised that I can recall more than I thought, so here goes!

I remember late in 1973, the excitement of hearing the news that David was actually coming to Perth! Living on the west coast of Australia isolates us so much from the rest of the world, and many celebrities and artists used to just pass us by, but it was true, Perth would be the last concert before he headed to Asia!

I recall the discussion with my two besties, Karen and Julie as to whether they would be allowed to go, and the fun digs at Julie if she would even want to go! You see Julie was a Bobby Sherman fan (I have no idea what she was thinking, it must have been because he did that song "Julie Do Ya Love Me" haha).

I had no problem getting permission, I was effectively an only child and I might have been a little bit indulged. Both of my friends were allowed to go, and as my Dad worked in the city I asked him if he would get our tickets. Dad was a musician, so he didn't mind any excuse to head into the Musgroves Music Shop on his way home from work. The tickets cost a princely sum of $4.20, which seems very little these days, but back then it was the price of half the weekly shopping bill!

Finally the day arrived and i was so excited getting ready. My Mum had let me buy a pair of flared denim overalls that had a zip at the front and cross over straps at the back. She wouldn't let me wear it without a T-shirt underneath, so I found the smallest one I could find, paired with my 'Gilligan' sneakers and left my long hair down and I was ready. I actually don't recall how we got to the venue, or even going through the turnstiles, but I do remember the grassed area, and the groups of kids all sitting or standing waiting, and then I looked up at the stage in anticipation.

My friends and I moved straight to the stage area and we got a great spot maybe 6 or 8 feet back from the rail, just to the right of centre. When David finally appeared on stage I was speechless, unlike so many girls around me that were screaming and crying.. I couldn't believe my eyes, he was right there so close  that I felt that I could reach out and touch him..His voice was amazing, so rich and beautiful, better than I had ever thought, and he looked so handsome in his sparkling white tuxedo! 

He opened the concert with "Summer Days" than moved into "Dreams Are Nuthin' More Than Wishes". 

Oh he was electric and moved across the stage with such energy. He engaged with the crowd and we had a ball. It's strange what one can and can't remember, but I don't remember getting pushed or jostled at all, maybe because the crowd were on their best behaviour. All week we had heard on the news that the Australian government had labelled him the health hazard (how ridiculous) and he might be deported if there were any more injured fans at one of his concerts. I think by the time they got to Perth, the promoter finally got the stage and security right and the crowd and David was safe.

Anyway back to my recollections, at some point David changed into a gorgeous pair of tight red overalls with a gold Aztec style phoenix on the front and black top underneath. I was 14 1/2 (that 6 months made a world of difference lol), but to my young eyes David was no boy, no "Keith", he was a charismatic and sexy young man and he knew exactly what the crowd wanted. One thing I have never forgotten was locking eyes with David twice during the night and thinking "oh my goodness, he saw me"! The most gorgeous man in the world had actually seen me...yeah, me and 18,000 other girls haha.

I recall him singing "I'm a Man" and saying to my friend "I don't know this song" and I didn't really like it, it's funny because now it's one of my favourites and I love watching the YouTube video with has David doing a drum solo! He was so talented!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu2VKB99pp4

Of course I loved all his songs from the favourites to the ones I didn't know, but how different and mature his voice sounded singing "Delta Lady". I have the "Cassidy Live!" album and this song is included, it's so special as this album was recorded using the 1974 tour! Being able to watch him perform  this song brings so many memories and feelings, oh my!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag53C2JiV5c

The night flew by and all of a sudden he was gone..I stood with my friends in disbelief that he wasn't coming back out, but we knew that he would have been whisked away to his hotel before we blinked. The rest of the night was spent sharing our thoughts and feelings about seeing the man of our dreams, while we waited for my Dad to pick us up, and all the next day, while our ears were ringing from not only the loud wonderful music, but the screams of the other concert goers, and at school the whole next week!

I guess my only disappointment was that he didn't sing my favourite song.."I Can Feel Your Heartbeat". This almost became his signature song, more so than ITILY. He opened many concerts with it as he thought it was more edgy than a lot of the other early Partridge Family songs.

I heard that David stayed at the Sheraton hotel and that he and a couple of his friends also graced our premier night club "Beethoven's" and he was a big tipper. Why was I only 14 and not old enough to go clubbing!!!!

By Lanie Bray

(Melanie Young)