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For Gen X-ers, a defining pop culture moment took place on July 1, 1987. On that fateful evening, the wedding of Scott Robinson (Jason Donovan) and Charlene Mitchell (Kylie Minogue) took place.
As the massive Neighbours fan base eagerly gathered around their TV sets, we watched the pair walk down the aisle to the tune of ‘Suddenly’ by Angry Anderson. The following year, the UK saw over 20 million viewers tune in for that same (albeit delayed) moment.
David and Lisa Campbell are massive pop culture buffs. And when they were planning their wedding, they wanted to find a way to blend their respective Australian and English heritages in a way that would speak to all in attendance.
“We were trying to think when we were planning the wedding, what’s the wedding song… that bridges Australia and England the most,” David told me on the latest episode of The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories.
“And obviously it’s Neighbours,” added British-born Lisa, whose friends and family had flown over from the UK for their 2008 nuptials.
“And so we had to get ‘Suddenly’ by Angry Anderson as our wedding song,” David continued. “And then I went, I wonder if Angry would sing it?”
The start of something special
Reaching out to the Rose Tattoo frontman, David was unsure how it would be received. Angry had written the song for his daughter but not played it for decades. He had to find the song in his archives – but once he did, he was in.
They asked him if he’d like to be in the room as part of the wedding party.
“And bless Angry Anderson’s heart, he said, “No, I’ll wait backstage because I want to be the surprise,’” David recalled. “So he sat there on a little box and we sent him food. I think he was nervous too because he hadn’t sung it for 20 years.”
The couple had planned several “reveals” during the wedding. It started with the extended Barnes family singing as Lisa walked down the aisle. Then progressed as their friend and neighbour, comedian Bob Downe MCed the event. After dinner had been served, Bob stood in front of a curtained area to announce the first dance
As the curtains dropped, it revealed the reception area. And Angry was standing atop the stage at the far end of the room.
“And the song started,” David recalled of the dramatic moment. “You could feel this ripple of ‘What’s going on?’. And my dad (Jimmy Barnes) is like ‘Who’s that short bald guy they’ve got singing this song?.’ Because he couldn’t see who it was. He’s like, ‘That’s Angry f***ing Anderson!”
As people realized what was happening, they rushed to the front of the stage to sing along.
“And what was supposed be like, ‘Everyone please join Mr and Mrs Campbell for the first dance,’ just became all these people who were yelling along. We stopped all this pretense of dancing romantically and we all just had this amazing once-in-a-lifetime concert moment. It was the best night.”
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