Daryl Braithwaite reunites with his Sherbet bandmates at secret gig

Daryl Braithwaite returned to his old Sydney stomping ground for a private show and invited his old Sherbet mates – and twin brother Glenn.

Daryl Braithwaite and his Sherbet bandmates got together for the first time in more than a decade as the One Summer star returned to the Sydney venue where he started his career for a private gig.

Braithwaite invited the surviving members of the band, guitarist Garth Porter, bassist Tony Mitchell and drummer Alan Sandow to Sydney’s Coogee Surf Life Saving club for the “Welcome Summer” gig on Tuesday.

The event was one of those record label shindigs where the artist gets presented with a giant plaque, with Braithwaite recognised for achieving a whopping 365 million streams for his classic anthems including Horses, One Summer, As The Days Go By and surprise 2020 hit Love Songs. That’s not bad for a legacy rock act.

Daryl Braithwaite with Sherbet members Garth Porter, his twin brother Glenn, Alan Sandow and Tony Mitchell. Picture: Jess Gleeson.

He also launched a retro remix of One Summer made by OG Red Wiggle Murray Cook.

But Braithwaite was most excited about the prospect of hanging out with his Sherbet mates and sharing the stage with his twin brother Glenn for a chorus of Horses.

“I told them to come along, that I’d be playing a couple of songs. And they all said ‘We’ll be there!’ I couldn’t believe the way they all responded,” Braithwaite said before the gig.

“It’s been a lot of years since we were all in a room together.”

Braithwaite with OG red Wiggle Murray Cook who has remixed his hit One Summer. Picture: Jess Gleeson

Braithwaite said he still has fans pressing him to get the band back together. He cuts that discussion short by pointing out two of the pivotal members of the group, Clive Shakespeare and Harvey James, have died.

The 74-year-old national icon continues to perform Sherbet classics including Howzat! and Summer Love at his gigs.

He recently added new single It’s You to his setlist and is likely to land on summer party playlists with the MURRAY remix of One Summer.

Daryl Braithwaite performs with twin brother Glenn (right) at Coogee Surf Life Saving Club. Picture: Jess Gleeson

Braithwaite said it took a few cracks for the former Wiggle and festival hero Cook to land the right vibe for his 1989 top 10 hit.

“The label said Murray from the Wiggles want to remix the song and he did about four attempts. I kept knocking them back because they didn’t sound right but the last one ended up being all right, so that’s it,” he said.

Braithwaite is one of Australia’s hardest working live performers, seemingly on an endless loop of the country with his own gigs and starring at the big festivals.

The keen photographer further entertains fans via social media posts about his tour accommodation, which occasionally includes him pitching a tent at camping ground near a venue.

“I like setting up the tent on grass and then enjoying the quietness. I like it immensely, the peace and quiet. There’s always people at the caravan parks, when I’ve set up the tent and they’ll say ‘You should be able to afford a caravan, mate.’ I just really like the tent.”

With T-shirts now a bigger money-spinner for musicians than record sales, Braithwaite also launched a new summer merchandise range and collaboration with Budgy Smuggler for a limited edition range which will drop in early 2025.

The Coogee Surf Life Saving club venue has a lot of history for the Horses star who grew up in the area and played there regularly with his first band Bright Lights in 1968.

Originally published as Daryl Braithwaite reunites with his Sherbet bandmates at secret gig