Kate Ceberano, Deborah Conway, Wendy Matthews and Vika and Linda Bull bring the girl-power hits to APIA Good Times tour

The pop sisters outnumber their rock brothers for the first time on the APIA Good Times tour which is back on the road after last year’s concert shutdowns.

It’s the first time the women have outnumbered the men on the APIA Good Times line-up since the annual nostalgia fest kicked off eight years ago.

Between them, Wendy Matthews, Deborah Conway, Kate Ceberano and Vika and Linda Bull have contributed much-loved, unforgettable hits to the Australian songbook across more than 65 albums.

Vika and Linda Bull, Deb Conway, Kate Ceberano and Wendy Matthews resume the APIA Good Times tour. Picture: David Caird.

“We outnumber the men on this tour and we just came off the Red Hot Summer tour where we were the only women on the bill alongside Barnesy’s backing singers. We wanted to make sure we did a good job for our gender!” Vika Bull said.

“And then we’re straight off that to APIA tour with Deborah, Kate and Wendy, all strong personalities with amazing voices.”

Songs like The Day You Went Away, Bedroom Eyes, It’s Only The Beginning and When Will You Fall For Me maintain their power to move and entertain fans decades after they were first released and hit the ARIA charts.

The 2021 class of the APIA Good Times tour, with women outnumbering men for the first time. Picture: Supplied.

Conway believes the setlist of the Good Times tour – which also features Brian Cadd, Joe Camilleri, John Paul Young and Leo Sayer – is musical gold.

“Everyone’s considerable output is distilled to its absolute golden essence and everyone is up for the collaborative nature of it,” Conway said.

Ten of thousands of fans hung onto their Good Times tickets for a year in the hope the show would get back on the road after the pandemic shut down touring in 2020.

Vika and Linda witnessed the rapturous joy of crowds excited to be back at gigs during the Red Hot Summer shows while Conway experienced the same euphoria when she performed a show with husband Willy Zygier on the Gold Coast in February.

This crew of formidable female artists have more than 65 albums between them. Picture: David Caird

There is a collective sense among the artists on the tour that fans – and the performers – will never take a gig for granted ever again.

“Everyone was having fun, there was a great festive atmosphere, standing ovations; it was a wonderful, wonderful experience and people were so happy to see us and we were happy to perform for them,” Conway said.

For Matthews, who is the rookie on this year’s bill, the popularity of the tour demonstrates the appetite for Australian music fans to see these artists and songs live even as their new stuff is ignored by commercial radio or streaming services.

“I feel extraordinarily grateful that I’ve had sort of a second wind, so to speak, because not everybody does,” she said.

“This is a prestigious gig to get and I feel like one of the lucky ones because it seems the older (artists) are really busy these days.

“Obviously there’s nothing like a song to transport you to a specific second in time (in your life) but that’s not age specific. I know the audiences appreciate it to the core.”

The Australian music industry still has a long way to go to make the “playing” field equal in terms of acknowledging the contribution of these golden women to our country’s soundtrack.

Not one of them has yet to be inducted to the ARIA Hall of Fame, which in its 35 year history has welcomed only 12 women to its ranks compared to 70 solo male artists or bands.

Their Good Times co-stars Camilleri (as leader of Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons), Cadd and Young are inductees.

“We can’t talk for ourselves … we need a witness,” Ceberano said.

“When we all went into lockdown, it became apparent to a lot of artists that without an audience, we just don’t exist. So we need witnesses to document that we exist.

“But this country can be bereft in (acknowledging) women in the professional arts; I haven’t seen any of our faces on the cover of a magazine in the last 15 years.”

For all dates and tickets for the 2021 APIA Good Times tour, https://apiagoodtimes.com.au/#/