Sugar man hits the sweet spot playing to packed out Hobart crowd

IT was a tasty treat for thousands of music fans as the Sugar Man himself, Detroit singer-songwriter Rodriguez, performed his long-awaited Hobart concert.

Rodriguez impresses the crowd at the Derwent Entertainment Centre in Hobart. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

IT was a tasty treat for thousands of music fans as the Sugar Man himself, Detroit singer-songwriter Rodriguez, performed his long-awaited Hobart concert.

People travelled from across the state last night to see the 74-year-old in action at the Derwent Entertainment Centre, in a show which also featured indigenous Australian music legend Archie Roach.

Hailed as “the downtown Bob Dylan” for his music’s blend of social politics, emotional insight and street-level observations, Rodriguez released the albums Cold Fact (1970) and Coming From Reality (1971) before disappearing from the music scene.

A big crowd packed out the Derwent Entertainment Centre in Hobart to see Rodriguez. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

For years, many fans assumed he was dead. Thanks to bootleg recordings and word of mouth, Cold Fact — featuring his signature song, Sugar Man — found its way overseas to South Africa, where he struck a chord with the country’s disenfranchised youth and became more popular than Elvis Presley.

Without a telephone or the internet, he remained oblivious to his popularity abroad and spent years working factory and construction jobs to support his family.

But Rodriguez’s career would have a second chapter, thanks to the Oscar-winning 2012 documentary Searching for Sugar Man, which told his extraordinary life story and introduced his music to a new generation of listeners.

Originally published as Sugar man hits the sweet spot playing to packed out Hobart crowd