Daryl Braithwaite, 68, inducted into ARIA Hall of fame for solo career

DARYL Braithwaite adds another ARIA Hall of Fame gong to his CV before playing to fans young and old this summer.

WHEN Daryl Braithwaite became a trending topic on Twitter this week, some feared the worst.

“I assumed people thought I was sick or had been hit by a tram,” Braithwaite jokes.

Good news — he was trending due to his induction into this year’s ARIA Hall of Fame for his solo career (he’s already in there as part of ’70s pop band Sherbet).

At 68, Braithwaite is busier than ever, with a fan base getting simultaneously older (the Sherbet fans) and younger (The Horses fans).

Over summer he’ll play both the heritage Red Hot Summer Tour alongside John Farnham and the Triple J-skewed Falls Festival alongside Flume.

At both radically diverse events he’ll encore with The Horses, his 1991 cover of a Rickie Lee Jones song that has become his You’re The Voice; a national anthem that unites demographics.

“I did a show last week, to a predominantly younger audience, and before The Horses I said ‘I guess you’re here for one song’. And they all screamed. I said ‘See, this is what causes me psychological problems, I’ve been doing this for nearly 50 years and all you know is one song!’

“I don’t understand it. I even spoke to Rickie Lee Jones this year about what’s in the chemistry of this song over other songs, and neither of us knew. I’m just so fortunate.”

Braithwaite has been given a top accolade for his work. Picture: Alex Coppel.

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It’s the song Braithwaite will play at the ARIAs on November 28 — introduced by his mate James Reyne.

Ironically, 30 years ago Braithwaite quit music.

Sherbet had split after an attempt to crack America (one minor hit, We Ride Tonight, was recently sampled by French dance titans Daft Punk) and Braithwaite was broke (“all the Sherbet money dwindled way”) and doing cabaret shows.

“It was demoralising,” he says.

“So I stopped that and went on the dole. They found me a job working on the roads, getting $200 a week. After the guys I was working with said ‘Shouldn’t you be singing?’ I started writing songs again and that led to Edge.”

That 1988 No. 1 album (home to As The Days Go By and One Summer) started his comeback.

Braithwaite has been honoured for his contribution to music. Picture Supplied: Sony Music

His renaissance was briefly derailed this year when an extended stint in hospital after a post-surgery infection led to uncharacteristic cancelling of concerts.

“That was a wake-up call, everyone is mortal. I hoped the repair would take a few days and it actually took months. But if anything we’re working more this year,” he said.

“We’ve got seven gigs in a row at one point next month. I look at it as a challenge to see if we can make it through. But it’s a good problem to have a lot of work.”

Braithwaite’s twin brother Glenn retired from his job as the head of pathology at a Geelong hospital two years ago.

“When he told me, I said ‘What are you going to do?’,” Braithwaite said.

“You have to keep busy. Besides the health, if the voice goes, that’ll be the thing that’d make me decline gigs.

“I do see ads in the Herald Sun every weekend for cruises through Europe and part of me thinks ‘How good would that be?’ then I quickly turn the page. It is tempting. You start to think, ‘You’re going to die at some time, how much do you need to fit in?’ Maybe there’s other things I want to do before I get too old.

“Sometimes I think I’m 68. Should I be home laying on the sofa or should I be out with my band, driving to the gig, doing sound check, sleeping in a hotel and doing it all again the next day?

“And I figure that I should. I still absolutely love it.”