A Unique Wedding Moment Inspired by Pop Culture
For many people of Generation X, a defining moment in pop culture occurred on July 1, 1987. That evening, the wedding of Scott Robinson (played by Jason Donovan) and Charlene Mitchell (played by Kylie Minogue) took place on the popular Australian television show Neighbours. As the massive fan base gathered around their television sets, they watched the couple 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 moment, albeit delayed.
David and Lisa Campbell are big fans of pop culture. When planning their wedding, they wanted to find a way to blend their respective Australian and English heritages in a way that would resonate with everyone present.
“We were trying to think about what the wedding song would be… that bridges Australia and England the most,” David said during an interview 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 traveled from the UK for their 2008 wedding.
“And so we had to get ‘Suddenly’ by Angry Anderson as our wedding song,” David continued. “Then I thought, 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 hadn’t played it for decades. He had to search through his archives to find the song, but once he did, he was on board.
They asked him if he’d like to be 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 began with the extended Barnes family singing as Lisa walked down the aisle. Then, 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 there, atop the stage at the far end of the room, stood Angry Anderson.
“And the song started,” David recalled of the dramatic moment. “You could feel this ripple of ‘What’s going on?’ 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 to 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.”
