From the tranquil Batemans Bay on the NSW South Coast to Queensland and three shows about to start there, a lot of roads have been travelled and places visited since the last report. Apart from the gigs, John has been to Tamworth to record and launch the Smoky Dawson tribute appeal, followed by a night off in Barrington Tops for his birthday, then back to Sydney for a couple of days before heading for Victoria.

With a rare day off in Sydney, there was just enough time to film John talking about his new role as a 'Friend of Australia' for Tourism Australia. Then it was off to the Variety Melbourne Cup Lunch where John also spent time upstairs with the special needs children at their own lunch party put on by the dedicated 'Ladies of Variety'.

Next the crew headed for Victoria for three sellout shows at Bairnsdale, Warrigal and Wonthaggi to appreciative audiences. Old friends from Quambatook came up to say g'day to John after the show at Wonthaggi, as well as some dedicated fans from Sydney. The Sydney couple had never been to Wonthaggi but love the song, so why not visit and hear John sing the song (much to the delight of the locals as well) in the town that inspired it!

After the shows, it was back to Melbourne to meet up with the Gosling brothers for some more filming for the documentary, 'Song of the Outback' (click on ARCHIVE link to learn much more about this project). Leaving the extreme heat of Melbourne, John and Meg, Andrew and Alexander Gosling drove to Quambatook. In Quamby it was a scorching 40 degrees! It was a perfectly timed trip to the Mallee to film John's childhood town and catch the district buzzing with wheat harvesting in full swing. John also caught up with his cousins who are still wheat farmers there.

Over the next few weeks the crew will cover seven shows in Queensland and northern NSW and then on to Perth before winding up a fantastic year on the road with some time off over Christmas. (please click on the TOUR DATES link for all ticketing details)

November is a big birthday month for the Fair dinkum Road Co with John, Paul (on lighting), Meg, and Bev (in the office) all Scorpios and having birthdays! Happy Birthday to all the Scorpios!

In December keep an eye out for the new TV show on Channel 7 called 'No Leave! No Life'. December 5th is the one in which John surprises the dedicated nurse, Lauren, at the Prairie Hotel in Parachilna in the Flinders Ranges.

And, on Christmas Eve, John will be singing at the televised 'Vision Australia's Carols by Candlelight' at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne. Channel 9 is the one to watch then.

John is up for another Golden Guitar at Tamworth in January 2010 for 'Vocal Collaboration of the Year' with Adam Harvey. 'King Of The Road', the old Roger Miller hit, is the first single to be released from Adam's new album. It has a fantastic video clip to accompany it.
 

John is enjoying a couple of days off in the early part of this week before returning to live performance at Twin Towns Services Club, Tweed Heads on Friday 20th November. Then it is up early the next day to drive to Brisbane for a major gig at the Broncos Leagues Club that night. On Sunday 22nd at the special time of 3pm, the 'Hillbilly Road' Tour will play at the Caloundra RSL Club. And there are three more shows in northern NSW (Evans Head, Yamba & Macksville) before the end of this month. This week we are announcing four brand new concerts for February 2010 with a whole lot more to come. Please check the TOUR DATES link to obtain complete booking details.

You can buy it online from this website and, for a limited time, at the special price of $30 (including postage and handling in Australia...NZ $32...Other Overseas Countries $35) or a signed copy for $33 (including postage and handling in Australia...NZ $35...Other $38).

Please click on this link for further product details and how to place your order information.

In the coming weeks, we'll be updating the Merchandise page to include some special items of clothing for John's 40th Anniversary year. We've taken a small quantity on the road recently and received a great response from fans, so they'll be available for sale on the website shortly.

Long time fans and the first to buy John's 40th year vest - Belmont

Two sisters at Soldiers Point and the new 40th year jersey