Damien Leith sings Orbison
Image: Damien Leith
When Damien Leith sang Roy Orbison’s crushingly beautiful ballad, “Crying”, on the 2006 edition of Australian Idol, he had judges and audience members doing just that. Through their tears they all knew they were witnessing a star in the making. Leith went on to win the series and garner a stalwart following of fans.
One of those fans was none other than Roy Orbison’s widow, Barbara, who contacted Leith.
He was of course, thrilled and deeply honoured, but there was also a sliver of dread. Leith was a huge fan of Orbison’s music and loved performing his songs, but he never aspired to be an impersonator.
“I knew I didn’t want to copy Roy and I was concerned. I was initially worried that maybe that’s what she wanted,” he explains. “But it was quite the opposite. She was amazing. She really embraced the whole idea of, you know, interpreting the songs, finding ways of being true to them, but definitely adding my own stamp to them as well.”
Leith worked with Barbara to record an album, Roy: A Tribute to Roy Orbison, which was released in April 2011, only months before Barbara herself died. The album went platinum in Australia and was universally acclaimed.
Leith takes the same approach with his show, Roy Orbison Orchestrated, as he did with the album, that is, it is a re-imagining of Orbison’s songs, done Leith’s way.
“These songs, because they’re so dramatic — quite a few of them have got massive builds where they start so small and then become humongous — they were crying out for strings,” says Leith.
Orbison’s songs were actually often written with arrangements for quartets or small ensembles.
“But we thought, wouldn’t it amazing to have a full orchestra. So that’s where the idea started.”
Leith wanted to take it to another level, however, so he contacted his good friend Emma Greenhill, a conductor and composer.
“The whole idea was, not only would we come up with orchestrations for the songs, but also come up with brand new segues, things that didn’t exist with Roy’s music. We can link them together so that when the audience come to the show, it’s not just a collection of songs, it’s a bit of a journey.”
Greenhill has composed original transitions that allow one song to move seamlessly into another.
“I think those little things have added, you know, a whole other dimension to the show,” says Leith.
As well as a 28 piece orchestra, Leith will be backed by a band which will give the whole show dynamic ebb and flow.
“Roy was a rocker. As much as he could do a big ballad, he could do great rock songs as well. The audience is definitely not just sitting there just ballad after ballad.”
Ticket sales so far are proving that Orbison’s music is still popular and that fans have faith in Leith honouring his legacy.
“I’m actually really, really thrilled,” says Leith with genuine humility.
“I think we’re in for a really good show.”
