MANILA, Philippines — When one of the members of Australia’s popular cover band Hindley Street Country Club (HSCC) sang a few verses of songs by Filipino bands — Hotdog’s Manila and Hagibis’ Katawan — during a press event, everyone in the room was surprised at how he happened to know these ‘70s bands and their tracks.
“I love the Philippines. I loved the Philippines before I even stepped foot in the Philippines,” Jordan Lennon, one of the vocalists, told The STAR during a group interview held Wednesday at the Red Rhino, The Hub in Greenfield District, Mandaluyong City.
“So, I played a gig in Adelaide on drums when Hagibis came to Adelaide. So, I was in the backing band for Hagibis. So Manila, the song, was one of the songs that we performed that night. So that’s how I know Hotdog. That’s how I know Hagibis and Sonny Parsons, rest his soul, and all of that. So, yeah, (I’m a) big fan, big fan,” he explained.
The other members of HSCC include founder Constantine Delo, Kat Jade and Danny Lopresto, to name a few.
Kat idolized Lea Salonga growing up. “And just her vocal ability. So, yeah, she was just massive influence,” she shared.
It will be the group’s first time to perform live here in Manila tomorrow, Sept. 29, at the New Frontier Theater. During the media event, the HSCC gave a glimpse of what to expect at their gig — playing classic songs, such as, You to Me Are Everything, Too Much Heaven, Careless Whisper, and Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.
“We’re expecting it to be just as crazy, just as wonderful, just as beautiful. Because the music is a generational thing and it is worldwide, and I think that everyone will just enjoy the show and just enjoy what we do,” Danny said on what to expect from their forthcoming act.
“There’s a few surprises. Some songs we’ve never played live before that are going to be debuted here in the Philippines. So, we’re really looking forward to that. And there’ll be some concert staples that really go over well with the audiences back home and other markets we’ve played. So, yes, it’s going to be a nice eclectic mix. It’ll be great,” Danny told this paper.
Constantine expressed how grateful they are that their genre of music — from the late ‘70s to the mid-‘80s, and a couple of modern ones — has been embraced globally, especially in the Philippines.
“The Philippines has basically just thrown its hands wide open to HSCC and hugged us. It has for many, many years. We’ve been trying to get to the Philippines for a long, long time. And it wasn’t until the wonderful team at Ovation (Productions) extended their big arms and hugged us and have brought us here.”
He promised the Filipino audience to deliver a “wonderful show” for them. “Because as I said, this country has been so good to HSCC. It’s our second biggest market in the world. And when you’re talking billions of views across our platform, billions, not just on YouTube, we look at everything from TikTok to Insta and all the social media platforms.”
“And obviously, we can see the analytics. And that big P-H-I-L-I, Philippines comes up every time… And all of you can sing. Everybody can sing.”
The HSCC was formed in 2017 by arranger and producer Constantine. They went on to record and re-arrange covers, post them on their social media pages and tour across the globe. Touted as “the greatest cover band in the world,” they generated over one billion views across social media platforms.
It has been a humbling experience for HSCC to receive positive comments on social media about how their music helped people get through rocky times, especially during the pandemic.
“We have a lot of people come up at our shows crying, you know, (they say), ‘You don’t understand what your music does for me every week and during COVID, how you helped us pull through.’ And I still get goosebumps and I shiver,” stated Constantine.
“And it gets back to what I’m saying, how we never thought we’d be sitting here with you, beautiful people. That was not what HSCC was designed for. It was just done to play some music and to have it reach people the way that it has. As I said, we talk about it all the time. It’s very, very hard to fathom what’s happened globally.”
Constantine further stressed that “the Filipino market understands that soul and that beauty” in music, and it is only fitting that they will stage their first stand-alone show here.
“Even though we performed in Singapore last week — that was part of the F1 Grand Prix, that was nice, it was a great show — this is our first all-out proper show to an international audience that we’ve ever done,” he said.
“We’ve been to Europe and done shows in Europe and in Asia before, but Sunday’s going to be, I honestly believe, a memory that will be, when we look back on HSCC and its growth in 10 years to come. Sunday night will be a really important moment because it’s the first time that we’re doing a stand-alone show, and tickets are already selling really, really well in a beautiful venue in a great country with beautiful people. It’s a recipe for success. So, it’s going to be very special. Catch your tickets.”
(Tickets are available at ticketnet.com.ph and ovationtickets.com/hscc2024.)