HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN MUSIC FROM 1960 UNTIL 2000: RON LEES

Friday, 12 October 2018

RON LEES

Tenor Ron Lees' career started at 20 when he appeared on New Faces in 1960 with the English performer David Whitfield at the famous Tivoli Theatre in Melbourne. About a year later he went into the studios of Channel 7 Melbourne where he met the producer of the television show Sunnyside Up, Mr Alf Spargo, who hired him immediately and he became the feature tenor for ten years. During this time he was invited to do three command performances, one with American soprano and actress Kathryn Grayson who chose him to tour around Australia as her duettist. She remarked back stage "Hey! You sing better than Mario Lanza!" It was about then he was given his own television show called Free and Easy which was highly successful. He recorded his first album 'Ron Lees Sings Television Favourites' on the W&G label in 1962. He has recorded many albums since.

For a further five years he performed in Sydney clubs, concerts and on television. He toured in South Australia with the June Bronhill show which went for three months. Ron was then contacted by David McIlwraith a well known entrepreneur who ran the famous Lido nightclub. He sang there for four years and during that time he worked with international stars such as , Jose Ferrer, Johnny Ray, Howard Keel, Francis Faye, Eartha Kitt and many others. In 1974 he won a Scholarship into the Opera, but as fate would have it, a Brisbane television show, Studio 9, offered him a contract and he became the featured singer on that show for another three years.

1977 saw him in his first leading role in the opera The Gypsy Baron, after that season concluded, Ron sang the lead role in Tosca for the A.B.C. on a concert tour of Australia, called "The Longest Land Based Tour in the World". It was at this time he was recognised as one of the great singers of our day, getting rave reviews from newspapers and critics alike. Four operas and four leads later, he was invited to sing at the famous Genting Highlands Casino, the second largest in the world, where to this day, his life size portrait hangs above Andy Williams and Tom Jones. After being voted as the best and most popular singer ever to visit South East Asia, the success of this initial two-week engagement was extended to three months! Ron then returned to Melbourne for Madam Butterfly, once again as the leading man, for a very successful season with Victorian Opera Company.

Up until 1994 Ron toured Australia singing on television, clubs and concert halls. Ron's next engagement was at the famous Mietta's restaurant for a 14 day season, in the Australian version of The Mario Lanza Show, whilst Jose Carreras of the Three Tenors" fame, did the version in the U.S.A. The show was so successful it toured all over Australia. He has received rave reviews for his ability to recall the Great Tenor back to life. During all this he appeared on Bert Newton's 'Good Morning Australia' on Channel 10 for 6 years and was voted the show's most popular artist. All though Ron Lees is Australian and has sung leads in 7 major operas there are many worldwide aficionados who regard him as one of the greatest "Italian Tenors" of our century. He has an extensive repertoire of arias & popular standard music which he still performs to this day. Ron Lees has also been a singing teacher for over 40 years teaching the time proven "Bel-Canto" method.