Musician writes another song about Wollongong

By Paul McInerney
Updated November 5 2012 - 7:14pm, first published December 2 2008 - 10:41am
Graham Wilson says his song began as a send-up of the city's corruption allegation woes but turned into a serious comment on the sacking of the council and the lack of a lord mayor. Picture: ORLANDO CHIODO
Graham Wilson says his song began as a send-up of the city's corruption allegation woes but turned into a serious comment on the sacking of the council and the lack of a lord mayor. Picture: ORLANDO CHIODO

Multi Mo Award-winning musician Graham Wilson loves Wollongong so much he's written not one, but two songs in honour of his city.His first ode to Wollongong - Close to Heaven - was penned last year to celebrate the anniversary of Wollongong City Council and was used as part of the Mercury's Proud and Strong campaign.It's now getting international attention at the Miss World finals in Johannesburg after Illawarra and Australian representative Katie Richardson asked to take copies with her.Wilson's second version, I Finally Wrote a Song (About Wollongong), was recorded last Friday."It started out as a bit of a send-up of the city's corruption allegation woes and I only planned a rough version of it," Wilson said yesterday."Then we mixed in the sound of a few guitars in the recording studio and all of a sudden it went from send-up to serious."It's a totally different song from the first, which was a ballad."This is really lively, a rockabilly thing that many people who hear it say they prefer to the song Close to Heaven," the veteran singer and guitarist said.The lyrics of his latest song identify some of the landmarks of the city, but also voice his sadness at the sacking of Wollongong City Council in the wake of the Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry and the fact the city has no lord mayor.Wilson is a member of the Four Kinsmen, one of Australia's top entertainment groups, and he also keeps busy performing solo at various Wollongong venues.Like Close to Heaven, CD copies of his latest offering will be on sale at the Santana Coffee Lounge or Tourism Wollongong, both in Crown St, Wollongong. Email inquiries to wollongongsong@bigpond.com.

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

$0/

(min cost $0)

or signup to continue reading

See subscription options

Get the latest Wollongong news in your inbox

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.

We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.