Damien Leith believes the late Roy Orbison's legacy is his musical diversity and the way he expressed his personality through music.
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"He managed to create a niche of (being) an emotional singer," Leith said.
"Whether it was rock, pop or whatever else, he delivered really emotional vocals.
"And he was very personality-driven. That's what he had that many other artists didn't."
Former Australian Idol winner Leith said he heard plenty of Orbison's music while growing up in Ireland.
However, he never sung any of it himself until he performed Orbison's hit Crying on Idol.
In 2011, Leith released the Roy: A Tribute to Roy Orbison tribute album, which was recorded in collaboration with the now late Barbara Orbison, Roy's widow.
The album stayed in the ARIA Top 20 chart for 22 weeks and was nominated for an ARIA Award.
"Working with Barbara on my album was amazing," Leith said.
"It was incredible to have her support and confidence in me, especially in interpreting Roy's songs and giving them my own stamp.
"Also, while recording that album I met with Joe Melson - who co-wrote Only The Lonely and Crying - and we have since become good friends and write together almost every week via Skype."
On the live front, Leith has been paying tribute to the music of 'The Big O' on-and-off during the past decade, and in 2020 will undertake the Roy - A Tribute To Roy Orbison With Strings tour.
The year 2020 marks 50 years since the release of Only The Lonely, the classic Orbison and Melson hit song.
The show will feature Leith performing Orbison's classic hits, arranged by composer Jessica Graham and accompanied by a string quartet.
"Whenever I do the Roy shows, you look out to the audience and it's a very broad audience," Leith said.
"You get a whole crossover of ages. There's something about his music that resonated, and still resonates with a broad audience.
"I don't impersonate him at all - they're my versions of his songs."
Outside of paying homage to Orbison's music, Leith has tackled numerous other projects.
He has hosted and co-hosted multiple television shows, penned two novels, and co-hosted a popular breakfast radio show.
He has also recently filmed his first feature movie, which he wrote with his wife and stars in. Just Ruby will be released mid-2020.
"I love keeping busy, and I love a bit of variation," Leith said. "I just couldn't keep doing the same thing."
-The tour will visit Anita's Theatre, Thirroul on Friday, January 31.
Brendan Crabb
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
