News Articles - David's Australian Tour 2002
Holden on to David's Aussie memories
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, Sydney
also appeared in THE SUNDAY MAIL, Brisbane
Michael McKenna in Los Angeles
September 15, 2002
The inside of a Holden sedan boot is among the most vivid memories David Cassidy has of his Australilan tour almost 28 years ago.
The tour was dubbed World War III at the time, as security and ambulance services were overwhelmed by a mass of screaming fans trying to get close to the chart-topping heart-throb of the '70s hit TV show The Partridge Family.
Cassidy, who is set to make his concert return to Australia in November, was shuttled between hotels and venues in car boots as security men in limousines ran decoy from the fans.
It's not a scene that Cassidy, now 52 and still a boyish looking performer, expects will be repeated when he plays again to Australian audiences.
The hysteria may have subsided, but the loyalty of fans has remained as solid as his 25 million record sales.
Many thought Cassidy's surprise retirement from concert touring at just 24, soon after the 1974 Australian leg, was because of burn-out.
But Cassidy reveals he made the choice so he could grow personally and develop professionally into more than just a "one mill" act to ensure his longevity in the business.
I don't miss those days - it was madness and chaos all the time - but I have very fond feelings about what I was able to accomplish," he says.
"It was important for me to walk away when I was at the top. I needed to devote more time to myself - I was five years emotionally inferior to other people my age because all I was doing was working.
"I knew I had to distance myself in order to create. I wanted different work, different arenas, and it has since made my life a lot richer because it was a long struggle to get over me."
It was a huge risk to take.
Almost as soon as The Partridge Family was aired in 1970, Cassidy became a superstar, with the show producing his first world-wide hit, I Think I Love You, by the end of the season.
But after his retirement from touring, Cassidy spent almost a decade in relative obscurity - until he took on a role in the Broadway show Blood Brothers during the early 1990s.
He then took other stage roles on Broadway, in London's West End and Las Vegas, where he has spent the past five years writng, producing and starring in three of the Strip's biggest shows.
This success spurred Cassidy to release his 20th album in 2000, putting him back in the charts and sparking a sold-out tour of the US and Britain.
The Australian leg had to wait for Cassidy, his singer wife, Sue Shifrin, and their son, Beau, 10, to tie up loose ends in Las Vegas and build a house in Florida.
"Every time I was asked to tour Australia I was busy but, at long last, the planets are aligned," Cassidy says. "It's going to be really interesting to see how it has changed.
"But I do know Australians are the best in the world at enjoying themselves, and I think the shows will be a real celebration of the positive impact I have had on generations of people there and the impact fans have had on me."
Cassidy says he keeps in contact with only two former Partridge Family members - his TV mum, Shirley Jones, who was also his real-life stepmother, and TV brother Danny Bonaduce.
David Cassidy plays in Wollongong on November 7; Newcastle, November 13; and Sydney, November 16.
Acknowledgement : Thanks to Elfie and Alan for the scan of this article.
