What has Dale Ryder and Boom Crash Opera been up to lately? OR The secret to Still Rockin' It at 70 years young

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Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians.

What does it take to keep a rock band together for 40 years? According to Dale Ryder, lead singer of Boom Crash Opera, it's understanding hierarchy, staying flexible, and genuine friendship. As the iconic Australian band celebrates four decades in the business with their first new single in 28 years, Dale opens up about his remarkable journey from knowing he wanted to be a singer at just six years old to still fronting one of Australia's most beloved rock acts at age 70.

The conversation takes an unexpected turn when Dale reveals why he performs barefoot these days – a serious accident left him with a broken neck, two broken arms, broken ribs, and chronic nerve damage that makes feeling the stage essential. "The only time I don't feel any pain is when I get on stage," he confesses, highlighting the transformative power of performance even after decades in the business.

Born in India to an English father who was an opera singer, Dale's musical DNA runs deep. He shares stories about joining Boom Crash Opera in the mid-80s, their admiration for The Models (who they're currently touring with), and the collaborative process behind their new single "Latest Hustle." With his self-deprecating humor intact, Dale jokes that it's "a scandal that we're actually releasing something at the age of 70, after 28 years."

Music lovers won't want to miss this candid conversation that proves rock and roll might truly be the fountain of youth. Catch Boom Crash Opera on their extensive Australian tour running from March through August, including a stop at Adelaide's Governor Hindmarsh on April 24th. As Dale puts it: "Gotta make a living... sleep when we're dead."

What has Dale Ryder been up to lately?  Let's find out!!

Get out when you can, support local music and I'll see you down the front!!

Visit: ThatRadioChick.com.au

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
That Radio Chick, cheryl Lee here.
Welcome to the Still Rocking itpodcast, where we'll have music
news, reviews and interviewswith some of our favourite
Australian musicians and artists.
Boom Crash Opera are one ofAustralia's most loved bands,
with 13 top 50 singles and fivetop 50 albums.

(00:24):
I was lucky enough to catch upwith lead singer Dale Ryder the
other day.
I hope you enjoyed the chatwith him as much as I did.
70 years young, still goingstrong, still recording new
music and still touring.
To catch up on podcasts fromother favourite artists, simply
go to thatradiochickcomau.
You're with Cheryl Lee thatRadio Chick and I'd like to

(00:48):
welcome to the show today a manwho really needs no introduction
Dale Ryder, lead singer of BoomCrash Opera.
Dale, thank you so much forjoining us today.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
You're welcome, Cheryl.
Thank you very much for havingme.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Always a pleasure.
We've got some exciting news toshare with everybody.
But if you don't mind, can wemaybe just take a couple of
steps backwards before we lookat the exciting stuff going
forward?
Yeah, when did you know, Dale,that music was going to be your
destiny?
Is it in your DNA?
Do you come from a musicalfamily?

Speaker 2 (01:22):
It's probably in my DNA.
My dad was an opera singer backwhen we lived in india.
I was born in india and my dadis english and, yeah, when the
english took over india, we werethere.
Yeah, he was a singer, but youknow, he had eight kids by the
time he was 35, I think, and so,wow, singing went out the
window.
Yeah, yeah, well, there's notmuch to do in india, um, and
he's a christian.
So there you go.

(01:42):
You know I was.
I think I was about six when Irealized I wanted to be a singer
.
I didn't want to be anastronaut or a fireman or
anything like that.
Yeah, I always wanted to be asinger, sang at any party.
In fact, I was a bit of anuisance, you know.
I ran parties and I juststarted singing, but yeah, I
always wanted to be a singernothing else.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
So you just knew from a very early age, by the sound
of it, that this was yourpassion.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Because all we had was the radio and you know we
just listened to many of theBeatles and stuff like that, and
so you know, I always envisagedmyself on stage with Paul
McCartney and you know I justhad dreams, dreams and stuff
like that, you know.
And yeah, took it from there.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
The boys from Boom Crash Opera sort of met late 84,
85.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
How did you join up with these likely lads?
I was in a car driving.
I had a cover band called theDada Ryder Band and I was in the
car with the drummer, peterMaslin boom crash, hopper
drummer and he paid me a demo ofa band and he said look, I
really loved it.
You know, it was a really cooltrack.
And he said, oh, funny, becausethey're looking for a drummer
and a singer.
So I think I had a shot at itand, yeah, I was in.

Speaker 1 (02:42):
Did you have to have an audition?

Speaker 2 (02:44):
Yeah, yeah, obviously , yeah.
I mean, you know I thought Iwas pretty good, yeah, but yeah,
they tried a bunch of othersingers before me and you know,
nothing fit, and I think I wasslightly different enough to be
given a shot and yeah, it allworked out really well.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
They were obviously waiting for the right guy to
come along, and it was you andhere we are.
You're celebrating your 40thanniversary with a brand new
single which we will get to.
Everybody probably knows theanswer to this question, dale,
but I don't, so I hope you don'tmind me asking you, because
I've seen you guys play many,many times at the gov, here, at,

(03:22):
at Days on the Green and Red,hot Summer Tours, and what have
you?
And you tend to sing in barefeet.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, that's kind of a recent thing, it's probably a
couple of years.
I broke my neck a couple ofyears ago when I set up and
broke my neck and I've got aplate in there and my back was
put out.
I broke two, both my arms andsome ribs, and so a lot of nerve
damage at my age and it's notgetting any better.
So, shoes, sometimes big stages, you know there's a lot of

(03:50):
leads and stuff I need.
I need clear feeling, basicallymy feet.
So yeah, and then, uh, I kindof like it and I was born in
india, you know I never woreshoes so it just feels good for
you yeah, it's, it's.
You feel the ground, you feelthe grass.
You can be grounded.
You feel the grass.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
You can be grounded.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
Yeah, you get dirty.
You get grounded yeah,absolutely grounded, and it's
kind of fun.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
Daryl, do you mind me asking what on earth happened
to cause you to have broken armsand back and all of that?

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Oh, nothing nefarious , I just blacked out.
I stood up and had a braindrain, one of those passing out
things blood pressure, you knowand fell face forward into a
wall and woke up, helicopteredout.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was prettyserious.
I'm not meant to be walking,but I'm walking.

Speaker 1 (04:34):
And you haven't even really got a good story to tell
about it.
Like the same as my husbandtripped over his scooter and
broke his elbow.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
Yeah, but that sounds much more interesting than mine
elbow, but that sounds muchmore interesting than mine.

Speaker 1 (04:47):
I just fainted.
I'm glad you're recoveredpretty well and you still can
enjoy performing, even with barefeet.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
That's awesome it's the only time I don't feel any
pain is when I get on stage.
Otherwise I'm in pain 24 7 inmy back but, like I said, I'm 70
now, so it's I'm just too oldto to get it go back to surgery
and stuff.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yeah music is like that, isn't it?
It's a great healer in general,really.

Speaker 2 (05:06):
Oh, look, after the gig, I'm in serious pain.
I stumble down the stairs going.
What was that?
Normally I'm feeling it.

Speaker 1 (05:15):
It's good that you get some relief while you're out
there entertaining us all.
Yeah, you are listening toStill Rocking it the podcast
with Cheryl Lee.
We're due for a song, and Ithink we'll start with Great
Wall.
It was the first single fromBoom Crash Opera's 1987
self-titled album.

(05:36):
It reached number five on theAustralian Kent Music Report and
it won the Countdown AustralianMusic Award for award for best
debut single.
Then we're back to speak somemore to dale rider, who, by the
way, wrote this song.
When dale rider can listen towhatever he wants while you're

(06:01):
driving in the car or what haveyou?
What's on your playlist at themoment?

Speaker 2 (06:06):
At the moment.
I'm completely infatuated witha guy called Jordan Rakey, or,
as he pronounces, rakey.
I think he lived in Melbourne.
He's a New Zealand boy and hewrites amazing jazz, pop, funky,
r&b, rock stuff, yes, and it'sincredibly interesting.
So I've been listening to himfor the last I don't know five
or six years and ended up buyingevery one of his albums.

(06:27):
I actually saw him live inMelbourne a couple of weeks ago.
I put up with the pain ofstanding for about three hours
and he was awesome.
Yeah, so that's pretty much onhigh rotation.
I like Kimbrough, but shehasn't put anything new out.
There's a band in Australiacalled and they haven't put
anything out recently calledPaper Kites.
I really love them.
There's a few things, butmainly Jordan Rake.

Speaker 1 (06:47):
Do you have a favourite song of Jordan's?

Speaker 2 (06:49):
And I might tell you that in a minute it's called
Selfish.
Yeah, it's a reggae.
I mean, if you like Selfish,then you should have a listen to
his catalogue.
It's really interesting.
I definitely will.
It's really interesting, Idefinitely would.
It's mainly jazz because he'svery, very.
He's an incredibly talentedmusician, plays all the
instruments and stuff.
He's really good.

Speaker 1 (07:09):
I'm going to look him up and we're going to play him
later in the show.
This is the first new materialin 12 years 28 years.
Yeah, 28 years, first singleyeah in 28 years.
You must have done somethingnew 12 years ago.

Speaker 2 (07:26):
Maybe they just released an acoustic version of
all the songs.
Yeah, I think it was.
Liberation released acompilation of acoustic remakes
of our stuff.

Speaker 1 (07:32):
Yeah, A loose definition of new, isn't it?
Yeah, so first single in 28years.
It's called Latest Hustle.
Who wrote that one?

Speaker 2 (07:43):
Oh, it's basically Peter Fine comes to the band
with lots of ideas and almostalmost finished but not quite
realized, and then I helpedrewrite some of the lyrics
because I've got to sing it.
Yes and uh and um, you know,talk to him about what, what it
is all about, and you knowwhat's the meaning of it all,
and blah, blah, blah and yeah,but then you could manage the
drummer to to put his expertiseon it and everybody else does a

(08:06):
little bit.
There you go, you've got a song, you know it's.
It's a group effort, mainly bypeter fine and rice, the 80 of
it.
It's a group effort.
For the other 20, I would.

Speaker 1 (08:14):
I would say yeah, please say hi to pete.
I had a good chat with him lastyear.
Say hi from me.
You said your head is spinning.
You've been reborn.
So clearly you're lovingrecording and playing the new
song.

Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yeah, well, the song is basically about.
You know, in general the songis about a daily hustle that
people have to go through to gethappy in the end.
You know, the quip is that it'sa scandal that we're actually
releasing something at the ageof 70, after 28 years, and
that's basically my put on it.
You know it's like ah it.
You know it's like, uh, youknow it's what a scandal.
Some old guy putting out asingle what's going on and

(08:48):
that's that's kind of the jokeof it all.
But basically it's about thehustle that people go through.
That's what the film group'sall about just trying to get
through the day so you can enjoythe rest of it, which most
people want still rocking thatpodcast with that radio chick,
cheryl lee.

Speaker 1 (09:01):
Let's play that song now, shall we?
Brand new single from BoomCrash Opera hot off the press,
latest hustle and let's see ifyou can hear the nod to a
previous Boom Crash Opera anthemin there.
And then we're back to speak toDale Ryder very shortly.
I think you guys in particularare living proof of my theory

(09:32):
that rock and roll is thefountain of youth.

Speaker 2 (09:37):
It's something Keeps you young.
Yeah, my wife and I talk aboutit all the time.
You know like we'll be drivingsomewhere and she'll go that
guy's 70.
And I go what?
And then she'll go.
Yeah, it's just your rock androll stuff keeps you young and
my kids go.
Dad, you look the same as youdid.
I don't know.
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (09:50):
yeah you do, yeah you do, they're right, you know
yeah whatever keeps me young,I'm happy doing it yeah exactly
the producer of your debut albumsaid the most important thing a
group can do is stay together,keep it together and you can do
anything you want.
So you guys have done that,haven't you?
It's been a pretty stablelineup almost right from the
start yeah, we're all prettygood friends.

Speaker 2 (10:11):
Still, you know I think that's one of the things
bands need to need to work outreally quickly is there is a
hierarchy you've got to get usedto it and the hierarchy changes
so depending on what job it'smeant to be done.
And if you can cope with that,there'll be no ego clashes so
everybody knows their place yeah, well, you know, sometimes
you're down the down the rung alittle bit, and then the next
time it's it's part of your jobto do this thing and then you're

(10:32):
up, you know you're in chargeand if you can get all that
inside your head, that thingsare going to change, there is a
hierarchy, it's a dictatorship.
Sometimes it's just that's theway it works.
You know, you just got to do itbe flexible, study fluid and
then you don't.
You don't have fights.
Yeah, very amicable.
You know we have argumentsabout stuff, but it's it's.
They're all very, veryproductive, because you know
there's no point havingunproductive arguments 40 years,

(10:55):
you know.

Speaker 1 (10:55):
You know that's longer than most marriages.
So good on you don't bring thatup you've just been to our
beautiful town.

Speaker 2 (11:03):
It was so hot in Adelaide.
Jesus, it was so hot.
I've never been to Adelaidewhen it's so hot.
It was crazy hot, but it wasawesome.
We got lost.
We were looking for somethingto eat.

Speaker 1 (11:13):
So you were here with Roxette during our Fringe time.
Did you actually get to see anyof our Fringe?

Speaker 2 (11:18):
I've done the Fringe show a couple of times With my
cover band at the Spiegel tentand I used to love coming to,
but I kind of won't make it thisyear.

Speaker 1 (11:25):
But yeah, no, it's always good fun actually I think
I've seen you there as well,you know it's been good, yeah,
the next time you are comingback to our town is a double a
side tour.

Speaker 2 (11:36):
The models with the models and at the gov.
Yeah, that'll be fun.
Models are great.
Love the models, always lovethem.
We tried to be like them but wejust weren't good enough.
No, that's a serious thing.
Like we loved them.
Sean Kelly's an awesome guy,you know.
The whole band are awesome, butthere was a time when we wanted
to be them, you know, back inthe 80s this is before Boom

(11:57):
Crash I think all of us had aslight crush on the models.

Speaker 1 (11:59):
Didn't we all?
It's a pretty extensive tourfor the adelaideans.
Get onto the googleometer, grabthe tickets 24th of april at
the gov.

Speaker 2 (12:09):
I think you got like 20 plus dates from march to
august yeah, and then there's Ithink there's something else
coming up in november, so well,you know why you've got to just
work, exactly right, gotta makea living what do say Sleep when
we're dead?
Yeah, exactly, keep going.

Speaker 1 (12:27):
Look, the Gov need to give you free bed and breakfast
, don't they?
You've been there.
I reckon I've lost count of thetimes I've seen you there.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
Would you want to stay at the?

Speaker 1 (12:35):
Gov, it would be so loud.

Speaker 2 (12:37):
What's that band doing now that says shut up?

Speaker 1 (12:47):
We love all the back catalogue.
I'm going to play some old,some new.
Remind us why we love BoomCrash Opera.
Can you say it for me, and thenwe'll let you go, because I
think our 15 minutes is up.
So four decades after the bandbegan, the start of Onion Skin
remains an irresistible rallyingcry oh, kick it in and cut it
out, kick it out.
Well done, I think those arethe lyrics, thank you.

Speaker 2 (13:08):
I don't sing that part, by the way.
No, I had to actually thinkabout it.
Well, done.
Thank you, cheryl, reallyappreciate it.

Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, I loved chatting with you and I shall
see you down the front at theGov on the 24th.
Thank you very much, fijian.
Be good and chill then.
Thank you, Bye for now, bye-bye.
You are listening to StillRocking it, the podcast with
Cheryl Lee.
Hear the song that is on Dale'splaylist at the moment by New

(13:36):
Zealand Australian music singer,songwriter and record producer
Jordan Rakai, with Selfish.
And then we're going to go outwith Keep it In, cut it Out,
kick it Out.
Onionskin by Boom Crash Opera.
You're with Cheryl Lee, thatradio chick.

(14:06):
Thank you so much for joiningme on the Still Rocking it
podcast.
Hope to catch you again nexttime.
Get out when you can supportAussie music and I'll see you
down the front.
Bye.