Topp Twins



THE TOPP TWINS RECOVERY TOUR QLD TOUR IN NOVEMBER Introduces 2 characters - Bowlers Mavis & Launa, along with new songs and hilarious on stage antics. The Topps are the subjects of a feature film about their lives which goes into production in October and this is the first tour since Jools' breast cancer treatment, which forced the cancellation of the 2006 Qld shows.

Diva Productions is thrilled to announce that The Topp Twins highly successful Recovery Tour is on the trail to Queensland in November with shows from the Gold Coast to Cairns.
NZ icons Lynda & Jools unleash hilarious characters, fresh songs, laugh til you cry comedy and introduce the Bowling Ladies – Mavis and Lorna, keen gardeners and best friends who first met at the Crematorium and now travel across the Tasman in search of cuttings and the perfect 'Jack'. The Topp Twins Recovery Tour is a celebration of life following Jools' radical breast cancer treatment (which forced the cancellation of their 2006 shows) and includes a "best bits reprise" from 25 years of stage and television antics. The high spirited "Chemo Cowgal" credits her recovery to maintaining a positive attitude, lots of laughter and the huge support from fans everywhere and says: “We’re looking forward to getting back on the road - making sure our audiences get a great night out. See you in November Australia!” The Topp Twins grew up singing to the cows and are proud lesbians embraced wholeheartedly by mainstream audiences the world over. Aside from this tour, a biographical feature film The Topp Twins, Untouchable Girls, financed by the NZ Film Commission and directed by award-winning documentary maker Leanne Pooley, starts production in October. So don't miss out on your unforgettable night with New Zealand's most endearing and enduring act, winners of the NZMA 2007 ‘Best Country Album’ and recipients of the Queen's Medal for Services to Entertainment, before they hit the big screen. It'll be more fun than a possum in your pocket! “They play the audience like a Stradivarius” The Advertiser, Adelaide 2005 “New Zealand’s national treasures” The Listener, NZ April 2005 “The extraordinary atmosphere the twins create…can only be described as love” The Dominion, NZ www.topptwins.co.nz www.kensfishingshow.co.nz The Topp Twins Australian Tour NOVEMBER TOUR DETAILS Sunday 11 Surfers Paradise Gold Coast Arts Centre Book at (07) 5588 4000 Wednesday 14 Bundaberg Moncrieff Theatre Book at (07) 4153 1985 or www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/moncrieff Thursday 15 Maryborough Brolga Theatre Book at (07) 4122 6015 Friday 16 Rockhampton Pilbeam Theatre Book at (07) 4927 4111 or www.pilbeamtheatre.com.au Saturday 17 Townsville Civic Theatre Book at TicketShop (07) 4727 9797 Tuesday 20 Cairns Civic Theatre Book at Ticketlink (07) 4031 9555 or www.ticketlink.com.au Thursday 22 Toowoomba Empire Theatre Book at (07) 1300 655 299 or www.empiretheatre.com.au Friday 23 & Sat 24 Brisbane QPAC, Playhouse Theatre Book at qtix (07) 136 246 or www.qtix.com.au BOOKING DETAILS ________________ Tickets are on sale from October 6th For further information, images and interview requests please contact: PUBLICIST – Sue Camilleri TEL: 08 89 412 512 MB: 0408 412 512 EMAIL: soozcam@bigpond.com.au Topp Twins Management Arani Cuthbert, Email: arani@topptwins.co.nz Jessica Smith, Email: Jessica@topptwins.co.nz Topp Twins Biography In 1958, at the tiny rural maternity hospital of Huntly in the North Island of New Zealand, Lynda and Jools Topp made a joint grand entrance into the world and surprised their parents from the start. Jean and Peter Topp were expecting only one 8 pound baby so Jools’ arrival at only 4 pounds was a shock, followed by another with Lynda’s arrival 5 minutes later. The twins grew up singing to the cows on the family dairy farm in Ruawaro (Waikato), and were raised to believe they could do anything. They made their debut performance, "Walking in the Sunshine" with boaters and canes, at the tender age of five at a cousin's 21st party. Their brother Bruce bought their first guitar at the age of 12 and an illustrious entertainment career was launched. The Twins' rural upbringing explains their down-to-earthness and ability to relate to audiences everywhere. They were raised on country music and their mum taught them to sing standards such as "Springtime in the Rockies". When 7 year old Lynda first heard Australia’s yodelling sweetheart June Holmes belting out "My Pinto Pony and I" on a neighbour’s old 78, she went into a swoon. It all started with a neighbour's collection of Shirley Thoms, Judy Holmes and Patsy Montana on old 78s. Jools remembers her sister's passion for learning to yodel: "After Lynda heard her first yodel she became obsessed about learning it. She used to ride to the nearby farm about 30 minutes up the road on horseback, listen to their old wind-up gramophone, jump back on her horse, race home, get out the guitar and desperately try and remember what she had just heard – we finally did get it to sound right and as an added consequence became very good horsewomen”. After 16 years of rural isolation, the Twins joined the Territorial Army (not for patriotic reasons but to see the country) and quickly became the Vera Lynns of their battalion. But their Army careers were destined to be short-lived. After jumping train in Christchurch they began busking and playing in small cafes. Their first big break was playing at The Victorian Coffee Lounge where they were paid $5 and all the toasted sandwiches they could eat. In 1977 they sang at the International Women’s Convention in Hamilton and became the darlings of the women’s movement with original songs like “Paradise” and “We’ll Fight For Our Freedom”. Now in their early twenties, with a guitar each and a highly original political repertoire, the Topp Twins moved to Auckland and soon developed a cult-following as buskers. A familiar sight downtown every Friday night, crowds of several hundred would often gather and overflow the footpaths as the twins played, involving the crowd in their visual antics. One night they were famously arrested for obstruction, when the crowd grew too large, and the Topps defended themselves in a high-profile court case they won with support from Dame Cath Tizard, then Mayor of Auckland. The Topp Twins came of age as performers in the early '80s during the heady days of political protesting. They became ardent protestors leading marches for anti-apartheid, Nuclear-Free NZ, Maori land rights and the Homosexual Law Reform. As out lesbians since the late '70s (when the main press refused to print the word) the Topp Twins have always been visible and proud about their sexual identity. However, the Twins' ability to relate to all kinds of people, and their gift for humour, has ensured that this is not an issue. Part of the Topp Twins’ phenomena is that is that they have successfully crossed from the fringes to the mainstream and are accepted for who they are. During the '80s, with the help of the Students Arts Council, the Twins toured every corner of New Zealand, producing sell-out theatre shows based on their life-stories and laced with political satire. The best of the Twins' stage shows were filmed for a Television Special, for which they won several NZ Film & TV Awards including 1987 Entertainers of the Year, Best Entertainment Program and Best Original Music. Highly successful tours to Canada, the States and Britain followed. They performed at music festivals alongside Billy Bragg, Lucinda Williams, Michelle Shocked and Hank Wangford, and enjoyed long-running theatre seasons in London and Edinburgh, which met with exceptional reviews and extended their following globally. The Topp Twins returned to NZ to develop and produce their own primetime TV Series "Do Not Adjust Your Twinset", which became one of TV3's top rating shows and won the Topps' multi TV awards. In 1998, Lynda Topp (as her popular altar-ego Camp Mother) ran for the Mayoralty of Auckland – when it became clear she was attracting a large share of the vote, a decision was made to support rival Christine Fletcher, who became the new Mayor of Auckland, toppling the incumbent Mayor Les Mills, and achieving Camp Mother’s goal which was to give Auckland a new gay-friendly leader. Perhaps one day it will be CM for PM! In 2004 the Topp Twins received the Queens Medal for Services to Entertainment. As well as regularly touring Australia and New Zealand, the Topp Twins are keen outdoors women. Jools can be found practising natural horsemanship, while Lynda’s most likely in her waders casting out into one of NZ’s pristine rivers. (www.kensfishingshow.co.nz) A feature-length documentary film about these "Untouchable Girls" is in production in October, with assistance form the NZ Film Commission. A comedy feature set on a farm is also in development and will no doubt bring these irrepressible gals full-circle.
Tamworth Festival 2003 West Tamworth Club Blazes











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