Step Back is a 5 piece covers band with Ben Hellegers doing lead vocals, Dave Pert on rhythm guitar and vocals, Jody O’Connor on drums and vocals, Paul Hubbard on bass and vocals and club member Artie Frost on lead guitar.

Sunday 20th May The Apprentices:

27th Plastic spurs
Next club night Tuesday 15th Footloose. May 22nd “Big surprise” 29th Patch works

Wayne Metcalf singing up a storm at our Club Christmas party 2011

Beryl and friends settling in for the night.    Ron Doherty with the Footloose band

Special appearance of Rusty Soul. He left his horse in the car park                               Missin’ Bits “Now who really is Santa?”

The Barnsley boys doing their bit for the club

Gungal only had two houses, and was surrounded by many farms. Rusty was an only child and his best mates were lots of bunny rabbits and snakes, who Rusty enjoyed playing with.

The main road through Gungal was gravel, and there was no power in the town. As a growing young boy Rusty didn’t know what ice-cream was. Tank water was in use, the dunny was ten yards out the back door.

Some years later Rusty moved to Newcastle and not only experienced power, but also running water and an inside dunny.

Rusty’s Mother was a very gentle lady quite often calling out “Rusty what are you doing now?” His Father on the other hand, was a gruff character, and could often be heard shouting “what are you up to R Soul?”

Today you might see Rusty ambling around the streets of Newcastle. You can recognise him by his chewing a piece of grass dangling from the side of his mouth. Don’t forget to say g’day to Rusty there’s nothing he likes more than a good yarn.

Born in Sydney August 14 1966, with a slight Disability from birth David has never let his promises when he was a child. David Left School at 16 years old in 1983, Took up guitar playing and after that he bought his first guitar, David continued his songwriting skills as a Rock, Pop & Country Artist. He loves his music when he first heard Roy Orbison’s tune “Penny Arcade” follow by Pilot “January” and ABBA. Creedence Clearwater Revival was later in 1975 just after when the band broke up in 1972. The song was “Proud Mary” & later “Bad Moon Rising”. Follow by Johnny Cash “I walk the Line”. David Loves Country Music as much as Rock & Pop.

David continued his songwriting through the late 1970′s with a huge hit “Night in the sky” in 1979, “Easy Care” 1978. The 1980′s saw some great ones including the 1987 smash hit Circus Musical “Will you take me to the Circus” which also score more hits in the late 80″s such as, “The loser came to an end”, “It’s too late”, “The Juggler”, And “Hope to see you”. The 1990′s also saw some big hits like “On the Spotlight”, “Really Me”, “Saying about me”. That song “saying about me” is base on a message about the H.I.V. Virus also know to be called AID’S Virus. A very true message to our young ones who are reading this today. In 1993 it became the biggest hit is yet to come into David’s Songwriting career was the “The Rhythm”. It became his signature tune of all time and took him to write that song in 10 minutes flat. Other big hits were “Traveling Band” (Not a C.C.R. Version by any chance the lyrics are totally different) “Running Shoes” “Uniform Girls” “Little Girl on Top”, “My Country Style”.

The Mid to late 90’s saw Daivd to stop writing due to Living Conditions where he is now living Independly today and has recommence song writing in 2006. Finding enough time to spare – He is still able to do other commitments.

Now His Music Gaining with success across Australia Wide and Overseas including the U.S.A, New Zealand, UK and Europe Via Reverbnation.com Myspace and Facebook – David has continued to performed and many more to come into the future.

Originally from Germany I discovered soon after arrival in our “Sunburned Country”

A love for country music which fitted nicely with my history of ballads and folk.

I got to appreciate Australian artists like Frank Ifield, Lee Conway, Reg Lindsey,

Jimmy Little and many others.

In 1991 I formed a five piece band “KARRAWAY” a dance band that performed

In and around Newcastle for the next fifteen years.

In recent times I play in a duo called “SOUND ACCORD” performing rock, easy

listening and country. Not forgetting my roots entirely come October or near about

I also play in a three piece band called “THE OMM PAH PAH’S” as an Octoberfest

Band from Taree to Wollongong and as far west as Barrabah.

I find it wonderful to share my love for music with an appreciative audience in the

Country of my choice.

Frank Seidl

We are asking artists who have played at our club over the years to be part of our entertainment.

Artists who have already agreed to come along include.

Aubrey and Martin, Snowy Robson, John Battle, Peter & Dianne.

Benefit night for Cancer Research top line artists to lend their support. More about this soon.

Keep watching for further updates.

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 Sherrie.  “ I  grew up in Charters Towers, the country music capital of Far North Qld, and  started singing from the age of 9.  I competed in a lot of country music festivals all over QLD, and won quite a few awards along the way. It was a lot of fun. I have a lot of memories of sitting around the dining table, with my mum playing guitar, singing songs like Walking after midnight. I moved to Townsville when I was 17, to run a travel agency for my parents. I have worked mostly in the travel industry ever since. I met Dave, after a family friend, who was a courier, began dropping off parcels at the brand new musicians  store Dave had opened in Townsville.  Dave had many years of professional experience behind him playing in different bands around Australia supporting numerous Australian and International acts and when a family friend suggested I go and see him, I ended up in a covers band, called Bits n Pieces, but when the male vocalist left, I took over and they renamed the band ‘Sherry’, much to my delight of course!!! We played in a lot of pubs and clubs. After we ‘joined forces’, we left Townsville for Cairns, then within a year, moved again to Brisbane, and then once again, back to Cairns, where our two boys, Rory, now 8, and Kade 6, were born. Dave changed jobs once again and we ended up in Newcastle, where we have now been for 6 years. Having our boys has put our music on hold for a number of years, but we are once again ready to involve ourselves more heavily and are very excited with what the next few years may bring. I am loving the whole country music scene here, but of course, miss my family in Townsville. We are here to stay for a while I think. I love my music, love singing, and love having a family that is involved in music together. Both the boys are very keen, with Rory now learning keyboards. Kade wants to be a drummer, so we are thinking about one of the new ‘silent ’electronic drum kits haha!! We love the support we have at Steel City, and look forward to a long future together”.

Dave “I am originally from Sydney, one of five kids. I always loved music and guitars, from a very young age. Dad was a country and western yodeller, and had this Hawaiian guitar stashed under the house, but I wasn’t allowed near it. Maybe the mystery of it sealed my future… Mum and Dad, very money wise people, stunned me when they bought a Thomas Colour glow organ. Two rows of keys, more buttons than you could poke a stick at, and I was in love, bashing out songs from Uriah Heep and Emerson Lake and Palmer. I think I was about 11.  I started messing with bands when I was 12, playing guitar, and learning rocks songs from Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, like most guys of my age. I left school when I was 15 and started as technician with the PMG, but moved on and worked for the Overseas Telecommunications Commission for the next 23years, working all over the country, mostly as a communications operator (morse code), and then onwards as a senior manager in marketing. I spent four years in Darwin and worked with some pretty special bands and people and learnt a lot about the professional side of music, travelling everywhere in the process. It was a blast. From that time onwards, no matter where I went, I was in one band or another, and when OTC eventually folded under the ‘Telstra’ banner, I turned my love of music and particularly equipment and sound engineering, into a full time job, and opened my own business. I had numerous bands and muso’s working out of my shop and was playing bass in a couple of bands and guitar in my own covers band, which is where Shez came along. She blew me away then, and still does. I started backing her at country music festivals, which had a twofold effect. It taught me some country stuff, and filled my shop with people wanting Maton’s and guitar setup!!  The shops was a huge success but took a huge toll on my private life. Eventually, my marriage gave way, the shop went with it, and Shez and I, already good friends, decided to strike out together. That was nearly 12 years ago, and while work and family commitments have driven a lot of our recent life together, we have never stopped wanting to do our music.  We look forward to what is yet to come, particularly with the boys on our heels. We have some awesome friends at Steel City and thank everyone for the continued support”.

Peter has been at our club now for quite a few years. Starting off very shyly in the early days (which was only a short couple of years ago), but you can never deny a good voice (even if the owner of that voice is a little shy to begin with).

Over the past year or so Pete has grown in confidence and he’s now enjoying singing most Tuesday nights at the club, both solo, with his brother Sam Franze and also looking at some duets with some others in the club, which we’ve had the pleasure of hearing him sing with the wonderful Sherrie Mace (with her husband Dave on guitar) recently and what a beautiful sound they made singing the song “Summer Wine” one of my favourite songs, and they did it justice in every way.

If you’re a club member, or possibly someone new, reading this post and wondering if you can achieve what Pete has achieved in such a short time, the answer is “absolutely yes”, come along and visit us, talk to Peter and our club president Mel Sommers and the others, we’d love to hear from you and even more so, love to hear you sing and help support you anyway we can.

That’s what Steel City Country Music Club is all about… The development, encouragement and support of our club (and up and coming) stars of tomorrow.