You may have noticed the gradual resurgence of grassroots music in Mandurah lately. While it never truly went anywhere – the standard local venues have maintained their exposure and support for local artists for years – changing tastes, demographics and a renewed interest in Mandurah’s cultural scene has seen a lot of new things happening.
Well, maybe it would be better to say old things happening again. Lance Davy, along with his brothers Peter and Trevor, are hoping to do just that with the reformation of their band, “Perth’s original Brothers of Funk”, The Davy Brothers. Now Mandurah-based, Davy and his brothers have taken the free time of their retirement to re-form the band that meant so much to them growing up.
"We came from the UK. In England, the time me brothers and I came from, it was huge. We're talking about seeing The Beatles live, Cliff Richard, all of those artists were there, doing what they were doing,” Davy said.
“And then my mum, she had a really strong European influence. She was way into Eurovision back then, back in the early days. She really instilled in us this passion of music and dance.”
Anyone who’s seen the Davy Brothers perform would know how important both of these factors are to their shows. The trio, to this day, emulate their musical heroes; while British R’n’B served as the basis for their education, it wasn’t until the brothers discovered the roots of R’n’B – Detroit – that their love of the style was galvanised.
"Then we found Motown. Actually, more like Motown found us,” he said.
“We found out about groups like The Temptations, and that was really just it for us, we were hooked.
“And then by the ‘70s, there were acts like The Jackson 5 and The Commodores around. It was funk music, and it had this soul and passion that no other music had. That’s what drew us to it.”
Like many bands, the Davy Brothers originally, and unfortunately, had to forego their music to further their paying, “proper” careers.
“We all went out and became doctors and lawyers, which was a bit of a change,” Davy laughed.
“But what we’ve done is sit down in our older age and decided, even though there’s been a gap, we’ve realised the passion’s still there.”
While their first return show will be held at the Newport Hotel on Sunday April 30, the brothers are looking to keep the good thing going, establishing a regular base locally.
“There’s not many places people – especially the over-45s – can go out and enjoy a big, seven-piece band. There’s a power to this kind of music that can’t be captured on recording – you have to hear it live.”
