EMI Music Sydney and Head Office Publicity Department (02) 9908 0777; EMI Music Melbourne (03) 9520
9600; EMI Music Brisbane (07) 3257 4585; EMI Music Adelaide and EMI Music Perth 0413382201
Media release
Friday October 2, 2009
THE 12th MAN
25 Year Anniversary Release of “The Box Set”
Great cricket commentators come and go, but surely none will leave a bigger legacy than the
great Richie Benaud, who announced earlier this year that he would be hanging up his
Channel Nine microphone at the end of this summer. So it seems entirely appropriate,
obligatory even, that his and the Commentary Team’s nemesis, The 12th Man (Billy
Birmingham) should announce his intention to retire at the same time.
As The 12th Man celebrates his 25th Anniversary, the two million + fans who’ve bought his
albums over the last quarter of a century will have the opportunity to replace those early 12th
Man cassettes that melted on the dashboard years ago, or the vinyl LP that can no longer be
played or the CDs that Davo or Johnno or Dad borrowed and never returned. ‘”The 12th Man
–
The Box Set” will be released on November 6th through EMI. “The Box Set” will feature all
seven of The 12th Man’s original ARIA No. 1 albums, along with various bonus tracks that
have been added over the years, including The 12th Man’s tribute to the Sydney 2000
Olympics (and Bruce McAvaney), the hit single “Bruce 2000”.
The phenomenally popular 12th Man comedy masterpieces have mainly satirised Mr. Benaud
and his fellow Channel Nine cricket commentators Tony Greig, Bill Lawry, Ian Chappell, Max
Walker and co., but his “Wired World of Sports” albums feature a menagerie of sports
presenters and sportspeople from here and overseas. And into all their mouths Birmingham
has placed words their mothers would probably have washed out with soap, as well as quips,
twists, stumbles, responses, asides and observations that a commentator could only ever
dream of unleashing within the vicinity of a microphone. Tied together with artful timing and a
glorious sense of the absurd, The 12th Man albums have sent sports fans, cricket fans and
comedy fans into involuntary spasms. Such is The 12th Man cult that his most inspiring
utterances have become part of the language. For 25 years, kids have hurled them across
playgrounds, adults across workplaces and sports fields.
The 12th Man is the only Australian artist in history to have seven consecutive No.1 albums on
the ARIA charts and the announcement of the release of “The Box Set” will have a lot of fans
re-writing their Christmas wish lists – especially when they learn that “The Box Set” will
include a couple of exclusive wine labels from ‘Richie’s’ Chateau Verdaflore vineyard.( Simply
peel the label off a bottle of old Grange or whatever and stick on your exclusive Chateau
Verdaflore label - a very classy way to impress your friends).
While “The Box Set” will be released on November 6th, The 12th Man’s parting gift will be
delivered in 2010 in the form of a documentary style DVD, chronicling the history of this
uniquely Australian success story. The DVD will be a combination of rare archival footage, fly-
on-the-wall home video of 12th Man recording sessions through the years, animated sketches
of some famous 12th Man album segments, TV performances, special guests from the
sporting and entertainment communities, as well as interviews, stories and bizarre anecdotes
from the past 25 years of ‘The 12th Man’ phenomenon.
“The Box Set” released November 6
For further information, please contact:
Valerie MacIver – National Publicity Manager, EMI Music
valerie.maciver@emimusic.com
Ph – 02 9908 0631
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