WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Soul music may not may be the most popular type in rural Australia but to Dave Lovelace and Gail McCrea it’s an important factor to how they met and became one of the most successful entertainment groups to perform for the American troops in the Vietnam war. This group was called the Sapphires who consisted of sisters Cynthia, Julie and Gail as well as their cousin Kay. Managed by soul music fanatic Dave the group went on to play gigs across the war-torn country, from Saigon to Nha Trang they gave the American troops something to smile about amidst all the destruction around them.
It wasn’t all smiles throughout the Journey, in fact most of the problems started before they left Australia, “We came from a mission society for aboriginals, they keep us all in one place so we tend to not mix with the white people” stated Gail, who was born and raised on the mission. “When we used to go into town we would get jibed with racist remarks and stereotypes about our race and skin colour, we often couldn’t go into the pubs for fear of being thrown out, which was usually what happened.” Coincidently getting thrown out of a pub was what brought the couple together as after their unsuccessful talent show audition, which saw them loose because of racism rather than lack of talent, Dave and the sisters where kicked out. “It was quite
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He promised them that if they put on a great show tonight, they would gigs all across Vietnam. “It was hard as there was barely time to practise, but the girls were professional, although very unexperienced” mentions Dave, “They were undoubtedly talented. But whether they could keep it cool in front of a crown was the real challenge they had to face.” They must have faced it well as that saw them earnt them the job of touring to U.S bases in Vietnam delivering performances to thousands of men throughout the