Musical Comedy In Preview

Chatting on the phone with Barry Morgan is like catching up with the crazed uncle you never had. When we spoke, he was in his Toyota Crown, a Hammond Aurora strapped to the roof.

Barry is the man responsible for helping us rediscover the joy of press-and-release. But when he’s not on the road, he’s selling his organs in Sunnyside Mall. “It’s a fantastic place. You get into Adelaide and you head up towards Happy Valley. You take a left just before there and you end up at the Sunnyside Mall, and that’s where I’ve got my World of Organs Superstore … packed with organs! If you come and visit we can talk organs and I can teach you my ‘one-finger method’.”

Yes, the famous one-finger method - the revolutionary organ technique that took the music world by storm, shooting Barry to the top of the charts. “It’s very easy. You just choose a finger - any finger will do, that’s entirely up to you - and it’s a simple touch and release. Away you go. It’s beautiful instant music.”

Listening intently to Barry’s instructions, my thoughts wandered to his Organ Superstore, full of customers eager to get their hands on a 1981 Hammond Aurora Classic. The man was clearly a musical genius, with safari suit to match. “I think I’ve sort of just come into my own. I’ve been doing the organ sales thing for a lot of years, and since my appearance on that little Adam Hills program, things have changed quite a lot. I’m pleasantly surprised at how Barry’s naturally in the pocket of being quite groovy.”

That little Adam Hills program was ‘Spicks and Specks’, which briefly aired on a community station called ABC. And don’t be fooled. Barry may want to reignite our love of organs, but he’s not leaving until he’s made a sale. “Make no mistake, the organ is for sale. Some people say it’s a concert or performance, but I really just think it’s an organ demonstration. I’m really trying to get a sale. I don’t want to strap (the Hammond) on the roof and drive it back to Adelaide, my goodness no.”

‘Barry Morgan’s World of Organs’ is playing for two nights only, November 12-13 at the Brisbane Powerhouse.