Scott ‘Buddy’ Cameron loves Tasmania and tells me as we chat about how much he enjoys the scenic trip on the way from Launceston to Hobart. He appreciates our colder weather, as only someone living on the Gold Coast can.
Scott will be enjoying a bit more of that cooler weather when he brings’“Buddy The Concert Scott ‘Buddy’ Cameron’s 10th Anniversary Tour” to the Theatre Royal this July. Its reason to celebrate after a thousand performances since 2004. Scott has become the acknowledged consummate Buddy Holly tribute act. This new production as well as giving us the superb performance we are used to with Scott will in addition include some exciting audio visual elements.
With his multi-talented ability Scott says his love in performance is still as a singer/ guitarist.
Scott won an international song contest 16 years ago but no accolade comes close to actually meeting the family of Buddy Holly and to perform as his hero in front of them and indeed gaining their approval. He says meeting Peggy Sue was more important than any critical acclaim.
Scott has been playing Buddy for so long now he says it’s hard sometimes to know where Buddy ends and Scott begins! And he actually finds himself sometimes talking off stage in that telling Texan accent.
Scott still gets his glasses authentically made by the small store in new Mexico that made Buddy Holly’s original glasses. To his credit over all the years of playing Buddy he has only needed 5 pairs but Scott’s authenticity with Buddy Holly goes a lot deeper than performance, and the more cosmetic accessories.
Scott tells me that Larry, Buddy’s older brother, who now makes acoustic guitars, once talked to Scott about Scott’s real last name which is Skirving, Scottish and seemingly reasonably unique. Larry was amazed when he found a letter in the house from Buddy’s lawyer who was also named Skirving!
The references and coincidences become even more unbelievable in another story recounted to me by Scott about his mum and the house he grew up in. His mum found a song he wrote between the ages of 6 and ten tucked into a copy of ‘The Pokey, little Puppy’. The fact it was found in a Little Golden Book is appropriate for the golden performances of Scott. Ironically the song bears a remarkable resemblance, almost word for word to a Buddy Holly song. Scott muses, how could he as a child have been able to write down the words of a lesser known Buddy Holly song? I’m sure that the next time I talk to Scott he will have further mysterious co-incidences to relate.
You can see Scott in the “Buddy The Concert Scott ‘Buddy’ Cameron’s 10th Anniversary Tour” at the Theatre Royal on Saturday 26th July and Friday the 25th of July at the Country Club Launceston.
Paula Xiberras
