Honouring Holly

Scott ‘Buddy’ Cameron is set for our annual chat and his annual visit to Tasmania. This time he’s bringing back Buddy’s music in ‘Buddy in Concert-60 Years of Buddy Holly’. Scott says he ‘loves Tasmania’, that it is ‘fantastic’. When I ask Scott about his favourite places in Tasmania he answers ‘where do you start!’ He loves Ross and Devonport and finds the atmosphere in Devonport such that Scott says he wouldn’t mind moving there!. This time due to scheduling commitments Scott will not be able to perform in Hobart and Launceston but is cheered by news I tell him of some Hobart fans making the trip to Devonport to see him.

It’s been over a decade now that Scott has been portraying Buddy Holly in numerous concept productions and Scott is acknowledged as one of the best, if not the best, Buddy Holly tribute artist in the world. Not only does he bear a striking similarity to Buddy, right down to a scar on the same part of the forehead as Buddy himself, but Scott’s voice also has a remarkable resemblance to Buddy.

While so much of Scott’s similarity to Buddy is due to flukes of nature Scott aims to make his performance as authentic as possible including obtaining his eye glass frames from the very store in Mexico where Buddy himself and Roy Orbison obtained their distinctive frames with the trademark dark lenses in Roy’s case. On this tour Scott also embellishes the performance by wearing a shiny blue suit, embellished in the sense that although Buddy wore a blue suit it wasn’t as shiny as Scotts!

Increasing the depth of his knowledge and understanding of Buddy that enriches his performance, Scott has formed a strong relationship with Peggy Sue and Bob Montgomery, two important people in Buddy’s life.

This year’s performance will be divided into two distinctive sections. The first will explore the background and origin to Buddy’s music. The Bo Diddley beat and R&B influence and the juke box that would inspire Buddy’s Rock & Roll. The second half of the performance will feature Buddy & The Crickets in concert. It will also feature a gem in the form is the showcasing of a lesser known Buddy song called ‘Rock Me my Baby’.

I asked Scott with his immaculate portrayal of Buddy does he sometimes find their separate, individual identities blurred. Scott says sometimes he does like when he finds himself talking in a Texan accent without realising it and people will ask him where his accent is from.

You can see Scott as Buddy Holly in ‘Buddy in Concert-60 Years of Buddy Holly on Friday, October 30 at the Devonport Entertainment Centre.

http://www.decc.net.au/event/45/buddy-in-concert-60-years-of-buddy-holly
Paula Xiberras