UK ’60s rock legends The Animals will play shows in Caloundra and D’Aguilar when they head to Australia for their 60th Anniversary and Farewell Tour.

Once known as “one of the most important bands” in the British Invasion, their folk-rock influence on modern music is undeniable.

The Animals are known for iconic songs, “We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place”, “The House of The Rising Sun” and “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”.

Original member John Steel will play alongside Danny Handley, Bobby Ruiz and Barney “Boogie” Williams.

“We’re a real, live band and there’s no backing tracks,” John says.

“It’s just us on stage with our instruments, playing and we love what we do and I think it comes across.

“We get a standing ovation every time, so we must be doing something right I guess!”

The Animals Queensland shows

Brisbane, Princess Theatre June 6 TICKETS

(NSW) Tweed Heads, Twin Towns, June 7 TICKETS

D’Aguilar, Dag Pub & Motel, June 8 TICKETS

Caloundra, The Events Centre, June 9 TICKETS

The Animals rocketed to fame overnight

While The Beatles and Rolling Stones were headliners of the decade, The Animals were the backbone of blues.

John Steel first formed The Animals when he and Eric Burden met as art-school dropouts.

“We started off as the Pagan Jazzmen and we morphed into the Pagans, a slightly R&B rock outfit,” John says.

“We played a church hall in Byker (East Newcastle) and this kid from another band who was a rhythm guitar player came over and said, ‘Can I sit in?’

“And there was an old upright piano, so we said, ‘Sure’.

“He hammered this piano with a left hand boogie style. We went, ‘Oh come on, you’re in the wrong band, you should be playing piano, not guitar!’

“This was Alan Price and that’s how we became a keyboard driven band.”

When the band found a 1956 album by Joe Turner called Boss of the Blues, the guys lifted a couple of numbers off the album and called themselves the Kansas City Five.

After many incarnations and members, they finally settled on calling themselves the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo – later changing their name to The Animals when they moved to London.

According to folklore, “animals” described their wild stage act and the name stuck.

The Animals performed fiery versions of the staple rhythm-and-blues repertoire, covering songs by artists such as Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, and Nina Simone.

Signed to EMI’s Columbia label, their first single was a rocking version of the standard “Baby Let Me Follow You Down” (retitled “Baby Let Me Take You Home”).

In June 1964, the transatlantic number-one hit “The House of the Rising Sun” was released, creating perhaps the first folk-rock hit.

It topped the charts in the UK, US and Canada and tells a cautionary tale of a person’s life gone wrong in New Orleans.

‘House of The Rising Sun’ still a favourite song

John explains his memory upon first hearing the song.

“Well to be honest, the first time I ever heard it was on Bob Dylan’s first album, all acoustic,” he says.

“Then I learned that it had been around for donkeys years and nobody knew who originally wrote it.

“I’m pretty sure regardless of all the stories, it was the first time any of us had heard it.

“We liked it. We loved that album. I knew there was something special – the rising sun stood out. Since then, it’s been sung by Led Zeppelin, Josh White, all sorts of people around the world.”

The track was reportedly recorded in just one take with producer Mickie Most.

“House of the Rising Sun” remains one of John’s favourite songs today and its longevity is not lost on him.

“One minute we were five working-class Geordie lads just having a nibble at the charts with ‘Baby Let Me Take You Home’ and the next minute we’re jetting off to America with a number one.

“It had an enormous effect on us and apart from that, it’s a bloody good song. I still think it’s the definitive version, in electric terms anyway.”

Not pop songs, but songs about life’s dark side

The other well-known hits The Animals still perform today are all classics in every sense of the word.

“We Gotta Get Out of this Place” was chosen as the anthem for the US armed forces during the Vietnam War and is still sung by high school kids on the last day of school.

“They’re not pop songs, they’re not la la la song,” John says.

“They’re songs about the dark side of life.”

John, who is the only remaining member who performs with The Animals, says he is constantly amazed at the families and vast age ranges who attend their shows.

“When we play, it’s a mixed audience, we get people of our own generation – but there’s a lot of young people coming to see us.

“And they’re really getting off on it, they know all of the songs and lyrics.

“I love to see them, they’re down the front and when we go out after the show and sign CDs and things like that we’re meeting these people – they weren’t even born when we were doing this stuff!”

Photos: Facebook