Between Two Shores

Beginning with a beautiful lilting rendition of the Lord’s Prayer in Tongan followed immediately by a traditional Irish Lullaby, Vika and Linda Bull introduced the audience to their parents and their childhood. Their mother was a powerful singer and the lead soloist in the Tongan Church they attended every Sunday, and their father was an Australian who sang them to sleep every night.

The Gospel style of singing they were brought up with was a powerful influence on them and they shared some of their favourites with us as they had when they sung for celebrities and royalty such as the King of Tonga, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela.

They had the audience laughing and joining in when they shared the ads, and theme tunes that they learned sitting together on the sofa in front of the television in the 1970’s. Countdown was their “second church” and from this must see show they were introduced to a range of songs and singers that also had their influence. Linda is “a little bit more country” and “Vika is a bit more Rock and Roll”. This was where we heard the two sisters sing separately accompanied by an amazing band, and I wish I could name names, however, no programs were available.

The performance was full of harmonies that can only work as well when the singers have been singing together for their lifetimes. In the same way as Vika and Linda traded melodies they shared the story telling. There was gentle sisterly teasing and their ease at being on stage together let the audience relax and just enjoy the show.

They told anecdotes about their joy at being able to work with icons of the Australian industry such as Paul Kelly and Renée Geyer and learning how to write their songs, even if Vika does begin to twitch every time she thinks about writing music.

They promised to get into a studio and record an album soon. This is something they really need to do and after 18 years of not producing an album, it is definitely time for this to happen!

The evening came to an end with a beautiful version of the Simon and Garfunkle  classic, “Bridge over Troubled Waters” and a standing ovation from a very enthusiastic audience, hoping for an encore.

Sally Putnam

Photographer: Tania Jovanovic

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