On June 13th (1927) David Gordon Kirkpatrick was born. The world would come to know him as Slim Dusty and on the 13th June each year we increasingly now celebrate Slim Dusty Day as a tribute to the very real Aussie legacy he left behind 13 years ago. It’s a good thing Slim adopted “13” as his lucky number!
This year we ask the question “What Does Slim Dusty Mean To You?” A montage of messages was collected from friends, family and fans and compiled into a stirring video created by media company Cadence Media. Rich Thompson, Director of Cadence Media, reflects on the process, “We saw how everyone responded to Slim Dusty – the man and his music – through social media, at the Slim Dusty Centre in Kempsey and in letters posted over the years. To celebrate and embrace this collective love and respect it needed to be a collaboration of music, vision, and messages. It was a privilege to be involved in this special tribute.”
Launching the video on Facebook today it received a strong global response. Featuring vision from inside the Kempsey Slim Dusty Centre Museum as well as messages from fans and personalities including the likes of Troy Cassar-Daley, Lee Kernaghan, Beccy Cole, Brendan Nelson, Colin Buchanan, Warren H Williams, Pete Denahy, The Wiggles, Ray Hadley, Felicity Urquhart and Don Spencer. The video also includes some Kempsey locals who have forever embraced their local hero.
Messages from around the world are flooding in as people share their own story of Slim. Log in to Facebook, have a read, and post your own message/photo of what Slim means to you – add your part to the Slim Dusty story.
“What Does Slim Dusty Mean To You?” Video Montage link: https://SlimDusty.lnk.to/VideoMR
Another highlight of this year’s celebrations will be the official launch of an exciting, new and exclusive Slim Dusty Movie Exhibition at the Slim Dusty Centre in Kempsey. This additional exhibition is dedicated solely to Slim and Joy McKean’s ground-breaking 1984 docudrama The Slim Dusty Movie. Only showing for a limited time, the new exhibition will feature props, costumes and memorabilia plus many previously unreleased/unseen behind the scenes images from the movie.
To further celebrate this occasion, EMI Music has released a special Limited Edition vinyl LP of Slim’s 100th album Looking Forward, Looking Back. Originally released on CD and cassette, the album has been meticulously represented in the vinyl format for the first time ever with a special gatefold sleeve packaging.
The Limited Edition Looking Forward, Looking Back vinyl is available to order now from the Slim Dusty website and all good music stores:
Slim Dusty Website Store: https://SlimDusty.lnk.to/SlimDustyLFLBMR
