On stage

Little Richard(US)

Eddie Cochran(US)

Alis Lesley(US)

Johnny O'Keefe(AU)

More info

Opening night of 'The Big Show', promoter Lee Gordon's first Australian tour by American rock 'n' roll headliners, at the Crown Theatre in Wollongong, New South Wales on Tuesday 1 October 1957 — two performances. Little Richard topped a bill that also carried Eddie Cochran, then riding his first hit 'Sittin' in the Balcony', and Alis Lesley, billed as 'the female Elvis Presley'. Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps were advertised but were offloaded at Honolulu airport on the way out and missed this show; Gordon engaged Sydney singer Johnny O'Keefe and his Dee Jays at short notice to fill the gap and back the Americans. It was O'Keefe's first Big Show and the making of his career.