Vale ‘Big Brother’ Lawsy

When it comes to John Laws’s great voice and his sense of entertainment, there’s nothing I can say about him that you don’t know. He was the King of Radio. He was able to separate the genuine from the dickheads with great aplomb.

In 1970 Lawsy came to my very first record launch in Sydney. Everyone told me I was lucky to have him there. I soon realised that he genuinely liked bush people and was keen to make friends. I was encouraged by that and before long, I recorded a terrible song called ‘It’s a Grab it while it’s Goin’ Kind of Life’. That started a long list of jingles for his radio program, which he played until he retired. I have to thank him for helping his listeners get used to the raw Mallee Boy accent of my songs. He always played them, even the ones he didn’t like, including ‘Rip Rip Woodchip’ and ‘The Vasectomy Song’. Eventually, the Emu, as he called me, became ‘my little brother’ and Lawsy became my ‘Big Brother’. Lawsy was not easy to get close to, but when I did, I found him loving and loyal. Twenty years ago, we did an outback station trip together through the Centre. Everywhere we went, bush people treated him as a hero. I was just his companion. I’m so glad I got to see him just days ago. I LOVED HIM and will miss him terribly. Vale Big Brother.