The latest Mushroom 50 cover has been revealed.
Mushroom Group recently announced it was celebrating its 50th birthday in a big way with a series of events and initiatives to be held throughout the year.
Formed by the late, great Michael Gudinski in 1972, Mushroom Group released its first album the following year, the iconic Sunbury 1973, The Great Australian Rock Festival. Very quickly Gudinski established Mushroom as one of Australia’s foremost and finest record labels; 50 years later, Mushroom now represents Australian culture around the world, as well as bringing the globe’s best talent to this country.
That’s why Mushroom decided to mark its five decades at the top in such style. Before a massive Mushroom 50 concert in November featuring a to-be-announced all-star lineup, some of Australia’s most iconic musicians will release stunning works throughout the year.
Following Vika & Linda, Mark Seymour, Budjerah and WILSN, Dan Sultan, Gordi, Paul Kelly, The Temper Trap, Missy Higgins, Bliss n Eso, and The Rubens is Alex Lahey.
The singer-songwriter has covered the Skyhooks’ classic “Ego Is Not a Dirty Word”, and it proved to be a tricky arrangement for Lahey.
“This song has so much energy and passion,” she says. “I don’t think I could ever conceive a song like this with all its unpredictable twists and turns.”
Lahey decided to lean into the eccentricities of Skyhooks to aid her rendition.
“Because the original recording is almost 50-years-old, I wanted to take a modern approach to the recording,” she adds. “I looked to capture the same raucousness of the original performance in a more high-fidelity format. It was important to me to retain the complexities and character of the original record, but with a 21st century clarity and shine.”
“Ego Is Not a Dirty Word” was the title track from Skyhooks’ second album. The relationship between the band and Gudinski is well-documented, with Greg Macainsh even referring to Gudinski as “the sixth member of Skyhooks.”
You can listen to Lahey’s cover below. The series will end with the release of a Mushroom 50 album containing all the songs, serving as the definitive compilation of reimagined Mushroom music.
Alex Lahey’s “Ego Is Not a Dirty Word” (Skyhooks cover) is out now via Mushroom Group.
