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Knights legends Andrew and Matthew Johns are campaigning to reunite Silverchair for a one-off performance at Sunday's NRL grand final, with drummer Ben Gillies and bassist Chris Joannou reportedly willing but frontman Daniel Johns the main hurdle.
Knights legends Andrew and Matthew Johns have been hitting the phones in pursuit of their own grand final miracle, trying to convince fellow Newcastle icons Silverchair to reform and fill the NRL's entertainment void.
Silverchair have not played publicly since 2010, but the Johns brothers have started a public campaign to fill Sunday's empty time slot. Sources speaking on the condition of anonymity have indicated that Silverchair drummer Ben Gillies and bass guitarist Chris Joannou are both willing to perform as part of grand final day. Andrew Johns has been especially vocal in pushing for the band to reform for one night only and shares a long history with the Newcastle locals.
Daniel Johns Remains Key Hurdle
He famously dragged a 15-year-old Daniel Johns out of bed early in the morning to join the Knights' 1997 premiership celebrations. Former frontman Daniel Johns' commitment, however, looms as the biggest hurdle to what would surely be the greatest grand final entertainment story in the game's history, and one to match Newcastle's rise from wooden spooners to this year's decider.
Johns, 47, rarely makes public appearances, and there is long-standing friction between the private and reclusive star and his former bandmates. Even if they were on good terms and wanted to use the grand final to mount a comeback, it would be a tough assignment after so long apart. It is a good idea but a band at that level needs more than a week and a half's notice, said one leading music agent, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Even if they were totally into it, it would still be difficult. You have got to get a crew together and maybe record backing tracks. It is not so easy. They would obviously want to put on a good show.
Johns Remains Unperturbed By Doubts
If they are going to get back together for something like that, they would want it to be really good. Andrew Johns, however, remains unperturbed. He has privately run the idea by ARLC Chairman Peter V'landys, who has dropped several hints of a grand final day entertainment surprise since this masthead first reported the plan. Accor Stadium staff at this stage are yet to be made aware of any specific plans around pre-game entertainment by the NRL.
Ticket allocations for Sunday's State Championship between the Panthers and Dolphins, the NRLW grand final between the Roosters and Broncos, and the NRL decider between the Roosters and Knights were officially exhausted on Monday morning. We are trying to get Silverchair to play, but I cannot kidnap Daniel again, Johns said on Nine's coverage, referencing the famous Knights 1997 grand final celebrations. Me and Matthew have sent him a couple of messages.
Gleeson Already Booked For Night
Could you imagine Silverchair playing 15 minutes before kick-off? You would have 75,000 Novocastrians singing along. Or Gleeso with The Screaming Jets. Unfortunately Gleeson is already booked up on Sunday as well, with The Screaming Jets frontman David Gleeson performing with supergroup The Fabulous Caprettos on grand final night.
Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.
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brisbanetimes:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
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