I'm pleased to report that country music legend Dolly Parton has hit Australian soil (as has her now famous bus)... first stop Perth.
The Better Day world tour, just off a bit of trouble with Australian Customs officials is now on the road, Australian style.
The bus is understood to be safe at the Burswood Dome, and is in fine shape to tour the rest of the land down under.
For a while all the trouble with the bus led Dolly’s US management to threaten to withdraw her presence from Australia altogether.
The country music legend, whose career spans four and a half decades, never tours without the massive bus, staying in it along with members of her entourage wherever she performs.
Chugg Entertainment manager Matthew Lazarus-Hall, the tour’s Australian promoter, said: "The message was kind of, 'No bus — no tour’."
But after receiving an urgent fax from Mr Lazarus-Hall late in July, Mr Albanese leapt into action, liaising with Customs as well as state and federal bureaucrats, to avoid an international incident.
Mr Albanese’s actions to save the tour also received a warm response from Dolly.
An email from her US manager stated: "Dolly and her people are very pleased to hear the bus is coming and it’s all sorted and has promised Minister Albo a huge cuddle when she comes to Australia in November."
The 65-year-old country singer was last in Australia nearly thirty years ago, with her tour expected to inject tens of millions of dollars via sales, tourism and use of local suppliers into the economy.
The ultra talented singer of hits such as 9 to 5 and Jolene will perform 12 Australian concerts during the last leg of her Better Day World Tour.
Described as "the original genuine fake", Parton is expected to attract a Queen's welcome from her huge Aussie fan base during her three-week visit.
Decades after finding fame, Parton, 65, still attracts young fans and she has more than a million followers on Twitter.
Famous for her huge bust and love of plastic surgery, it's her Southern-drawl "Dollyisms" that make her adored worldwide.
Among them: "It takes a lot of money to make a person look this cheap" and "People are always asking my advice, but I'm not the Dolly Lama!"
We hear Dolly still has it. You can't miss her, and if you do, just look for her famous bust... err bus.
Websites
Dolly Parton
All Phones Arena
Chugg Entertainment
Pollack Consulting
Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr
Eva Rinaldi Photography
