Latest news with #KillingHeidi
Sydney Morning Herald
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
25 years on, Killing Heidi gives fans licence to step back into younger selves
During Weir, Ella Hooper teases the chorus, saying 'gotcha!' when they'd lead into the next verse, knowing fans wanted to belt out 'will you make it in the end'. Killing Heidi returns for an unexpected encore – an opportunity to play hit singles Calm Down, Heavensent and I Am from other albums. This performance had a zeal that was missing from the main set, perhaps due to the amplified vocal harmonies from the keyboard and bass player, or maybe because the tracks represented an era when the band's sound had matured. Jesse Hooper expresses how humbled they are that fans have reconnected with their music. Signing off, Ella Hooper says cheekily: 'See you guys in another 25 years … maybe'. Reviewed by Vyshnavee Wijekumar MUSIC MSO Winter Gala: Lang Lang ★★★★★ Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Hamer Hall, June 28 Part pianist-muse, part dazzling showman, classical music superstar Lang Lang presented as an intriguing artistic phenomenon during his two sold-out Melbourne concerts. Wednesday's solo recital affirmed Lang Lang's great affinity with the romantic repertory in a program underlining poetics, rather than pyrotechnics. Faure's beloved Pavane was treated almost too delicately with whispered phrases and half-lit sonorities. Schumann's Kreisleriana, arguably one of his least approachable works, sprang to life with vividly etched contrasts between aching melodic outpourings and frenetic, fiery outbursts. Traversing a dozen Chopin Mazurkas, Lang Lang illuminated the huge variety of moods and styles the composer was able to achieve in this rhythmically lopsided dance form. Among their sometimes-playful perversity, the melancholy sensuality of the A minor, Op. 17 stood out for its meltingly beautiful timbre. The official program ended in a blaze of glory with the imposing Polonaise in F-sharp minor, Op. 44, before encores that included a diaphanous account of Debussy's Clair de lune and a truly incendiary reading of de Falla's Ritual Fire Dance. Saturday's breathtaking account of Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra was more in keeping with Lang Lang's rock star image. A strange amalgam of styles, the concerto was once described as 'beginning with Bach and ending with Offenbach'. Loading After the dramatic opening with its baroque overtones and the amusing, nonchalant scherzo, the blinding virtuosity of the tarantella finale left many wondering how anyone could play so fast and so accurately. Images of a fluttering hummingbird came to mind. This seemingly superhuman talent, the stuff of lasting memories, unsurprisingly elicited a rapturous ovation. Two encores, Liszt's Liebestraum No. 3 and the Disney tune Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? were strange bedfellows. Bookending the concert, chief conductor Jaime Martín revelled in the festive Spanish air of Ravel's Alborada del gracioso, graced with perfectly judged bassoon cameos by Elise Millman. Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition in Ravel's wondrous orchestration was supported by lustrous string tone and cohesive, strongly characterised playing throughout the orchestra. Among the solos, Owen Morris's rapid-fire trumpet impressed. The rousing solemnity of The Great Gate of Kyiv seemed a timely and fitting conclusion. Hopefully, those who came to witness Lang Lang's technical brilliance went away from these concerts realising that he is a well-rounded romantic, whose art is both dazzling and deeply empathetic. For that, he really does deserve a rock star reception. Reviewed by Tony Way MUSIC Jem Cassar-Daley ★★★★ Northcote Social Club, June 28 These are golden days for feeling blue. The Northcote Social Club was thoroughly charmed on Saturday night by the collective heartbreak of three charismatic Gen Z songwriters singing a big, sad world of everyday calamities while positively beaming with the first rush of being heard. Anxiety is the confessed bete noir of Belgian expat Romanie. She silenced the early arrivals with a finger-picked electric guitar, impish banter and songs drawing on the agonies of Palestine, climate grief and fragile hope. They played like first drafts of raw experience, roaring with a voice that threatened to scream and ultimately did. An even fresher voice from rural New South Wales, Mikayla Pasterfield opened with her TikTok breakthrough Damage You Still Do – an assured first dip into a well of childhood guilt, unrequited love and worldly resilience. Her pealing giggle between songs brought ample light, even to that intriguingly loaded one about buying a goldfish, Tactile. Steeped from birth in old-school stagecraft and grit, Jem (daughter of Troy) Cassar-Daley upped the energy with a slick bass-drums-guitar trio and a gushing dedication to her 'incredible' sisters in song before throwing herself into the last night of her Kiss Me Like You're Leaving tour. From the post-romantic inner monologue of Slow Down to the homesick airline stationery letter Space Between, her songs mine a consistent emotional register: sharp-focus country-pop ballads laced with the genre's traditional sighs of longing and brave-faced disappointment. As a writer, she's moving fast. Changes was an oldie from the 2022 debut album that she's all but left behind. The paint was barely dry on Tidal Wave and one or two others, even if it took a couple of inspirational covers — Gwen Stefani, Addison Rae — to bring any real sonic surprise. Mikayla Pasterfield returned to make a seamless duet of Texas Ain't That Far, Is It Dear?, the sheer joy of communion making the song's fundamental melancholy evaporate like an old memory. The headliner's inevitable encore, King of Disappointment, radiated with the same sense of bliss reclaimed in the thrill of performance. For all its gentle sorrows, that joy was the glaring takeaway from this show: three stunning singers claiming a world where blokes are sidemen and women draw strength from bills stacked with more women, then laugh about it on the way to the bar. Some nights, one guitar solo is enough. Reviewed by Michael Dwyer THEATRE Super ★★★★ Red Stitch, until July 6 Superhero culture is dangerous because it's 'essentially fascism', according to Alan Moore. Trump once released a non-fungible token of himself as a superhero with eye lasers, let's not forget, and the adolescent fantasy of fighting evil with superpowers looks frankly terrifying when it plays out in the world. Anyone who thinks seriously about the subject should be worried by the infantilising nostalgia, the power worship, and the narcissistic sense of exceptionalism that seem to have gripped the imagination of a so-called adult audience. At the same time, it's true that satire and subversion from within – the nerdy reality-check of Kick-Ass, say, or the cynical vision of corporatised 'Supes' in The Boys – can act as a kind of kryptonite to the worst tendencies of the genre. Emilie Collyer's new play Super gives us a fantastically silly and strange sideswipe at the superhero tropes we've inherited. It's a full-throttle feminist funfest that will tickle those who love the grandiose cosplay and game-changing powers of superhero stories, while dodging hypermasculinity and ultra-violence, launching a guerrilla attack on gender inequality, and celebrating female friendship into the bargain. Two besties – Nell (Laila Thaker) and Phoenix (Lucy Ansell) – are the only members of their superpower support group, and their special abilities are drawn from a distinctly feminine arsenal. Phoenix has a preternatural gift for suppressing her rage and can calm others against their will. Nell is, well, super-organised – a paragon of unpaid labour who can fast-track solutions to almost any problem. When Rae (Caroline Lee) first enters their gathering, they think she's taken a wrong turn – the AA meeting's down the hall. But the celebrity chef has a superpower of her own. She's so in touch with her own sorrow that if she bursts into tears, she can make anyone cry helplessly alongside her. It comes in handy when the ageing star's producers threaten to dump her from her TV show: Rae weeps and wails and weaponises her victimhood until they relent. Phoenix is suspicious of the new arrival – they're almost opposites of each other – but all three are determined to use their powers to do good in the world, despite the prickliness, and despite their powers coming at a physical cost (nothing special power suits can't fix, though that comes at a price, too). Soon their charity work becomes big business. Rae uses her celebrity to start a reality TV show judging whether ordinary contestants have superpowers. Phoenix gets ripped and fights against gang and domestic violence in marginalised communities. Nell turns their enterprise into a mega-corporation fuelled by big data, drastically enhancing the good they can do … Loading A dystopian twist and climactic confrontation looms, as liberal aims begin to be achieved through – you guessed it – fascist means. Can they right themselves, or will they become villains and victims of their own success? Emma Valente directs an almost painfully entertaining show, featuring exaggerated, laugh-out-loud funny performances and spectacular visual gags and costumes. The examination of power isn't quite as fleshed out as you might hope, but the ending is radical in a way that restores perspective. The greatest superpower, it seems, might be the ordinary human comfort of genuine friendship. Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead IMMERSIVE THEATRE The Door in Question ★★★★ Metro West Footscray, until June 29 Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia are still a source of fear, confusion and stigma. Troy Rainbow's remarkable mixed-reality immersive theatre event, The Door in Question, fights against them by opening a portal into altered perception, utilising the latest VR and interactive AI technology. This is a solo trip into the labyrinth of the disordered mind. And if that sounds risky, the project is so sensitively realised that it feels unique in humanising (without remotely romanticising) what psychosis is like, inside and out. It helps that the artist has skin in the game. Rainbow's mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia – a deeply personal experience and an inspiration for the world you'll enter. Audiences first step into an antechamber that serves as a meditation room. A few deep breaths are needed before donning a VR headset in a Footscray shopping mall and stepping down the rabbit hole. A colourful, disturbing wonderland awaits, based on a childhood story Rainbow's mother wrote for him. Disorienting voices guide you through gritty urban landscapes, decrepit domestic environments, and a world based on classical mythology – statues of Medusa, fountains, ancient Greek columns – and onwards and upwards into a florid brush with divinity … or paranoid delusion. You're inducted into a secret history of Footscray (including its Indigenous history) as you walk the streets to a second location, and I don't want to spoil what happens there. The less you know, the better, though I can say it's a full-body experience. The show will quite literally make your spine tingle, twisting the design surprises and interactive mystery of immersive theatre and escape rooms towards a higher purpose. In fact, it almost portrays mental illness as a kind of escape room… one with no escape, and a profusion of clues everywhere you look. Each space is engagingly designed, and there's a haunting quality to the voice acting and the polyphonic script, some of which sounds as if taken verbatim from people with schizophrenia. Hallucinatory audiovisual tricks keep you on edge, painfully vigilant, and one section involves a responsive AI program, as a grandiose delusion tightens its grip. Loading Exploring psychosis through mixed reality tech is a fabulous idea, and The Door in Question really does feel at the forefront of a brave new kind of artmaking. But it's the human element that makes it work – the profound authenticity of lived experience, and the unflinching insight into the danger and distress, as well as the wildcard beauty – and, yes, the love – amid the deranged tangle of psychotic illness. Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead MUSIC ACO Unleashed, ★★★★ Australian Chamber Orchestra, Hamer Hall, June 22 Undaunted by the withdrawal of injured Moldovan violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja from its current tour, the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) took the opportunity to draw soloists from its own ranks in a program confirming all its appealing strengths. In the absence of artistic director Richard Tognetti, longstanding violinists Helena Rathbone and Satu Vanska shared direction of the orchestra. They were joined by the ACO's newest member, Anna da Silva Chen, in a buoyant account of Bach's Concerto for Three Violins. Clearly delighting in their collaboration, they wove the music's contrapuntal strands into a richly detailed tapestry, abetted by the ACO's customary rhythmic drive. Vanska brought an edgy bravura to Bernard Rofe's arrangement of Ravel's Tzigane to which the presence of the celesta in the accompanying forces contributed an additional exotic touch. Loading Exemplary ensemble and beauty of tone graced Tognetti's arrangement of Beethoven's String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 'Serioso'. Nuanced variations of texture reinforced both the original's urgency and intimacy. Schubert's Quartet Movement in C minor, D. 703 shimmered like a jewel, full of light and shade, where dramatic and lyrical elements were held in admirable balance. Giving the Melbourne premiere of Jaakko Kuusisto's Cello Concerto, principal cellist Timo-Veikko Valve gave a passionate tribute to the late composer, a longtime family friend and fellow Finn. Kuusisto, who died of brain cancer in 2022, aged 48, conceived this well-crafted work with Valve's considerable technical and expressive prowess in mind. Like Sibelius, Kuusisto often sets his emotional lyricism in sparse surroundings. Here, some percussion freshened the orchestral palette, further enticing the listener's close attention. Empathetically supported by his fellow players, Valve's advocacy of this score may well make it a 21st-century classic.
The Age
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
25 years on, Killing Heidi gives fans licence to step back into younger selves
During Weir, Ella Hooper teases the chorus, saying 'gotcha!' when they'd lead into the next verse, knowing fans wanted to belt out 'will you make it in the end'. Killing Heidi returns for an unexpected encore – an opportunity to play hit singles Calm Down, Heavensent and I Am from other albums. This performance had a zeal that was missing from the main set, perhaps due to the amplified vocal harmonies from the keyboard and bass player, or maybe because the tracks represented an era when the band's sound had matured. Jesse Hooper expresses how humbled they are that fans have reconnected with their music. Signing off, Ella Hooper says cheekily: 'See you guys in another 25 years … maybe'. Reviewed by Vyshnavee Wijekumar MUSIC MSO Winter Gala: Lang Lang ★★★★★ Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Hamer Hall, June 28 Part pianist-muse, part dazzling showman, classical music superstar Lang Lang presented as an intriguing artistic phenomenon during his two sold-out Melbourne concerts. Wednesday's solo recital affirmed Lang Lang's great affinity with the romantic repertory in a program underlining poetics, rather than pyrotechnics. Faure's beloved Pavane was treated almost too delicately with whispered phrases and half-lit sonorities. Schumann's Kreisleriana, arguably one of his least approachable works, sprang to life with vividly etched contrasts between aching melodic outpourings and frenetic, fiery outbursts. Traversing a dozen Chopin Mazurkas, Lang Lang illuminated the huge variety of moods and styles the composer was able to achieve in this rhythmically lopsided dance form. Among their sometimes-playful perversity, the melancholy sensuality of the A minor, Op. 17 stood out for its meltingly beautiful timbre. The official program ended in a blaze of glory with the imposing Polonaise in F-sharp minor, Op. 44, before encores that included a diaphanous account of Debussy's Clair de lune and a truly incendiary reading of de Falla's Ritual Fire Dance. Saturday's breathtaking account of Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra was more in keeping with Lang Lang's rock star image. A strange amalgam of styles, the concerto was once described as 'beginning with Bach and ending with Offenbach'. Loading After the dramatic opening with its baroque overtones and the amusing, nonchalant scherzo, the blinding virtuosity of the tarantella finale left many wondering how anyone could play so fast and so accurately. Images of a fluttering hummingbird came to mind. This seemingly superhuman talent, the stuff of lasting memories, unsurprisingly elicited a rapturous ovation. Two encores, Liszt's Liebestraum No. 3 and the Disney tune Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? were strange bedfellows. Bookending the concert, chief conductor Jaime Martín revelled in the festive Spanish air of Ravel's Alborada del gracioso, graced with perfectly judged bassoon cameos by Elise Millman. Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition in Ravel's wondrous orchestration was supported by lustrous string tone and cohesive, strongly characterised playing throughout the orchestra. Among the solos, Owen Morris's rapid-fire trumpet impressed. The rousing solemnity of The Great Gate of Kyiv seemed a timely and fitting conclusion. Hopefully, those who came to witness Lang Lang's technical brilliance went away from these concerts realising that he is a well-rounded romantic, whose art is both dazzling and deeply empathetic. For that, he really does deserve a rock star reception. Reviewed by Tony Way MUSIC Jem Cassar-Daley ★★★★ Northcote Social Club, June 28 These are golden days for feeling blue. The Northcote Social Club was thoroughly charmed on Saturday night by the collective heartbreak of three charismatic Gen Z songwriters singing a big, sad world of everyday calamities while positively beaming with the first rush of being heard. Anxiety is the confessed bete noir of Belgian expat Romanie. She silenced the early arrivals with a finger-picked electric guitar, impish banter and songs drawing on the agonies of Palestine, climate grief and fragile hope. They played like first drafts of raw experience, roaring with a voice that threatened to scream and ultimately did. An even fresher voice from rural New South Wales, Mikayla Pasterfield opened with her TikTok breakthrough Damage You Still Do – an assured first dip into a well of childhood guilt, unrequited love and worldly resilience. Her pealing giggle between songs brought ample light, even to that intriguingly loaded one about buying a goldfish, Tactile. Steeped from birth in old-school stagecraft and grit, Jem (daughter of Troy) Cassar-Daley upped the energy with a slick bass-drums-guitar trio and a gushing dedication to her 'incredible' sisters in song before throwing herself into the last night of her Kiss Me Like You're Leaving tour. From the post-romantic inner monologue of Slow Down to the homesick airline stationery letter Space Between, her songs mine a consistent emotional register: sharp-focus country-pop ballads laced with the genre's traditional sighs of longing and brave-faced disappointment. As a writer, she's moving fast. Changes was an oldie from the 2022 debut album that she's all but left behind. The paint was barely dry on Tidal Wave and one or two others, even if it took a couple of inspirational covers — Gwen Stefani, Addison Rae — to bring any real sonic surprise. Mikayla Pasterfield returned to make a seamless duet of Texas Ain't That Far, Is It Dear?, the sheer joy of communion making the song's fundamental melancholy evaporate like an old memory. The headliner's inevitable encore, King of Disappointment, radiated with the same sense of bliss reclaimed in the thrill of performance. For all its gentle sorrows, that joy was the glaring takeaway from this show: three stunning singers claiming a world where blokes are sidemen and women draw strength from bills stacked with more women, then laugh about it on the way to the bar. Some nights, one guitar solo is enough. Reviewed by Michael Dwyer THEATRE Super ★★★★ Red Stitch, until July 6 Superhero culture is dangerous because it's 'essentially fascism', according to Alan Moore. Trump once released a non-fungible token of himself as a superhero with eye lasers, let's not forget, and the adolescent fantasy of fighting evil with superpowers looks frankly terrifying when it plays out in the world. Anyone who thinks seriously about the subject should be worried by the infantilising nostalgia, the power worship, and the narcissistic sense of exceptionalism that seem to have gripped the imagination of a so-called adult audience. At the same time, it's true that satire and subversion from within – the nerdy reality-check of Kick-Ass, say, or the cynical vision of corporatised 'Supes' in The Boys – can act as a kind of kryptonite to the worst tendencies of the genre. Emilie Collyer's new play Super gives us a fantastically silly and strange sideswipe at the superhero tropes we've inherited. It's a full-throttle feminist funfest that will tickle those who love the grandiose cosplay and game-changing powers of superhero stories, while dodging hypermasculinity and ultra-violence, launching a guerrilla attack on gender inequality, and celebrating female friendship into the bargain. Two besties – Nell (Laila Thaker) and Phoenix (Lucy Ansell) – are the only members of their superpower support group, and their special abilities are drawn from a distinctly feminine arsenal. Phoenix has a preternatural gift for suppressing her rage and can calm others against their will. Nell is, well, super-organised – a paragon of unpaid labour who can fast-track solutions to almost any problem. When Rae (Caroline Lee) first enters their gathering, they think she's taken a wrong turn – the AA meeting's down the hall. But the celebrity chef has a superpower of her own. She's so in touch with her own sorrow that if she bursts into tears, she can make anyone cry helplessly alongside her. It comes in handy when the ageing star's producers threaten to dump her from her TV show: Rae weeps and wails and weaponises her victimhood until they relent. Phoenix is suspicious of the new arrival – they're almost opposites of each other – but all three are determined to use their powers to do good in the world, despite the prickliness, and despite their powers coming at a physical cost (nothing special power suits can't fix, though that comes at a price, too). Soon their charity work becomes big business. Rae uses her celebrity to start a reality TV show judging whether ordinary contestants have superpowers. Phoenix gets ripped and fights against gang and domestic violence in marginalised communities. Nell turns their enterprise into a mega-corporation fuelled by big data, drastically enhancing the good they can do … Loading A dystopian twist and climactic confrontation looms, as liberal aims begin to be achieved through – you guessed it – fascist means. Can they right themselves, or will they become villains and victims of their own success? Emma Valente directs an almost painfully entertaining show, featuring exaggerated, laugh-out-loud funny performances and spectacular visual gags and costumes. The examination of power isn't quite as fleshed out as you might hope, but the ending is radical in a way that restores perspective. The greatest superpower, it seems, might be the ordinary human comfort of genuine friendship. Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead IMMERSIVE THEATRE The Door in Question ★★★★ Metro West Footscray, until June 29 Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia are still a source of fear, confusion and stigma. Troy Rainbow's remarkable mixed-reality immersive theatre event, The Door in Question, fights against them by opening a portal into altered perception, utilising the latest VR and interactive AI technology. This is a solo trip into the labyrinth of the disordered mind. And if that sounds risky, the project is so sensitively realised that it feels unique in humanising (without remotely romanticising) what psychosis is like, inside and out. It helps that the artist has skin in the game. Rainbow's mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia – a deeply personal experience and an inspiration for the world you'll enter. Audiences first step into an antechamber that serves as a meditation room. A few deep breaths are needed before donning a VR headset in a Footscray shopping mall and stepping down the rabbit hole. A colourful, disturbing wonderland awaits, based on a childhood story Rainbow's mother wrote for him. Disorienting voices guide you through gritty urban landscapes, decrepit domestic environments, and a world based on classical mythology – statues of Medusa, fountains, ancient Greek columns – and onwards and upwards into a florid brush with divinity … or paranoid delusion. You're inducted into a secret history of Footscray (including its Indigenous history) as you walk the streets to a second location, and I don't want to spoil what happens there. The less you know, the better, though I can say it's a full-body experience. The show will quite literally make your spine tingle, twisting the design surprises and interactive mystery of immersive theatre and escape rooms towards a higher purpose. In fact, it almost portrays mental illness as a kind of escape room… one with no escape, and a profusion of clues everywhere you look. Each space is engagingly designed, and there's a haunting quality to the voice acting and the polyphonic script, some of which sounds as if taken verbatim from people with schizophrenia. Hallucinatory audiovisual tricks keep you on edge, painfully vigilant, and one section involves a responsive AI program, as a grandiose delusion tightens its grip. Loading Exploring psychosis through mixed reality tech is a fabulous idea, and The Door in Question really does feel at the forefront of a brave new kind of artmaking. But it's the human element that makes it work – the profound authenticity of lived experience, and the unflinching insight into the danger and distress, as well as the wildcard beauty – and, yes, the love – amid the deranged tangle of psychotic illness. Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead MUSIC ACO Unleashed, ★★★★ Australian Chamber Orchestra, Hamer Hall, June 22 Undaunted by the withdrawal of injured Moldovan violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja from its current tour, the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) took the opportunity to draw soloists from its own ranks in a program confirming all its appealing strengths. In the absence of artistic director Richard Tognetti, longstanding violinists Helena Rathbone and Satu Vanska shared direction of the orchestra. They were joined by the ACO's newest member, Anna da Silva Chen, in a buoyant account of Bach's Concerto for Three Violins. Clearly delighting in their collaboration, they wove the music's contrapuntal strands into a richly detailed tapestry, abetted by the ACO's customary rhythmic drive. Vanska brought an edgy bravura to Bernard Rofe's arrangement of Ravel's Tzigane to which the presence of the celesta in the accompanying forces contributed an additional exotic touch. Loading Exemplary ensemble and beauty of tone graced Tognetti's arrangement of Beethoven's String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 'Serioso'. Nuanced variations of texture reinforced both the original's urgency and intimacy. Schubert's Quartet Movement in C minor, D. 703 shimmered like a jewel, full of light and shade, where dramatic and lyrical elements were held in admirable balance. Giving the Melbourne premiere of Jaakko Kuusisto's Cello Concerto, principal cellist Timo-Veikko Valve gave a passionate tribute to the late composer, a longtime family friend and fellow Finn. Kuusisto, who died of brain cancer in 2022, aged 48, conceived this well-crafted work with Valve's considerable technical and expressive prowess in mind. Like Sibelius, Kuusisto often sets his emotional lyricism in sparse surroundings. Here, some percussion freshened the orchestral palette, further enticing the listener's close attention. Empathetically supported by his fellow players, Valve's advocacy of this score may well make it a 21st-century classic.
Daily Mail
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Ella Hooper doesn't look like this anymore! Killing Heidi vocalist shocks with transformation in rare television appearance
She was the deadlocked songstress who enjoyed massive chart success in the early noughties with her band Killing Heidi. And Ella Hooper cut a very different figure when she appeared alongside bandmate and brother Jesse on Today Extra this week The pair were chatting to hosts David Campbell and Sylvia Jeffreys about Killing Heidi returning to the stage to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album Reflector. Ella looked a far cry from the heady days of Weir and Mascara dominating the charts, with the singer now sporting a much more refined look. Gone were the colourful dreadlocks and striking make-up palates and piercings Ella was known for, in favour of a classic brown shoulder length do that was augmented by bleach blonde tips. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Brother Jesse had also swapped his once trademark bright red dreadlocks for a freshly shorn look which he kept hidden under a black fedora-style hat. Jesse admitted, however, that he's not yet ready to say goodbye to his former look just yet. 'I've got two dreadlocks left hidden away somewhere. It's not enough to make a whole wig,' he said. 'I could do one as a moustache and then the other one is a top knot.' Elsewhere in the interview, Ella admitted in the interview that working with her brother again still holds its charms. 'We love it,' she said. Jesse and I have got a creative connection and we're really good friends and I think we work really well together. 'We're a bit yin and yang - I'm the scruffy, unorganised one still, and Jesse is the organised timekeeper. It comes after Ella revealed the real meaning of her band's name during an appearance on The Project. '25 years on, who is Heidi and how is she still alive?' co-host Rove McManus asked. 'We don't talk about her!' Ella joked and then Jesse jumped in with: 'There was no particular Heidi we had in mind. We just loved that juxtaposition of words.' 'But poor old Heidi's out there. Nothing personal to Heidi, we love you all!' Ella added the band name had caused some conflict when she was at high school. There were some Heidi's who were like, "Are you talking about me?" No, no, no, it's just a name!' she said. The siblings added they would be embarking on an upcoming Australian tour in celebration of the 25th anniversary of their number one album Reflector. 'We are hitting the road to play the whole album and a few other fan favourites,' Jesse said. Ella added the tour would be very exciting because they would be performing the entire album in its track list order: 'We have never done that before!' The siblings will kick off their anniversary tour on Friday, June 20 at The Gov in Adelaide. They will then head to Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. In 1999, Killing Heidi - made up of Ella, her brother Jesse and their friends Aaron Hart on drums and Rowen Murphy on bass - stormed the Australian music charts with their hit song Mascara from their debut album Reflector. The band continued to rack up more hits with their follow up songs Superman/Supergirl and Weir, and won four ARIA Awards in 2000, including Album of the Year and Best Group.
The Guardian
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Killing Heidi are back, 25 years on: ‘Growing up in rock'n'roll gives you a shitload of grit'
In 2022, Ella and Jesse Hooper, siblings and bandmates in Australian rock band Killing Heidi, lost both of their parents in the space of two weeks. Their father, Jeremy, died first after a shock cancer diagnosis and a quick decline; a fortnight later, their mother, Helen, passed away after a long struggle with breast cancer. The grieving siblings took the weekend off, then went straight back out on to the road. 'It did remind me a bit of the early days: we would work through everything and anything,' Ella says. 'It gives you a shitload of grit: growing up in rock'n'roll and having a band to shepherd through success and post-success and trauma, then success again.' Life, in all its surprise and sorrow, has happened to the siblings from Violet Town, Victoria in the decades since they took Australian music by storm at the turn of the millennium. Gone are the dreadlocks – Jesse, now 44, removes his cap to reveal a bald head when asked if the controversial hairstyle will ever return – but their youthful spirit remains. This month, they will hit the road to play their chart-topping debut album, Reflector, in full, marking its 25th anniversary. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning For many Australians, Killing Heidi is the sound of growing up. 'It's like sunscreen, cut grass, those things that have a time recall … Are we one of those? Are we sunscreen?' Ella, 42, quips. The Hoopers were teenagers when they won Triple J's Unearthed competition in 1996. Radio veteran Myf Warhurst met them a few years later when she was starting out at the station, and immediately noticed their 'magic dust'. 'I just remember how gorgeous and delightful they were, these little country kids who were clearly bursting with talent and charisma,' Warhurst says. 'I don't know if we knew they were going to go as big as they did at that point, but you could certainly tell they were going to make something happen.' And they did. When Reflector was released in March 2000, it became the fastest-selling Australian album in history at the time. Its major singles, Weir and Mascara, were inescapable. As a preteen, I was struck by the sight of a girl not much older than me – Ella was 17 then – rocking colourful hair, piercings and a don't-care attitude. Killing Heidi was a perfect crossover act: friendly enough for mainstream radio, with an edge that appealed to the alternative crowd. For the siblings, it was all a whirlwind. 'I remember performing at the Big Day Out for the first time … When you see it in people's faces in the crowd, the sea of people going, 'this is the set we've been waiting for' – I was deeply complimented by that,' Ella recalls. 'There were other things that happened [that festival], like the Red Hot Chili Peppers mentioning us on stage … That really blew my mind. It still does, that we did that on our first album.' The nature of local success has changed since, as streaming and social media has homogenised music consumption worldwide. 'I don't know if anyone [in Australia] can be successful in quite the same way as we were – I don't often see those white-hot moments where it's just everywhere,' Ella says. 'I can't think of any that have gone through that since [the likes of] Silverchair and Jet … It was different.' Over the next few years, the Hoopers and their bandmates – drummer Adam Pedretti and bassist Warren Jenkin – released records and toured relentlessly. 'We were always looking to the next thing,' Jesse says. Then, in 2006, they suddenly disappeared. Ella and Jesse both laugh when I ask what actually happened. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion 'My thinking was, I don't actually even want any attention on this breakup, so we'll just stop and see if anyone notices – which worked remarkably well,' Ella says. 'I can't believe we got away with that.' 'We wanted it to be a quiet little break,' Jesse says. 'We'd been doing it since we were 15.' It was technically an indefinite hiatus – but, Jesse says, 'We never really spoke about when, or if, we were going to put Killing Heidi back together.' The Hoopers stayed busy in those years. They formed a new acoustic duo, The Verses. Ella began her solo music career, appeared on TV shows like Spicks and Specks and hosted radio programs. Jesse started working in music education and mentoring. In 2013, Ella proclaimed that Killing Heidi would never get back together: 'I don't think I could sing such youthful and youth-based songs convincingly any more,' she said at the time. So what's changed? 'Our stories were so teenage, so young and so connected to a version of me … When I said that in 2013 I was still probably trying to distance myself,' Ella says. 'I needed to mature, to be able to go back and put my hand on 15-year-old Ella's shoulder … I don't think you can do that just a few years out from being that age. It takes a little longer to become an adult that can hold different phases of yourself.' Killing Heidi started performing again in 2016, when they were invited to headline the Queenscliff music festival, and have played festivals almost every summer since – with no plans to record new music. Pedretti is still behind the kit, and Clio Renner (keys) and Phoebe Neilson (bass and backing vocals) add 'a lot more feminine power', Jesse says. The band was billed to play Reflector in full at Good Things festival last year, but due to technical difficulties they never got through the whole set. The upcoming tour will be the first time the record has ever been performed in its entirety. 'I had to put on the CD to remember,' Ella jokes. Playing this music together is particularly meaningful for the siblings these days – as Ella points out, they are each other's only remaining immediate family. '[The music] tells the story of our teenage times, which connects us to who we were when our family was different,' she says. 'It's very special.' The 25 Years of Reflector tour is in Adelaide 20 June, Perth 21 June, Brisbane 26 June, Sydney 27 June and Melbourne 28 June
