"Effie" (full character name "Effie
Stephanidis") is an outrageous comedic character played by Australian
actress Mary Coustas. Coustas depicts a stereotypical second-generation Greek
Australian. The character originated in the comedy program Acropolis Now, which
ran from 1989 to 1992. Effie's catchphrases include "How
embarrassment!" (See malapropism) in response to any potentially
embarrassing situation. She greets people with "Hello, good thanks"
before they have even asked her how she is feeling. Norman Gunston was a
satirical TV character performed by Australian actor and comedian Garry
McDonald. The Gunston character was originally conceived by comedy writer Wendy
Skelcher and first appeared as a minor character in the second series of the
cult Australian TV comedy series The Aunty Jack Show in 1973. His segments as
Norman in “What's On In Wollongong” became one of the most popular parts of the
Aunty Jack Show, and Norman appeared on the “Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong” album
along with McDonald's other character, Kid Eager. In 1992, Effie released a novelty
single: a duet with Garry McDonald's Norman Gunston, recording their version of
Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Amigos Para Siempre" (74321125792) for BMG
Records. The song was the official song of the 1992 Summer Olympics (originally
performed by Sarah Brightman and José Carreras). The single reached the Top 20
chart in Australia. mp3
3 comments:
Hi, I have been looking for the following for some time and can not find anything.
Johnny Devlins Devils - Teen Beat
Doug Mulray - Santa Claus Is Back In Town.
The Statesmen - Beachcomber.
Paul Weston - The Kentuckian Song.
Any chance you have seen these around somewhere.
Errol Thurgar
ethurgar@bigpond.net.au
Thanks
Couldn't stop laughing while listening to the B-Side - what a hoot.
Gunston at his funniest :-)
Not sure about the A-side though - I think Effie should have stuck to just doing comedy!
Thanks for the share Gary
Thanks for posting this single - it was one of the very few Australian chart hits of the 1990s that I had yet to find for my collection. Always enjoyed Norman Gunston's absurd brand of humour! I don't know if you already posted them before, but he also did at least 2 other 7" singles: Salute To ABBA (a medley) at the height of ABBA-mania in 1976, and Kiss Army (a parody of I Was Made For Lovin' You) in 1980. Both reached the Top 20 in the Kent Music Report national singles charts.
This blog is highly informative and very useful - it is a really good source of information about good Australian musicians of yesteryear. Thanks very much for maintaining it to such a high standard - it is much appreciated!
Jeremy from Hobart, a pop music collector since 1983.
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