The cricketing legends of Six & Out will bring their tour to Wollongong. Photo: Six & Out.
The Lee brothers are no strangers to being the centre of attention in front of passionate fans, but when the cricket legends return to Wollongong this month they’ll swap their bats for guitars as they take to the stage with their rock band Six & Out.
Created in the changerooms of the SCG during the ’90s, Six & Out brought together some of the best Aussie cricketers through a love of music.
With Gavin Robertson on the drums, Shane Lee and Brad McNamara on guitars, Richard Chee Quee on vocals and Brett Lee on bass, the band connected the teammates from different backgrounds, musical experience and walks of life, and created some cult classics along the way.
But Shane never thought they’d still be taking the stage together more than two decades later.
“The first gig we ever did, we had one song; it was ‘Stand By Me’ and we were nervous playing those three chords,” he said.
“For us to say at that point in time we’ll be together 20 years later, we’re going to record two albums, we’re going to have a music documentary about us – we wouldn’t have thought that at all.”
Careers and families forced the band into hiatus in the early 2000s, but after Gavin received a shocking diagnosis in 2019, the band ended its break to create some more lasting memories together.
“He was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer five years ago and was only given between five and 12 months to live,” Shane said.
“And, touch wood, he’s still going strong.
“That was really the impetus that allowed us to get back together and want to play again because life’s too short.”
9 Jan 2000: Brothers Brett and Shane Lee applaud the national anthem before the Carlton and United one-day international at The Gabba. Photo: Hamish Blair/ALLSPORT.
While some of the skills from his professional cricketing days still come in handy, Shane said things look a little different this time around, with his passion for music continuing to grow well after his sporting retirement.
“When you play in front of cricket crowds of a hundred thousand plus you learn to control your nerves; in saying that I was much more comfortable with a cricket bat in my hand than I was with a guitar originally.
“I think when I retired from cricket I owned about 16 cricket bats and two guitars, now I have no cricket bats and about 20 guitars.”
Now off the back of a national tour and release of the documentary Six and Out – Our Second Innings, the band is hitting the road once again.
“Twenty years ago when we actually got signed to EMI records, I dare say we were probably a fairly average band,” Shane said.
“But now 400 gigs plus over the years, I think everyone that comes to the concerts are really surprised and have a really, really good time; the band sounds really good now.”
They’ll be making their way along the east coast this month, with the final performance at Centro CBD in Wollongong which is set to be a special show for Brett and Shane, who are originally from Oak Flats.
“There’ll be a lot of our friends there that we went to school with and mates from the area that we’ve stayed in touch with so it’ll be a huge night,” Shane said.
“Mum and Dad still live on the South Coast so we’re always down there, so looking forward to getting home effectively.”
The show is centred around bringing joy to crowds and everyone having a great time together.
“I think the crazy world that we live in now is very serious; putting on the news is always quite depressing, so I can guarantee that if you come to our gig you’ll walk away with a smile on your face,” Shane said.
“It’ll be a good laugh, it’ll be good night of rock and roll and hopefully everyone can have a dance and have a good time.”
Six & Out will perform on Sunday 12 October at Centro CBD, with tickets to dinner and the show now on sale. For more information or to book, visit the Six & Out website.
