Another little gem discovered trawling through the Guardian, learning about life in Newtown. Like Cathy’s Child, it was tucked on an inside page, next to articles about home renovation and caring for pets. I carefully copied it into my notebook, & tried (unsuccessfully) to copy the photo, too. Basically, it was the same pose as John Travolta, here, cutting his moves in Saturday Night Fever.
I rewrote the article to turn it into a prose poem, while still keeping the flavour of the journo’s breathless enthusiasm (real or hyped).
Disco Dynamo
The Dancing Machine from Las Vegas, currently at
Le Club in The Cross, has been the talk of Sydney.
But that guy has nothing on Newtown’s Dancing
Dynamo! Terry Dickson is just eighteen. He looks
like John Travolta and he dances better. He’s
laying them in the aisles at local discos. Besides
his good looks and his personality, he is without
doubt one of the finest dancers seen in Sydney
for many a long year and looks like becoming
the absolute heart-throb of every teeny-bopper
on the disco scene. Terry will be appearing again
at Newtown RSL Club every Thursday night, and
this week everyone who attends will receive an
autographed photo of this sensational new star.
Our very own Disco Dynamo will be judging the
Club’s Monster Disco this Thursday night. Great
prizes for the best dancers and the most original
moves. Don’t miss the One Man Dancing Machine!
This promo article gave me great material for picturing Harry and Tom having fun together at the disco, before Tom spoils everything. Harry was wearing Buzz’s white flares, a little stripy crop top, and her old high-heeled boots. She doesn’t say what Tom was wearing.
At the Disco
…We had a beaut time.
Tom’s a great dancer with a real feel
For the music, and I was really getting off
on the beats. It was huge fun. We came
second in one of the comps. In the break,
while the Dynamo was strutting his stuff,
Tom brought me a beer and some salted
peanuts. We make good team, you an me,
Then he puts his foot in it, being nasty about Jaro, and Harry runs out into the night crying.
This incident leads Harry to wonder why she hasn’t seen Jaro since their meal together in Harry’s flat some time ago(Spag Bol and Cheesecake). She fears she has offended him somehow and doesn’t know where to find him to apologise.
In a later post you will learn more about Harry and Jaro and their dark secrets.
You can read more about Newtown Voices, about me, and where to buy the book at newtownvoices