By NARELLE COULTER
ON 26 MARCH 1975 the Journal announced an exciting new pop column, Pop Corn, to be penned exclusively by singer Ronnie Burns.
“Ronnie Burns, one of Australia’s biggest names in the pop business, has joined the Journal staff,” announced the paper on its front page.
Inside, Burns launched his column with “A big hello! To all the beautiful people who read this paper – It’s a thrill to be able to write a few lines each week, and to reach you in a way that’s somewhat different from singing”.
At the time Ronnie Burns was one of Australia’s most popular singers with hits such as Smiley and True True Lovin’.
Today Burns and wife Maggie run a respite charity for disadvantaged children at their farm near Cradle Mountain in Tasmania.
And although he can’t remember writing Pop Corn, Burns does remember 1974 being a big year both personally and professionally.
He and his wife were expecting their first daughter and had moved out of his parent’s Elwood home, a home mate Molly Meldrum also shared.
“So much was changing in our life. We moved to the Dandenong Ranges to set up an alternate lifestyle, growing our own food, for instance.
“I was still working in TV and singing in clubs and all that.”
He said he wasn’t surprised to be reminded of his writing gig with the Journal.
“Quite often so many things we were doing was slightly left of field, like modelling, running cooking classes for the Gas and Fuel, – we’d do all sorts of things.”
Burns said he had always loved writing and was sure he would have felt “honoured and privileged“ to be invited on board as a guest columnist.
“I would have loved doing it because I had been asked to do it. I would have thought that because you (the Journal) had accepted me it was a privilege and an honour to give my spin on (pop music).
“The creative Ronnie would have come through for Pop Corn making people laugh.“
He said he was proud to be included in the Journal’s 150th edition.
“I’m chuffed that there is a record of that.
“At that time the music industry was rocketing along and there was great joy and love in what we were doing.”
To find out more about Burns’s children’s charity go to www.appinhall.com.
