Vika & Linda Cover Renée Geyer for Mushroom 50

“This is Renée’s song. Every time we hear it, it reminds us of her and what an incredible singer she was,” Vika & Linda say

Brian Purnell

The latest Mushroom 50 cover has been revealed.

Mushroom Group recently announced it was celebrating its 50th birthday in a big way with a series of events and initiatives to be held throughout the year.

Formed by the late, great Michael Gudinski in 1972, Mushroom Group released its first album the following year, the iconic Sunbury 1973, The Great Australian Rock Festival. Very quickly Gudinski established Mushroom as one of Australia’s foremost and finest record labels; 50 years later, Mushroom now represents Australian culture around the world, as well as bringing the globe’s best talent to this country.

That’s why Mushroom decided to mark its five decades at the top in such style. Before a massive Mushroom 50 concert in November featuring a to-be-announced all-star lineup, some of Australia’s most iconic musicians will release stunning works throughout the year.

Following Mark Seymour, Budjerah and WILSN, Dan Sultan, Gordi, Paul Kelly, The Temper Trap, Missy Higgins, Bliss n Eso, and The Rubens is Vika & Linda.

The iconic pair have covered “Heading in the Right Direction” by Renée Geyer, and the reverence the sisters hold for Geyer is very clear.

“This is Renée’s song. Every time we hear it, it reminds us of her and what an incredible singer she was,” they say. “We both love it because of the way Renée sang it, and also when we were growing up it became the unofficial islander anthem and everyone would sing along to it. That and the fact that it has a killer chorus.”

For their rendition, Vika & Linda were weary of producing a direct copy of Geyer’s original.

“Firstly, the obvious point of different is that there are two of us singing it, so we began by looking at the arrangement and dividing up who would sing that,” they explain. “Then we made a conscious decision with our band to try a tougher and simpler approach to the music as a way to support the vocals. Our challenge was trying not to copy but rather pay homage to Renée.”

“Heading in the Right Direction” was Geyer’s first top 40 hit. It featured on her 1975 album, Ready to Deal, which was later included in The 100 Best Australian Albums.

You can listen to Vika & Linda’s cover below. The series will end with the release of a Mushroom 50 album containing all the songs, serving as the definitive compilation of reimagined Mushroom music.

Vika & Linda’s “Heading in the Right Direction” (Renée Geyer cover) is out now via Mushroom Group.

In This Article: Mushroom 50, Renee Geyer, Vika & Linda