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The late Tina Turner had a river deep connection with Australia, one that was built on hits, touring, connections and a unique sporting alliance.
Turner’s extraordinary solo comeback in 1984 was engineered by Roger Davies, the great Australian artist manager who has guided the careers of Pink, Olivia Newton-John, Janet Jackson, Cher and many others. For bonus points, Davies was portrayed by one of his clients, James Reyne, frontman of Australian Crawl, in 1993’s What’s Love Got to Do With It, the award-winning autobiographical film based on Turner’s life.
The rocker also starred as Auntie Entity in 1985’s Beyond Thunderdome, the third in George Miller’s Mad Max action movie franchise.
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The “Nutbush City Limits” singer, however, would tackle something no other U.S pop artist had done, when she committed to a series of much-loved campaigns for Australia’s premier rugby league competition.
From 1989 to 1995, Turner was the face of the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition, now rebranded the National Rugby League (NRL), appearing alongside the game’s most famous athletes in national commercials, and sometimes on the ground for the sport’s showpiece events, including a set during the 1993 grand final at the Sydney Football Stadium.
Those campaigns included Turner’s hits “What You Get Is What You See” and “The Best,” and, for many sports fans and athletes in these parts, she represents a golden era for the code.
Thanks to her contribution as the competition expanded out of New South Wales, “The Best” is today recognized as the unofficial anthem of rugby league in Australia, a sport for only the knuckliest, toughest types in society.
Turner, who in one memorable promotional video pushes those he-men around in the dressing room, was a perfect fit, her sass, style and songs offsetting the brawn. She became the unlikely Queen of League.
Those Aussie connections played a part. Because her manager Davies was Australian, “we were able to make contact,” John Quayle, then head of the NRL, recounts in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The sport’s administrators presented to Davies while on a visit to his homeland. A partnership seemed unlikely, then an opportunity materialized.
“He rang and said you’ve got one day in London to film and if you can do it, we can have a look at it and go from there.” Working in “freezing conditions,” the team taught Turner the finer points of the game, she warmed to it, and a slice of marketing magic was created.
On Wednesday (May 24), Turner died at 83 years old, prompting both fans, fellow musicians and friends to express their condolences on social media — including one particular sporting code in the land Down Under.
“Vale Tina Turner, the Queen of Rugby League,” reads one post from the official NRL account.
Another post reads, “Tina Turner provided the soundtrack for a golden era of rugby league. Today we reflect on her immense contribution to the game.”
Watch some of Tina Turner’s classic campaigns for Australia’s professional rugby league competition below.
BRISBANE, Australia — KFC is cooking up a campaign with Australian artist Shannon “Nollsie” Noll that plays into two codes of football with a special menu item and a new “anthem,” fresh out the frier.
Noll, runner-up of the first season of Australian Idol in 2003, is the face and voice of an Australia-wide project with KFC, announced Wednesday (March 1).
First up, Noll and punk outfit DZ Deathrays have cut the collaborative track “Fried Night Footy,” which will soundtrack KFC advertising throughout the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia Football League (AFL) seasons, kicking off Friday, March 3.
Then comes the food.
KFC is dishing up the exclusive “Shannon Dinner Roll,” which combines hot & crispy boneless chicken with chilli relish, cheese, lettuce and “supercharged sauce” on a dinner roll, and will be available at a number of NRL and AFL games throughout the season.
Freebies will be handed out during the NRL expansion franchise Dolphins’ first home game, March 11 at Kayo Stadium in Redcliffe, north of Brisbane.
“I’m super happy to be working with KFC and DZ Deathrays on this anthem,” says Noll in a statement. “It’s a definite earworm and you’re gonna catch yourself singing it in the shower, the car and maybe even in your sleep. Plus, working with KFC to create the Shannon Roll, talk about a dream come true.”
Though an unusual pairing with Noll and DZ Deathrays occupying different spaces on the music spectrum, both acts command sizeable fanbases in Australia. Since coming to prominence with his run in Australian Idol, Noll has bagged two ARIA No. 1 albums and three chart-topping singles. The title track from his 2005 No. 1 album Lift won an APRA Music Award for most performed Australian work.
Meanwhile, DZ Deathrays own a brace of ARIA Awards in the best hard rock/heavy metal album category for 2012’s Bloodstreams, and 2014’s Black Rat.
Adds Sally Spriggs, chief marketing officer for KFC Australia: ”The anthem alongside the bespoke footy snack, the Shannon Dinner Roll, sets us up for an exciting season of footy ahead.”
“Fried Night Footy” will also be available to stream on KFC Australia’s Spotify page.
It’s not the first time KFC has teamed-up with Australian music talent for a tasty campaign. In 2022, the restaurant chain tapped ARIA Award-winning EDM duo Peking Duk for the “Peking Cluk Burger” and a one-off live event in Sydney, Feastival.
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