Dua Lipa added some local flavour into the setlist of her Melbourne show last night (Monday, March 17th), which kicked off the Oceanic dates of her Radical Optimism world tour. During the show’s second act, Lipa and her band pulled out a surprise rendition of the 1979 AC/DC classic ‘Highway To Hell’, which received a strong reception in the room going off fan-shot videos. Footage of the cover can be viewed below.
Introducing the cover, Lipa said that she planned to do a new song every night of the Radical Optimism tour as a “fun, crazy idea”. “I thought, ‘let’s do a local artist in every place we’re in’,” she said. “Obviously, Australia has an abundance of amazing musicians. So, we just thought we’d go really, really big. If you know it, sing along.”
Dua Lipa – ‘Highway To Hell’
The cover is not Lipa’s first dalliance with Australian music. Her 2020 studio album Future Nostalgia saw her giving writing credits to Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence of INXS, after Lipa interpolated the rhythm and melody of their hit ‘Need You Tonight’ for her own multi-platinum single ‘Break My Heart’. Furthermore, the lion’s share of songs from Radical Optimism were co-written by Lipa with Kevin Parker, the multi-instrumentalist behind Tame Impala – who also performed with Lipa at last year’s Glastonbury Festival.
Elsewhere on the setlist for Lipa’s first Melbourne show saw the tour debut of ‘Maria’ and ‘Falling Again’, both album cuts from Radical Optimism, as well as the White Town-sampling ‘Love Again’ from Future Nostalgia. Lipa was supported on the night by pop singer Kita Alexander, who will serve as the opener for the entire Australian run.
Further Reading
Melbourne To Cop Dua Lipa ‘Radical Optimism’ Pop-Up Store
Dua Lipa on Kevin Parker “He’s Always Been on My Dream Board of People to Work With”
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea Names His Three Favourite Australian Bands
