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RUSSELL ROCKS AUSTRALIA DAY CELEBRATIONS

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26 JANUARY 2006

Singer and songwriter is not the way Russell Crowe is usually styled, but the actor has been recording tunes for some 20 years. And on Wednesday a televised concert for a 30,000-strong crowd in Canberra provided a showcase for his musical talents.



One of Oz's famous sons, he'd been called upon to headline with his new band, The Ordinary Fear Of God at the Australia Day gala celebrating the country's nationhood. As the brawny star let rip at the mike he got a warm reception from young fans on the lawn of Parliament House, where the event was being held.

Russell, whose previous outfit 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts released three albums between 1998 and 2003, has joked that keeping the same acronym is a way to save on merchandising. "That way we don't have to re-spray the road cases," he quipped.

His current download-only album My Hand, My Heart, was released through his own Gruntland label. The star's lyrics on the album have been widely praised, with his favorite songwriter, Billy Bragg, hailing one track Raewyn as "a beautiful, intimate song, which brought my morning to a halt".