LYNDA TOPP of the TOPP TWINS: The Importance Of Being Earnest
An interview by Sarah Kidd.
They are New Zealand legends in every shape and form of the word. Known for their comedic and musical talents, Lynda and Jools Topp have been a staple of our screens and stages for the last thirty years; as well as being avid campaigners for several causes including Breast Cancer awareness (a topic that became very personal to them in 2006 when Jools was herself diagnosed).
Pushing boundaries and encompassing all that is Kiwi, the Topp Twins have always had a decidedly country music influence to their style; coupled with their ability to embody fascinating and hilarious personalities such as Ken & Ken as well as The Bowling Ladies and Lynda and Jools Topp are an unstoppable duo.
October 2017 once again sees this uproarious pair take to the tour circuit with the full complement of characters and possibly a lamington or two! Not only that, but The Topp Twins will also be performing two children’s shows in support of their latest release with Scholastic and which promises to be an experience for both kids and parents alike! It’s a show not to be missed!
I spoke with Lynda recently in regards to their illustrious career and the importance of children’s books to them both.
The Topp Twins are going out on tour soon and it marks, well pretty much over 30 years that you have been performing these wonderfully eclectic shows – what keeps it fresh for you now days?
“We just love doing it you know, we have a great time. We always try and have a little bit of a theme for each tour, so this one is ‘Heading for the Hills’. We are going to all the rural towns and we are also incorporating – right at the beginning of the tour – two kid’s shows which are a big first for The Topp Twins! (laughs) You always gotta try and do something new and make it fun.”
It’s wonderful that you take your shows to the smaller towns that are often forgotten about by most tours, music or otherwise. Do you tend to find that the shows at the smaller centres are more fun due to the amount of locals that turn up?
“You know I think that if you take the time out to go to those small places people are very appreciative and they seem to come out in their droves. (laughs) We have done three sections of New Zealand now; we have done the top half of the South Island, the top half of the North Island and around the Manawatu area.
So now we are doing the central part of the North Island, and our success rate is 98.5% houses in all of those little rural towns; so that means there’s only usually about two seats left in the house .(laughs) They have been piling in and I think it’s because we have taken the time to go there”
Not just that – you guys are New Zealand legends!
“Well they said that they love the characters you know, and the idea is that it’s a night of entertainment, fun and laughter. Usually what happens is that it turns into a bit of a social evening for all the people to catch up with each other in those rural areas; so yeah it’s a big night out for all of us.”
The social factor is something so very small town New Zealand, but of great importance to that community heart and spirit. Something that the bigger cities are staring to lose sight of now days…
“You’ve got to take a little bit of time out. We always have an interval you know, and usually what happens in those small towns, there will be the netball team, Plunket or the Lions who usually make a cup of tea and something to eat, so then everybody can sit around and chat about the weather and things like that at half time. It’s important!”
Well you just can’t beat a good old sausage roll and a lamington now can you?
(laughs) “There are sausage rolls and lamingtons in the show! I don’t want to give too much away, but a sausage roll and a lamington does appear …” (laughs)
Speaking of the show – and I know you can’t give too much away – but can audiences expect an appearance from Ken & Ken and my personal favourites Camp Mother and Leader?
“Ah yes, yes. The Bowling Ladies are actually starting the show and it’s been quite exciting working with The Bowling Ladies because they have never really done a major tour! They have mostly been on TV and they have done a little tour but nothing as big as this. The Bowling Ladies are really fun to work with and we have discovered that there are many, many bowlers in New Zealand. (laughs) Camp Mother and Camp Leader – you know we would be lynched if we didn’t bring them and then Ken & Ken are in the second half. The Topp Twins come out as themselves just at the end, so it’s a nice combination of all the characters on the road”
Oh I love Camp Mother and Camp Leader, they are just so much fun!
“Yeah well Camp Leader is always out of control; Camp Mother always has to keep her in line” (laughs)
As you were alluding to earlier you guys are indeed doing some children’s shows this time around which is exciting!
“It’s to coincide with the release [in October] of our new Scholastic book, ‘Old McDonald Had a Farm’. One of the deals that we did with Scholastic was that all the books that we recorded with them had to be old songs that Mums, Dads and Grandparents knew so that they could sing them to their kids. We thought about writing them, some kid’s songs and everything like that but it’s difficult for people to sing along with those ones. Whereas if you just take the good old songs and put a little bit of a twist on them … we tried to do some slightly different ideas with them and they’ve been a raging success!
So what we’re going to do with the kids shows in Auckland is Camp Mother and Camp Leader are going to do the first half of the show and then we are going to sing all of the books for the kids. It will be fun getting the kids to do crazy things with Camp Mother and Camp Leader; Camp Leader is beside herself, she is very excited about the kids show” (laughs)
I bet she is! She will end up leading a rebellion of them so parents better be aware! (mutual laughter)
Now this is actually your sixth children’s book that you have done. What prompted you guys to undertake this sort of project in the first place?
“Scholastic was keen to have us on board and the idea was to try and get kids back into books and we are pretty into that you know, because we are old school. So Jools and I said, ‘Look we’ll record this song for you and keep it as simple as we possibly can’. Then they organised the illustrator – Jenny Cooper, who’s done a fantastic job on all the books.
The first book we did was a resounding success and so yeah we kept chugging along and every now and then we go in and record a song for them and they churn out these beautiful books at the end, it’s a win-win for everybody!”
Such a lovely idea that you are performing the ‘old school’ songs– something familiar and that everyone can share as a family.
“I think there are some amazing books out there for kids you know, but we’re just filling another little niche. Mums, Dads and Grandparents can buy the book and say ‘I know that song, I will be able to sing that to my grandkids’ and I think that combination; that the parents know it and the grandparents know it is a plus! It’s new to the kids but hopefully you know, in thirty or forty years’ time those kids are singing those songs to their kids” (laughs)
Yes fostering children’s interest in books is so very important now with the digital age…
“They’ve done some tests where they put kids and babies in a room with books, and the kids were pressing and touching the pictures, swiping the pages, because they have seen their parents swiping and touching things and then something changes.
And so you know that is why Scholastic has done this great thing where you have got a CD in the back of the book and you can hear the song and sing along with it; it’s got all the music on the back sheet as well so if you want to learn how to play the song on the guitar or the piano you can! Its real hands on stuff rather than just swiping and tapping. (laughs)
You can’t beat a good book – you just can’t beat a good book and I think Jools and I got on board with Scholastic because we thought this is a great idea for kids you know, I mean pretty much every kid out there in New Zealand has got an iPhone or a digital phone – that’s always going to happen – but there needs to be books there as well, you know you’ve still got to have books”
Oh most definitely, books are very much still important and completely relevant and we need to foster that love from an early age so that they can learn to develop the skills required later in life of how to use a book for research etc.
“Yeah, Google doesn’t always have all the answers” (laughs)
Yes even though kids like to think that it does! (mutual laughter)
So what else is on the cards for The Topp Twins once you have finished this tour?
“Once we have finished the ‘Heading for the Hills’ tour we have a little time off over Christmas and New Years and then we are actually heading overseas; we have been asked to go back to quite a few of the festivals in Australia. We’re going to Port Fairy Folk Festival then to Norfolk Island Country Music Festival.
We have also been flat out doing TV for the last five years and we still have another Topp Country show to be released; it’s been all recorded and edited and TVNZ actually have that, so there’s one more in the series that they are yet to screen. But we have finished all the TV programs, so now it’s quite exciting because we are getting back to live performances! So there are a few AMP shows on the horizon, and as you know we love doing them, but yeah a lot of overseas trips for us next year!
And we do have an idea for a film that is in the pipeline … we are just waiting to see who gets into government before we start doing the final scripting for that” (laughs)
The Topp Twins will be playing two childrens shows in Auckland before embarking on a tour of New Zealand’s smaller towns this October on the ‘Heading For The Hills Tour’. You can find more information on this here. We also have a double pass to the ‘Heading For The Hills’ tour date of your choosing to give away – to enter find the relevant post on our Facebook page and answer the skill question to be in to win! Competition ends Sunday 1st October 2017, for terms and condition go here.
