IT is a top 10 success that has been four decades in the making.
The Real Thing singer Russell Morris landed at No.10 on the ARIA album with his Sharkmouth record yesterday, six months after its release.
The album brings some of Australia’s most infamous and legendary characters, from Squizzy Taylor to Phar Lap, and was rejected by every record label before independent label Ambition entertainment came to the rescue.
Since it was released last year, the album has found friends via talkback radio and the word-of-mouth of fans who have fallen in love with the songs at his gigs.
Sharkmouth has hovered in the top 20 for the past month and jumped six places this week to give Morris his first top 10 hit in a 45-year career.
The much-loved musician credited the support of a loyal legion of fans and media champions for the record making its way up the charts without a social media campaign or commercial radio airplay.
”It has taken me by surprise,” Morris said.
”No one wanted this album, I paid for it myself and produced it in a cardboard cover and at the 11th hour, Ambition said they would do it.
”Isn’t it funny? Everyone loves a good Lazarus story.”
