“The primary reason behind it is because we wanted to do something different,” lead singer of the Choirboys, Mark Gable said. 

“There’s a lot of AC/DC tribute bands out there, but we were around when they were around. Bon Scott is a bloody legend, he was so amazing.

“We wanted to play the music from back then. We were a band that formed back then, and were signed by the same label and recorded in the same studios.”

Having penned the unofficial rock anthem, ‘Run to Paradise’, Gable said the unique Australian pub rock culture, which inspired many musicians and bands throughout the ‘80s, cannot be seen today. 

”Pub rock is dead,” he said, with a mixed feeling of finality. "I don’t think it’s going to head anywhere. I can’t see a resurgence unless there is a cultural change.

“If you go to a pub now you don’t have the same atmosphere. It was in Australian culture.”

“You have all these bands playing original music that was relevant to the times and relevant to the people that were growing up in those times, not just their hopes and aspirations, but their desperation and joys. It hit a chord with everybody.”

In addition to covering songs from High Voltage and Highway to Hell, the group will also be playing Choirboys hits. He said the main reason he was looking forward to his performance in Goulburn was because of the Astor Hotel. 

“The whole pub is designed for live music. Do you know how rare that is?” he said. “That’s what venues used to be like back in the day, so funky and cool, [it] makes performing a real pleasure.” 

The Choirboys plan to release four albums, including one live music album from their tour with Def Leppard, which will come out next month.

Gable said the new music would pay homage to the “good ol’ toe tapping rock and roll” that propelled their band into stardom, but would also include abstract elements fans might not be expecting. 

“We’ve embraced other things but the end result is when we keep going along, we’ll keep going back to the things we’ve done,” he said. 

Together for just over 40 years, when asked when the Choirboys will stop he said that this was all he wanted to do.

“Why stop?” he laughed. “We’ll stop when we drop.” 

The Choirboys will be performing at the Astor Hotel on March 3. For more information call 4821 1155.