An unlikely merger of rock 'n' roll and Rugby League has resulted In one of the most successful TV commercials ever to be shown in Australia. American rock star Tina Turner, regarded as the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll for almost 20 years, has never seen a Rugby League match in her life, but she is the central figure in a TV commercial promoting the 1989 NSW Rugby League season. The commercial, first shown at the beginning of the season a few weeks ago, has had an amazingly positive response from all sections of Rugby League in NSW - players, officials and, more importantly, the fans.

It is unquestionably the best-received television promotion ever devised in Australia for the Rugby League code of football. Tina Turner, now believed to be over 50 but whose shapely legs are still without peer in world show business, recorded her section of the commercial in London, where she now lives. In it she sings her 1986 hit song, "What You Get Is What You See" while players from all 16 NSW-Rugby League clubs appear on the screen.

The idea to bring in a rock legend such as Tina Turner for a Rugby League pro-motion was the brainchild of the Hertz Walpole agency in Sydney, but neither the agency nor the NSW Rugby League has yet revealed how much Tina was paid, a fee believed to be astronomical. Paul McKay, a spokesman for Hertz Walpole, told Post Tina had very little knowledge, if any, about the game before she was asked to make the commercial, but she became an instant fan after seeing a video of last year's grand final.

"Two senior executives from our agency went to Tina's London home and showed her the grand final video," said Paul, "and she was absolutely knocked out by it. Obviously, she didn't have a clue what Rugby League was all about before we showed her the tape, but now she's a big fan. "She was jumping up and down and yelling out 'Fantastic! Wow!' all the way through the video. She was really excited.

"And she was very impressed by the absence of heavy padding and helmets like American Gridiron players wear. She couldn't believe that our players go out on the field with hardly any protective padding at all."

According to Paul McKay, the key factor in clinching the deal for Tina to make the commercial was the fact that her manager Roger Davies is an Australian. Davies is today one of the big names on the managerial side of rock 'n' roll. He not only manages Tina Turner, but also Mick Jagger and James Reyne.

"We only had the use of Tina for a short time and it could only be filmed in London, so we had to find some Australian league players who were playing with English clubs during the Australian off season."

Filming was due to begin last December and it happened that Cronulla star Gavin Miller and Manly's Cliff Lyons were playing in England at the time. They were given the dream job of co-starring with Tina.

"We filmed our scenes with Tina in a dressing room at a football ground," Cliff Lyons explained, "and Tina came in wearing skin tight shorts, so I got a pretty good view of the legs.

"All I can say is - I don't give a damn if she’s 50, she’s a terrific sort! Sensational!"

Back to: previous page