In 1987 our old friend Rob Hartley found himself in the leading role of a very quirky, extremely witty Aussie sci fi comedy, the highly entertaining Sons Of Steel. The brainchild of writer/director/producer Gary Keady, S.O.S. also featured another amazing Aussie vocalist, the legendary and always outrageous Jeff Duff.

One day back then I got a phone call out of the blue. It was Rob ringing to say hello from L.A. on a mobile phone, when mobiles were very scarce in Australia. He was walking down the street and decided to call me just because he could.

Rob would often leap up on the stage and sing with us. He has a powerful voice and the physique to match. I haven’t seen him for years, but in those days he was a keen body builder and had the muscles to show for it. So did his voice.

Gary Keady is a hard working, talented and leading figure in our fragile grass roots movie industry. Working without the lavish budgets of the big studios, Gary is of the breed of fine independents who continue to produce great work despite the odds.

The good news is that Gary and S.O.S. are going to the U.S. in 2018 with the object of showing S.O.S. in American cinemas. I hope he does really well. Gary and all of his collaborators deserve success.

Visit the website for more details. http://www.sonsofsteel.com.au/

Pics – Rob Hartley on the set of Sons Of Steel (courtesy Gary Keady).

Below – Poster from the movie.