Kate Needs 23/8/26 Kate Needs 23/8/26

Disco Inferno Turns Back Time at the Top of the Ark

There are some venues that hold more than memories - the moment you walk through the doors, they have the ability to transport you straight back to another time.

For me, the Top of the Ark at the Arkaba Hotel is one of those places.

Arriving early on Friday night, I managed to secure a perfectly centred front-row position overlooking the dance floor. As I settled in, I couldn’t help thinking back to my late teens, when the Top of the Ark was somewhere we came to dance, socialise and enjoy the music of the era.

So there was something wonderfully fitting about returning all these years later for Fusion Pops Orchestra’s Disco Inferno - a show dedicated to the music of the 1970s.

And what a way to revisit it.

When Disco Meets an Orchestra

From the outset, Disco Inferno was bursting with energy, colour and talent.

This wasn’t simply a band playing a collection of 70s favourites. The combination of a full orchestra and an impressive ensemble of vocalists gave these familiar songs an entirely different dimension.

Strings, brass and rhythm combined with powerful vocals, sparkling costumes, colourful lighting and plenty of movement on stage to create a genuine sense of occasion.

The performers weren’t just singing the songs - they were having fun with them, and that enthusiasm quickly spread through the room.

For those of us who grew up with this music, there was an irresistible familiarity to the night. One song after another brought back memories, while younger audience members were discovering just why these songs have survived for generations.

A Dance Floor Made for Disco

One of the things I particularly loved about the setup was its inclusiveness.

There was plenty of seating around the outside of the dance floor, so you could sit back and enjoy the orchestra and vocals, or get up and dance when a favourite song came along.

It made the evening ideal for a broad range of ages and meant everyone could enjoy the show in their own way.

Of course, with music like this, staying seated for the entire evening was always going to be a challenge.

My personal highlight was It’s Raining Men. Big, joyous and completely over the top in exactly the way a disco anthem should be, it captured the spirit of the night perfectly.

Watch our video from It’s Raining Men following the review.

A Familiar Face Among the Performers

**Rachel Hedges - Fusion Pops Orchestra**

The evening also had a personal connection for me, as one of the singers performing with Fusion Pops was Rachel Hedges, whom I knew.

Rachel’s musical background goes back to childhood. She began singing with the Adelaide Girls Choir - now Young Adelaide Voices - at the age of 10, with her musical journey taking her as far as performing at Westminster Abbey during a European tour. She later performed with Orphean and Aurora before becoming part of Fusion Pops.

Seeing someone I knew amongst such an accomplished group of performers made an already memorable evening that little bit more special.

The Perfect Home for a Night of Nostalgia

It would be difficult to imagine a more appropriate Adelaide venue for Disco Inferno than the Arkaba Hotel.

The Top of the Ark has been part of Adelaide’s entertainment landscape for generations, and seeing that dance floor once again filled with people enjoying the music made the venue feel every bit as much a part of the show as the performers themselves.

Today, the Arkaba offers considerably more than live entertainment. You can make an entire evening - or weekend - of a visit, with its Restaurant and Lounge Bar, Sportys sports bar, six function spaces and 62 accommodation rooms all under the one roof. The Top of the Ark itself remains the hotel’s flagship entertainment and function space.

For me, though, Friday night was about returning to a room filled with memories.

I may have been sitting front and centre rather than arriving as the teenager I once was, but when that orchestra struck up and those familiar 70s songs filled the Top of the Ark, the years seemed to disappear remarkably quickly.

Fusion Pops Orchestra’s Disco Inferno was energetic, nostalgic and enormously entertaining - a sparkling celebration of the songs an entire generation grew up with.

And for a few hours on Friday night, the Top of the Ark became our dance floor all over again.

Kate Needs attended Disco Inferno for Limelight SA.

‘It’s Raining Men’ - Fusion Pops Orchestra

Photo/Video Credits: Kate Needs

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Brett Partington 28/7/26 Brett Partington 28/7/26

'Vintage Cheese' Causes Chaos on the Coast

The debut gig nobody quite saw coming.

If you wandered into the Brighton & Seacliff Yacht Club on Sunday afternoon expecting another cover band playing a few pub classics, you were in for a rude shock.

Within minutes, it was obvious this wasn't going to be one of those days.

Adelaide band 'Vintage Cheese' had been quietly building a cult-like following, promising to play long-forgotten cheesy classics that most bands would be too embarrassed to touch.

The gig had sold out seven weeks before, and by the time the band went on stage, more than 250 people (including those gathered on the outdoor deck) had packed the venue.

Heads turned.

Nobody quite knew what was coming next.

An Elvis-style fanfare thundered through the room with all the grandeur of a Las Vegas residency. For a brief moment, you could almost imagine The King himself was about to appear.

Instead, out walked six middle-aged blokes calling themselves Vintage Cheese, dressed with complete disregard for fashion.

They opened the set with one of the cheesiest songs ever recorded.

Beautiful Sunday. (On a Sunday!)

Ridiculous... yet perfect.

The room smiled back.

This wasn't just a concert.

It was three hours of people forgetting how old they were, letting loose and having a bloody good time.

To be fair, nobody acted their age.

Leading the charge were three glamorous women in sparkly gold dresses known simply as 'The Cheesettes' - Vintage Cheese's own party starters.

They didn't wait for someone else to start dancing.

They were the start.

Carrying oversized glass bowls overflowing with Cheezels, they handed them to complete strangers like edible badges of honour.

Nobody questioned it.

Nobody wanted to.

At the centre of all the mayhem was Pete, the band's showman.

Arms permanently outstretched, long black locks flowing, his shimmery black shirt catching the afternoon sun, and a permanent cheesy grin, he bellowed out each song with the confidence of a seasoned cabaret performer.

He wasn't just singing.

He was inviting everyone into the show.

Then came something most bands can only dream of.

Within the opening eight songs, a huge conga line had formed.

It snaked through the room, onto the balcony and back again as complete strangers placed their hands on the shoulders of the person in front, going wild without a care in the world.

They simply went with it.

One older woman joined the conga line, wine glass still in hand, gently steadied by her two grandsons as they laughed their way around the room together.

Moments like that were happening everywhere.

As if on cue, the weather joined the party.

The overcast morning gave way to a spectacular Adelaide winter afternoon, with sunshine pouring across the yacht club for most of the day.

Then all hell broke loose.

Yellow balloons bounced across the dance floor as a modified cordless leaf blower launched entire toilet rolls high into the air.

Everyone laughed.

Many ducked.

Before long, the dance floor was covered in a tangled web of white paper, with people trying to untangle themselves.

Absolute chaos.

Wonderful chaos.

One of the more unusual sights was how many phones were held high...not just to film the band, but to capture the fun unfolding all around them.

The crowd had become part of the show.

Music became the excuse for connection. Conversations flowed as though everyone had known each other for years. Before long, entire sections of the room were singing together, not because everyone knew every lyric, but because everyone wanted to be part of it.

The dance floor remained packed from the first set to the last.

Nobody wanted the day to end.

For a few hours at least, strangers became friends.

As the gig drew to a close, a stunning winter sunset lit up the sky.

It was the perfect backdrop to an experience that had delivered far more than anyone expected.

Walking out of the club, one thing was obvious.

Vintage Cheese hadn't come to impress the crowd.

They'd come to involve them.

Not in a cool way... Just Fun!

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