Dave Gleeson Of The Screaming Jets: 'We're One Of The Best Live Bands That's Ever Been'

Emily Wilson

The frontman of the iconic Aussie heavy-rockers is gearing up for huge performances at Tamworth and BONFEST, and is under no illusions about the band's live reputation.

The Screaming Jets(Credit: Supplied)

Dave Gleeson

Dave Gleeson, fresh off of interviewing teen icon Taylor Momsen on his radio show, is proudly sporting a Dolly Parton Fan Club cap as he sips from a mug peppered with illustrations of Homer Simpson.

The Screaming Jets frontman – and member of The Angels from 2011 to 2023 – is a busy man. Not only is he frequently tearing up concert venues and chatting to celebrity guests on Triple M Nights With Dave Gleeson, just last week he was also spotted kicking goals at Reclink’s annual fundraising football game, hosted by Adelaide’s Coopers Stadium.

And he is showing no signs of kicking up his feet, having just announced plans to kick off 2027 with a triumphant return to the Tamworth Country Music Festival with a show at The Longyard hotel on January 19th.

With their shows in 2025 and 2026 selling out, Tamworth has essentially become an annual pilgrimage for The Screaming Jets – somewhat of a surprise given that the Aussie rock legends don’t quite boast a Country sound.

“When Tamworth started off all those years ago, it was wall-to-wall Country artists,” Gleeson explains. “But over the last few years they’ve started to get rock bands to come along.” Gleeson’s theory is that people enjoy a wider variety of sound, given that the festival lasts for two weeks.

“We did the Longyard three years ago and the place went absolutely nuts. There’s cowboy hats there. Not your general Screaming Jets crowd,” he says, laughing. “The owner thought it was so great that he’s booked us year after year, and we haven’t let him down yet.”

The Tamworth audience “rocks out” in a different way, he explains. “Someone will be bound to break out with some line dancing at some point. And there’s lots of R.M. Williams – that’s the brand of the cowboy. They are a different crowd, but they are a very accepting crowd.”

Following their Tamworth appearance, the band will be heading to Scotland for the iconic BONFEST, which celebrates the life of the late AC/DC frontman Bon Scott. The festival will take place in the burgh of Kirriemuir – Scott’s place of birth, as well as, notably, Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie’s – in late April.

“I remember seeing the Jailbreak video on the telly when I was a kid,” Gleeson reminisces. At the end of the iconic music video, Bon Scott is dramatically pelted with bullets. “As a young kid, I was quite taken with that, and then I used to fake getting shot, dropping to the ground.”

When The Screaming Jets first emerged in the 1980s, they used to play AC/DC songs live. “It wasn’t until I started playing in The Screaming Jets and touring around that I realised that Bon had only actually died ten years before. It’s not like it was this hugely long-ago historical event.

“I met up with all the guys from The Angels, the guys from Rose Tattoo, the guys from The Choirboys, and we were all like, ‘Man, we would have loved to sit around and have a laugh with Bon.’”

Gleeson has always been enamoured with the way that Scott can musically tell a story. “You know he’s a tough guy, but he doesn’t sound like a wanker when he’s doing it.”

The Screaming Jets are renowned for their high-octane live show energy, performances that electrify and exhaust. “A lot of it just comes naturally. As soon as I get onstage, the music just lights me up.

“I also know it’s my job – I want people to see the band and go, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen anything like that before.’ I’m very conscious of that every time I’ve ever been onstage. You’ve got to make it memorable.”

People associate a certain level of aggression, perhaps even danger and violence, with the genre of hard rock. As someone who is closely associated with that genre, does Gleeson agree with that perception?

“Yeah, for some bands,” he says. “When I saw Pantera back in the day it was brutal, an assault on the senses. But the energy that we like to put across is a community of everyone being involved and enjoying themselves.”

The Screaming Jets, as a project, has been around for decades, and has thus weathered multiple changes, including altered line-ups. But the emphasis on live performance has been a consistent through-line for the band.

“No matter who comes into the band, you’ve got to get out there and sweat and really get into it,” Gleeson says.

He is well aware that the songs that The Screaming Jets are most known for originate from the band’s first three records in particular. “Having said that, you’re still always hoping that you can create another album that hits a chord with the next generation of fans.

“But the consistent thing is that we’re one of the best live bands that’s ever been, and that quality of songwriting in the early days has set us up for our loyal fan base.”

A loyal fan base – as well as a staunch commitment to Putting On A Show – has ensured that Dave Gleeson has become a veteran of the music industry, with The Screaming Jets holding court for nearly forty years now. Over the span of his decades-long career, the biggest change in the music industry, Gleeson says, is the ubiquity of streaming platforms – a shake-up he appears to be decidedly not a fan of.

“Streaming. I call it stealing,” he scoffs. “I mean, it’s such a shame. And, look, I’m all for sharing stuff, but you’ve got to pay for it in the beginning.”

The prevalence of streaming does, he believes, hinder young, emerging bands from stability and success. “You can get a million streams on Spotify in the U.S. and it might put $5,000 in your bank.

“But you might be a five-piece band, so $5,000 isn’t going to even get you over to the States to connect with your audience. It doesn’t allow you to actually capitalise on people loving your music; it lets you down.”

He adds that nowadays, on top of everything else, bands tend to receive less tour support from record companies, and some venues charge a percentage on merchandise. “For young bands, who are making their own posters, making their own T-shirts…” He shakes his head. “I’m angry, alright.”

In this era of exploitation, uncertainty, and patchy morality, all that Gleeson can recommend is loyalty and determination.

“When we started off in [The Screaming Jets] we were best mates,” he says. “We were a gang. And the members who are still in the band, we are still best mates. That gang mentality when you’re young is all-important.”

Those friendships will matter even more when you start to tour internationally, he explains. “And going overseas is something I would encourage young bands to do almost instantly, rather than just going round and round Australia. You’ve got to commit to staying over there.”

He cites the success of bands such as INXS and Midnight Oil. “They all spent lots of time on the ground in the US and the UK. Whereas with The Jets, we were hitting and running. We would go over there for a few months, and then come back… On the band front, you’ve got to spread your music as far and wide as possible.”

He concludes with the most important sentiment of all: “Main thing: believe in what you’re doing, love what you’re doing. Put your heart and soul into it.” Hopefully, in spite of it all, prosperity – not merely financial prosperity, but creative, spiritual prosperity – will follow.

Tickets to The Screaming Jets’ appearances at both Tamworth’s Longyard Hotel and the BONFEST festival in Scotland, are on sale now. Tickets to all other upcoming live shows are also on sale.