THE man who was told he was "too old to dance" at a Cold Chisel concert last year proved that fun has no age restrictions at Australia's first over-40s rock concert in Townsville on October 20.
More than 1200 'oldies' rocked out at Not Too Old to Dance, a 10-hour musical time warp that was inspired by Richard Fuller's story and young-at-hearts everywhere.
Event organiser Margie Ryder said it was like 'Hail King Richard' with hundreds of people wanting to shake Richard's hand, give him a pat on the back or have a dance with the man who inspired it all.
"I'm over the moon with the feedback we received throughout the day," Ms Ryder said.
"Admittedly, we had fewer people come through the gate than hoped, but every person who showed up had a good time and that's what Not Too Old to Dance was all about.
The highlight of the night was certainly the Choirboys and the band 1927. Mark Gable in particular gave the crowd a really interactive experience and the crowd gave back tenfold.
That being said, local bands rocked the house just as hard.
It was fantastic to round up some of Townsville's best bands and Back'n'Business from Toowoomba and showcase the talent of over-40s locals.
"Even before the big acts hit the stage there was a lot of talk happening in the crowd with comments like 'We can't wait until next year' and 'Joe Bloggs will be so angry he missed this'," Mrs Ryder said.
"We're yet to make a decision on whether there will be a next year there's a lot of due diligence to be done before we can make that call. But if Not Too Old to Dance does go ahead again, we'll take some key learnings from this year.
"The big change will be reconsidering the age restrictions to allow everyone over 30 in, with 18 to 29-year-olds requiring an over-40 'chaperone'. The last thing we want to do is deny young people who appreciate old music the chance to hear it live."
Not Too Old to Dance donat-ed a portion of ticket sales to beyondblue to help address issues associated with depression, anxiety and related illnesses. Choirboys front man and beyondblue ambassador Mark Gable accepted the final donation of $6310.
"There's a lot of depression among people over 40, particularly the men who don't really want to talk about it. Events like Not Too Old to Dance help to highlight the illness," he said.
"Primarily, this kind of event has always been focused on young people, even when we were young.
"Now all these people have grown up, they'd rather be at home having a nice dinner or a glass of wine or beer, so to get them out to a situation like this is revolutionary."