THE DON LANE SHOW 50 YEARS SINCE THE MAGIC BEGAN!

Starring in a new tribute to his dad, Don's son PJ Lane swaps stories with Patti Newton and Barry Crocker about the show

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P Lane wasn’t even born when his famous dad debuted a late-night show in 1975 which would revolutionise television, transforming singers like John Farnham into superstars and attracting millions of adoring fans. But he knows more than anyone else just how much it meant to the late, great Don Lane.

“I never watched reruns with him because it just stirred up too much emotion for him,” reveals PJ, who says Don never got over the heartbreak he felt when Nine axed The Don Lane Show in 1983, citing budget concerns.

“When we moved out to this place in Hunters Hill in 1989, he filled the studio with all this Don Lane Show memorabilia. Old tapes, photos and posters. And when he sold it in 2001, nothing had come out of those boxes.”

‘SPECTACULAR’ TRIBUTE TO DAD

PJ was born 13 months after rock superstar David Bowie and US comedy legend Phyllis Diller appeared with Don on that last ever show, but he’s now bringing it back to life in an extraordinary tribute to his dad.

As the show marks 50 years since it went to air, PJ's producing and starring in a national tour of I Love Your Faces: The Don Lane Story later this year to celebrate the life of his dad, singing Don’s signature hits like Seventy-Six Trombones and Ya Got Trouble and sharing his own recollections and anecdotes. “I love your faces” was how Don famously signed off on each of his twice-weekly shows, and PJ thought it was the most fitting name for the show, which will include nostalgia, music and stories from Don's life.

“I call it a spectacular musical story. It is almost autobiographical in a sense. It’s from my perspective and it’s my truth, and I’d love more than anything for him to be able to see this show,” PJ tells Woman’s Day.