While the memory of “that time that Tony Abbott was our prime minister” is a faint glimmer in the distance, it’s good to see that the Mad Monk is still just as bizarrely entertaining as he was during his leadership of our country. Fairfax Media have released exclusive audio of the ex-PM singing Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” – a song choice that perhaps reflects the unceremonious ousting that he was victim to at the end of his run.
The audio was recorded at the National Party’s Christmas drinks on Tuesday, but sounds like it could have come from any family gathering you invited your drunk uncle to. The recording was apparently only one of two performances, one of which was a capella – listening to it, it’s not entirely clear why an encore was necessary, but Tones has never been one to not back himself.
Even more intriguing is the former PM’s strange obsession with his song of choice, with it allegedly being the soundtrack to the now infamous “table-breaking” incident after he was deposed. He appears to have had a penchant for the track long before being kicked out of the top spot however; referencing it in his Twitter feed all the way back to at least 2012, and performing it at a charity fundraiser only a year before.
He even took to doing another rendition on Nova’s Fitzy & Wippa program, in the same segment referring to himself as a “grog monster”, and forcing us to imagine the most bleak episode of Sesame Street of all time. Treat yourself to that acoustic version below, and then check out the Christmas party edition above.
