Anthony Albanese has recounted how he brought Dolly Parton's Australian tour back from the brink — by standing by her vans.
Speaking to ABC Radio on Friday — Parton's 78th birthday — the prime minister covered the and before the conversation pivoted to country music.
The Australian leg of the rhinestone cowgirl's world tour in 2011 almost fell apart when customs and road authorities took issue with her two massive tour buses, but was saved when then-transport minister Albanese intervened.
"Dolly Parton doesn’t like flying around," Albanese told ABC Radio. "So she has a bus that is larger than the regulations and the bureaucrats say is not allowed on New South Wales roads and on roads in Australia, so I intervened and said 'for goodness sake, surely going from A to B with Dolly Parton’s bus [should be allowed]'."
Dolly Parton's former tour bus at the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Source: Getty / The Washington Post
Ahead of the 2011 tour, customs said one of the buses was too large, while road authorities took issue with the fact its doors opened onto traffic, having been designed for United States roads, according to a News.com.au report at the time.
"I got to have a look inside, it's a bit more than a bus, she lives in there basically," Albanese said.
"It's quite luxurious, but it's longer and wider than a normal bus here, and so I intervened as the federal transport minister and her tour went ahead.
"I got to meet Dolly and to go to her gig there out at Homebush and I've got to say, it was fantastic.
"She is a great entertainer and so happy birthday, Dolly."
Anthony Albanese in 2011 when he was the federal transport minister. Source: AAP / Alan Porritt
"He was so good to make sure we got my buses here ... Now I don’t know if he’s here today but if he is you can come up here and I’ll smear lip gloss all over you," she said while on tour.
Albanese, who described himself as "a rock and roll guy and an indie rock and roll guy", gained a reputation for moonlighting as a DJ after he hosted an episode of ABC's Rage in 2013.
