SHAREN Richards was 46 when got into "show" business, launching You're The Star Karaoke.
"My first ever gig was at the Town Hall Hotel [in Waratah] on July 17, 1999, and we celebrate that date every year," says Ms Richards, before adding of her own voice talent, "think I can carry a tune, I'm not a diva like Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey, but I like the sixties girls."
Before she became a karaoke queen, the mother-of-two was well known as a bar worker at Newcastle venues including the Adamstown and Hamilton bowling clubs and Souths Leagues Club in Merewether.
"I loved it because it was with people," she says. "It was like walking onto a stage, when you go to the bar you have to present yourself to the customers. Well, you did back then."
She began her business after her brother launched a karaoke venture in Sydney and egged her to follow suit. "I am a people person and I did like singing - we used to sing in the car, at home - so he planted the seed. I thought I'd give it a go, then after 12 months if it hadn't come good I'd have some toys to play with at home."
At 68, Newcastle-raised Richards now hosts, with three staff, up to nine karaoke shows per week at 10 regular venues in Newcastle.
"I think I'm the biggest regional karaoke show," she says.
She recalls the first show she did at the Town Hall like it was yesterday.
"It was a football show, it was for the Waratah Cheetahs, they were a fun mob," she said.
"My sister loaned me $5000 to get the equipment together and back in those days we used CDGs (a CD with graphics) and VCDS (a video CD). I had 2000 CDs to start with and I had no idea how to press any of the buttons. I was on the microphone and a friend of my brother's had moved up and she taught me how to do it."
"It took off. I don't know if it was the time but there weren't many karaoke shows in Newcastle and I did present it more as a show, with giveaways."
You're The Star Karaoke offers public karaoke at pubs and at private functions, and disco and tunes DJ services for parties and occasions.
The technology has changed over the years, from using discs to downloading songs and buying them.
"We used to have the big box speakers covered in carpet, then the smaller speakers on the stands, now I just have a single EV speaker that fills the whole room," she says.
Asked what her most played songs are, Ms Richards says that it varies from venue to venue.
"Some people follow me from venue to venue and each has their regular singers. I think the Backstreet Boys are making a comeback, good for them, they are coming out next year too. ABBA is always a favourite."
When she performs as host, she chooses a song to start, introduces the show and reminds people of COVID rules, then loads the songs in a queue to ensure everyone gets a fair go.
A big fan of Carol King, Dusty Springfield and Karen Carpenter, she often opens with All Night Long by Lionel Richie, or Build Me Up Buttercup by the Foundations.
She thinks karaoke's success lies in the fact that it's interactive.
"It would attract more people to venues than a solo artist or a group artist. I personally love love solo artists but unless it's a band or someone well known, karaoke is cheaper and brings followers," she says.
Ms Richards will celebrate her 70 birthday in December, 2023, and she's not sure if the sound of silence will follow.
"I was going to retire at 65 and then that didn't happen, then COVID hit and everything dried up and I thought that was going to be the end then. But it's come back stronger than ever, I have more venues than I've ever had," she smiles.
"Once I turn 70 I am thinking that is probably enough."
She'll be in good company: Australian Bureau of Statistics figures from 2019 on retirement and "retirement intentions" show that the average age of people who intend to retire is 65.5.
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