Eagles Dared to Keep a Low Profile

Nui Te Koha

21jun04

Melbourne Herald Sun

THE Eagles say they topped a century's best honours list by choosing songs before image.

"The Eagles are a strange combination for people who are in what you might call show business," singer-drummer Don Henley said.

"None of us are really showboats. We don't crave attention. We don't crave the spotlight. We like to play music."

That music is now in the history books.

The Eagles, according to Record Industry Association of America figures, were the biggest selling act of the 20th century.

Their Greatest Hits 1971-75 topped the list with 28 million copies.

The group also has the eight and 11th best-ever selling albums, with Hotel California and Greatest Hits Vol.2, respectively.

Henley said the Eagles' choice of substance over style was simple.

"The artists and groups we admire were not putting themselves on display," Henley said.

"Those artists were more interested in the music, and the social relevance of the music, and we admired that."

He said the new generation of image-based performers left him cold.

The Eagles for three decades deliberately kept low profiles and were a stylist's nightmare.

Still, they sold 120 million albums worldwide.

The Eagles will appear at Rod Laver Arena on November 14.

Tickets go on sale today.