MORE than a decade has passed since THINGS OF STONE & WOOD raced into the Top th10 with the i ectious single Happy Birthday Helen .
And while the band only seldom plays and records these days, it continues to receive requests for the song wherever they play.
``We get a lot of requests for Happy Birthday Helen .
It's been a bit of a shock to me how big the song was,'' frontman and songwriter GREG ARNOLD said.
``We knew it was at the time, obviously, because the band's l e changed a bit because the song was so big, but we didn't realise how big it was until a few years later people still know the song everywhere we go.
'' Formed in 1990, Things of Stone & Wood released its debut album Yearning in 1993 which spawned Happy Birthday Helen and Rock This Boat.
A string of albums followed before the band took an indefinite break from touring and recording.
But with a new album titled Rollercoaster under its belt the band has returned to what it does best.
``We had spent four to five years of our l e touring and that can be very inspiring and fun but it becomes exhausting and you lose that big thing of being in a band.
``So we had a little time away and now we're back in amongst it.
'' He said the band decided to re-form after realising that it still had a lot to offer.
``When we got together and started playing together again I realised that the band was a very strong band and it was just an inevitable thing to start playing again and recording.
'' Things of Stone & Wood recently appeared at the WOODFORD FOLK FESTIVAL and will perform its first local show since 1997 at the SYDNEY JUNCTION HOTEL on Friday night.
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