INTERVIEW: CRASH TEST DUMMIES IN CONVERSATION WITH ELLEN REID
Interview by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
Multiple Grammy-nominated and Juno-awarded Canadian folk-rock band Crash Test Dummies are returning to Australia to perform in April 2027. Brad Roberts, Ellen Reid, Dan Roberts and Mitch Dorge are excited to get back down under and experience the country, the people, but “not the spiders” on their greatest hits tour.
“When we toured Australia last year,” informed Ellen Reid. “It was the most fun we have ever had touring. The venues were wonderful. The people and fans were welcoming. The merch people looked after us. It was a great experience. We know that we haven’t done much for a while, but people wanted to hear and see us. It’s 80 per cent part of the reason we are coming back.”
I was one of those fans who attended the sold‑out 2025 run in Australia and I can say that the Crash Test Dummies reminded crowds and fans exactly why they were one of the most unmistakable bands of the 1990s.
“Well, we will be returning with a career‑spanning greatest hits tour,” stated Ellen Reid. “We are so grateful as a band that you want us to come back. I think we want to tour now as we get older – it’s make music while the hips allow it.”
The Winnipeg based Crash Test Dummies formed in 1988 and the band exploded onto the Canadian music scene with their debut 1991 album ‘The Ghosts That Haunt Me’ and with the follow-up album, 1993’s ‘God Shuffled His Feet’, that featured the iconic song ‘Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm’, which would turn out to be the band’s most popular single. The album launched the Crash Test Dummies to international stardom with sales topping eight million album copies as two other top 10 singles crashed into the charts with the sublime ‘Swimming In Your Ocean’ and the wonderful ‘Afternoons and Coffeespoons’. The band reunited in 2018 and the band wondered if they could reclaim the magic.
“It was so instant,” exclaimed Ellen Reid. “We found it easy to play together again. We started writing again. We had a new single in ‘Sacred Alphabet’. We were touring the world again. I have felt like, “what part of the horseshoe” is attached to me…to be so lucky.”
“When we come back to Australia we will bring fan favourites, the hits and play new things,” stated Ellen Reid. “I love touring now. Back in the beginning it wasn’t so good being in the back of a van with five stinky men. But now I don’t have to make my bed or clean the bathtub since I stay at hotels, meals are prepared for me. I can hang out with my bandmate friends, have lots of laughs and play to an appreciative audience!.”
“Touring again was not something we’d planned on, but surprisingly– at least to me – there are lots of people who, after 30 years later, still want to come and hear us,” said Ellen Reid. “It’s humbling, being in the confidence of so many people.”
The Crash Test Dummies are still loved by their fans and music lovers in a way that transcends nostalgia. I cannot recommend highly enough that you get yourself along to one of their gigs. Their high-energy and authentic performance was just a joy to watch.
Crash Test Dummies 2027 Tour dates are below and tickets are on sale from the Friday, 28 August 2026.
Friday, 2 April 2027: The Tivoli, Brisbane QLD
Saturday, 3 April 2027: Twin Towns on the Gold Coast QLD
Thursday, 8 April 2027: The Barton Theatre, Adelaide SA
Friday, 9 April 2027: The Forum, Melbourne VIC
Saturday, 10 April 2027: The Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW
Wednesday, 14 April 2027: The Astor Theatre, Perth WA
