A former child star is set to return to his musical roots for a reunion concert at a local sporting club later this year. Christmas is coming early for fans of Tristan Tatt, with the teen heart-throb expected to front his former band ‘Drive’, a supergroup that took Victoria’s pubs and clubs by storm just over a decade ago.

While Tatt’s musical credentials are unquestioned, it’s fair to say that his acting prowess unlocked an entirely different demographic of fans back in the 1990s as he appeared in a number of different iconic roles during that decade. Tatt’s impressive body of work included playing a child version of Sir Donald Bradman in a Weet-Bix commercial, and being the edgy skater love interest of Linda Twist in the beloved children’s series Round the Twist.

However, Tatt’s most critically acclaimed performance was his brave portrayal of an irritating young schoolboy in a Telecom Homelink advertisement. That character’s staunch inability to take responsibility for his own actions, coupled with a stark lack of gratitude for his mother’s rescuing him from a flat bike tyre, allowed Tatt to showcase his full range. While the fallout of that advertisement included an ugly estrangement from the boy who played Stinky Taylor, it exposed Tatt to a much wider audience – eventually catapulting him to national fame.

But with fame came greater responsibility, and Tatt came under increasing pressure from his ambitious agent who pushed harder and harder for the next hit role. Those challenges were compounded by a rampant Wizz Fizz addiction – a common trap of childhood fame – and eventually pushed Tatt away from television and into his true love: music.

A solid run as the charismatic frontman of Drive aided Tatt’s transition into a more settled life, where his greatest rockstar indulgence these days is parking illegally at Greensborough McDonald’s. News of the Drive reunion has travelled fast, and fans of the band are very much looking forward to their early Christmas gift. However, Linda Twist is yet to confirm her attendance, leading to rumours of a rift between the famous pair.

Advertisement