Bachman-Turner Overdrive will bring the No Speed Limit Tour to five Australian cities in February 2027.
by Paul Cashmere
Bachman-Turner Overdrive will tour Australia for the first time in February 2027, with Randy Bachman leading the Canadian rock institution through Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
The five-date No Speed Limit Tour will mark the first Australian concerts by BTO, more than five decades after the band was formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The tour will feature the songs that established Bachman-Turner Overdrive as one of the defining rock acts of the 1970s, including “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet”, “Takin’ Care Of Business”, “Let It Ride”, “Roll On Down The Highway”, “Hey You” and “Looking Out For #1”.
The Australian dates begin at Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane on February 3, followed by Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on February 5. Melbourne’s Palais Theatre hosts BTO on February 7, with Adelaide’s Thebarton Theatre on February 9 and Perth’s Astor Theatre on February 11.
Bachman-Turner Overdrive was formed in 1971, initially evolving from Randy Bachman’s post-Guess Who project Brave Belt. Bachman had left The Guess Who after helping establish the Canadian band internationally, and began developing a new sound with his brother Robbie Bachman and former Guess Who vocalist Chad Allan.
Fred Turner joined the project and became a central part of the BTO sound, while another Bachman brother, Tim, later joined on guitar. After Brave Belt released two albums without significant commercial success, the group changed direction and became Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
The band’s name was inspired in part by the trucking magazine Overdrive, reflecting the hard-driving rock sound the musicians were developing. Mercury Records signed the group in 1973 and released the self-titled Bachman-Turner Overdrive that year.
The breakthrough came quickly. Bachman-Turner Overdrive II, released later in 1973, reached the US Top 5 and produced “Let It Ride” and “Takin’ Care Of Business”. The following year, Not Fragile reached No. 1 in both the United States and Canada and delivered BTO’s only US No. 1 single, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”.
Not Fragile remains the band’s highest-selling non-compilation album, with worldwide sales reported at more than eight million copies. BTO continued its run with Four Wheel Drive and Head On, while maintaining an intensive touring schedule.
The band’s 1970s catalogue ultimately produced seven Top 40 albums and 11 Top 40 singles in Canada, with six of those singles also reaching the US Top 40. BTO has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, according to published band histories, while its catalogue has remained a fixture of classic rock radio.
The original classic lineup underwent changes during the second half of the decade. Blair Thornton replaced Tim Bachman in 1974, joining Randy Bachman, Fred Turner and Robbie Bachman for the period generally regarded as BTO’s commercial peak.
Randy Bachman left the band in 1977, and BTO continued through several different configurations before disbanding in 1980. Bachman and Turner subsequently reunited on several occasions, including the Bachman & Turner project that produced a studio album and international touring in 2010.
BTO was ultimately inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2014. Randy Bachman, Fred Turner, Blair Thornton and Robbie Bachman were recognised as the core members of the band’s most commercially successful period.
The band was revived again by Randy Bachman in 2023. Following further touring in Canada and the United States, the lineup was revamped in 2025 to include Randy’s son Tal Bachman on guitar and vocals, Brent Howard on guitar, Lance LaPointe on bass and Koko Bachman on drums. Fred Turner, who had made select appearances with the revived BTO, is not part of the current touring lineup.
The new lineup has retained the family connection that has been part of BTO’s history from the beginning. Koko Bachman is married to Tal Bachman, while Randy Bachman remains at the centre of the band as guitarist, vocalist and principal songwriter.
“BTO has truly become a family band again,” Bachman said. “My son, Tal Bachman on guitar, my daughter-in-law, KoKo Bachman on drums, and our friends Lance Lapointe on bass and Brent Knudsen on guitar.”
“We’re playing all the hits, as well as diving deep into the album cuts,” Bachman said.
The current BTO repertoire draws heavily from the catalogue created during the band’s 1970s peak, when its combination of guitar-driven rock, prominent riffs and Fred Turner’s distinctive vocals produced a string of enduring songs.
The band’s influence has extended beyond its own recordings. “Takin’ Care Of Business” has become one of the most widely used songs in popular culture, appearing in films, television and advertising, while “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” remains one of the defining singles of the 1970s rock era.
BTO’s place in Canadian music history was formally recognised with its Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction, following three consecutive Juno Awards for Group of the Year between 1974 and 1976.
The Australian concerts will bring Randy Bachman and the current BTO lineup to a country where the band has long had an established audience, but where the group itself has never previously undertaken a tour.
Bachman-Turner Overdrive Australian Tour 2027
February 3, Brisbane, Fortitude Music Hall
February 5, Sydney, Enmore Theatre
February 7, Melbourne, Palais Theatre
February 9, Adelaide, Thebarton Theatre
February 11, Perth, Astor Theatre
Ticket Details
Artist presale tickets go on sale Tuesday, September 22 at 10am local time.
Promoter and venue presales begin Wednesday, September 23 at 10am local time.
General public tickets go on sale Friday, September 25 at 10am local time via Destroy All Lines.
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