They may not make the cut for Byron Baes, but a group of over 50s female swimmers are the stars of a new film clip for Aussie Rock Band The Whitlams.
The Byron Bay Mermaids feature heavily in the film clip for the band's new song "You're Making Me Feel Like I'm 50 Again" which premiered on ABC News Breakfast today.
Mr Freedman said he wanted the film clip to feature a sporting team that was an "older bunch."
"These are the real Byron babes, not the Byron Baes," the frontman said.
"I had done the bay swim with the girls about seven years ago and I thought of the Mermaids, which is the over-50s ladies' ocean swimming club.
"They swim from the lighthouse to the surf club every morning at eight o'clock.
'A joyous thing'
Byron Bay mermaid Kate Macpherson said it was wonderful to be able to share the group’s passion for ocean swimming with the world.
“We thought, 'How wonderful someone's capturing what we love to do every day,'” she said.
Ms Macpherson said she agreed with Mr Freedman’s comments about the Mermaids being the real "babes".
“It’s such a joyous thing to do every day, looking at that bay in Byron and swimming across that ocean,” she said.
“Seeing turtles and fish and eagle rays and dolphins — that to me is what Byron Bay is, nothing else."
'Some bemusement'
Mr Freedman said the inspiration for the song came from crowd reactions at live gigs.
"I would say, 'Oh you guys are making me feel great, I feel like I'm 50 again' and they would laugh," he said.
"And I thought, 'That's a funny line — I'll put it into a song.'
"It is met with some bemusement by those who are 30.
"They don't seem to understand that 50 can be a marvellous thing.
In the clip the band is playing in the Northern Rivers hinterland and the Mermaids are churning through the open water under the iconic lighthouse.
Mr Freedman said the song was recorded in a studio in Coorabell, which was where some of the hinterland footage was shot in addition to the mountains at The Pocket.
