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Monday, 2 December 2013

SIMON GALLAHER


Simon Gallaher (born 24 October 1958) is an Australian singer, actor, director and pianist. Gallaher was born in Brisbane and educated at the Anglican Church Grammar School. During the early 1980s, he had his own television program, The Simon Gallaher Show, in which he sang and played the piano. Later, he joined the Queensland Light Opera Company. With his own musical theatre company Essgee Entertainment, Gallaher has produced and acted in stage productions of The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Mikado, The Merry Widow and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, among others. For most of the 1980s his song "Australia Be Proud" was heard at the conclusion of each broadcast day on television station CTC Canberra, accompanied by a montage of video clips from across Australia.

In 2014 Simon returned to the stage to be reunited with Jon English for the first time in many years as they performed in SPAMALOT at QPAC. This sell-out season was a triumph for The Harvest Rain Theatre Company. 2015 Simon took over the role of The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz in the Australian production of WICKED and opened with it at the commencement of the Brisbane season. Gallaher recently sat in the director's chair for the first time and created a new version of his ever popular version of The Pirates of Penzance which played QPAC in March to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the arts centre and of the show's original opening. He is currently on the Board of Trustees to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), the Chair of The Harvest Rain Theatre Company and is also on the board of the Queensland Theatre Company (QTC). He is patron to many arts organisations including The Qld. Show Choir, Qld Youth Symphony Orchestra, Spotlight Theatre Company and the Gold Coast Theatre Alliance. He is a member of Live Performance Australia (LPA) and sits on the Helpmann Awards nominating panel for Musical Theatre.




SINGLES
''Sleeping Like A Baby / They're Playing Our Song'' 1980 Polydor 
''I'm Really Only Singing For You / Opening Night'' 1980 Festival 
''I'm Already Falling / Love Songs And Beautiful Music'' 1981 Festival 
''Australia Be Proud (#68) / Friday Night Masquerade'' 1981 Festival 
''My Friend [with Jackie Love] (#27) / It's Not All That Easy'' 1982 Festival
''Please Don't Call / A Life Of Our Own'' [with Jackie Love] 1984 Rebellion ''
''My Friend / It's Not All That Easy'' [with Jackie Love] 1991 Festival 
''The Last Night Of The World [with Jackie Love] / Heaven'' 1993 Festival


ALBUMS
'Opening Night' (#45) 1981 Festival 
'All in Good Time' (#59) 1982 Festival R
'One Voice' (#15) 1983 J&B
'Unforgettable' (#40) 1991 CBS
'Rising' 1992 CBS
'Together At Last' 2006 Essgee Melodies  




References

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Gallaher

 http://top100singles.blogspot.com.au/
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2 comments:

  1. Elizabeth Wallace8 May 2015 at 06:14

    Simon Gallaher was introduced to the Australian world of music in the early 1980's. His father a doctor, proud of his son, financed his first very expensive show at one of the major Gold Coast International Performance Auditoriums, thus launching Simon's entertainment career. The show featured Simon on piano and vocals and he was backed fully by the 29piece Teddy Wallace (1931-2008) Big Band / later to become ABC Orchestra / dressed in jackets of gold orange. (Same band had been called by many names depending on the supporting financial sponsor - the 4IP Orchestra; the 4BH Orchestra. It featured Len Austin; Teddy Wallace; Mick Morgan; and (Dr) Roy Thompson in the front line in the Woodwind section. (The section doubled - clarinet, flute, piccolo, oboe). Brian King was on hand for bass and Verne Thompson was at hand (on piano relief) when Simon was moving/ singing. I became one of four backing singers available. Simon followed a slight Liberace style approach to the show, with cool subdued lighting on piano, a candelabra that shimmered lit as he played. The 4IP Big Band dancers (dressed in their pink ostrich feathers with headgear performed in the style of the Moulin Rouge but 'non-topless girls' of France). The beautiful girls accompanied him in his show dancing routines and the whole show was quite spectacular! Teddy Wallace was the Musical Director and Band Leader for Simon's debut performance. Other performances with Simon followed. Lenny Austin on bass baritone added a 'real pink panther' to the show as the band played and he (as the Pink Panther) swinging his tail, came out on stage (costumed) but playing the sax. Meanwhile... Simon and the stage girls hurriedly costume changed. Some time after this debut... Simon teamed up with Jackie Love (who is featured on this site in the video) and the pair focused on duets. Simon then broke into the television industry (QTQ 9 or BTQ 7 - not sure)...I think QTQ 9 because Teddy Wallace as orchestra leader was also supporting Hugh Cornish at QTQ 9 /arranging, doubling and assisting on Hugh's professional piano album...and Hugh was a QTQ9 manager who believed in encouraging all young musician/entertainers, giving them opportunities. It was therefore not surprising that not that long after his debut, and teaming up with Jackie, Simon was offered his own show which in the 1980's became quite successful & well received by the Australian public.

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