Grace Knight was born in 1955 in the UK and performed as a cabaret singer in folk clubs from 1976. She competed in a semi-final of a national talent quest as a duo and consequently travelled to Dubai to perform, where she met Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. In 1977, she obtained a gig on a cruise ship to Perth, Western Australia, her set included covering Harry Nilsson's 'A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night' and performed twice a night for six weeks.
Knight relocated to Perth, Western Australia in 1977, where she performed in a number of local bands. She met guitarist and singer, Bernie Lynch, who fronted a new waveband, The Stockings, in the late 1970s. They became domestic partners and together formed the band, Living Single, in 1980 with Crispin Akerman on guitar, Don Meharry on bass guitar, Guy Slingerland on drums and Amanda Vincent on keyboards. By 1981, drummer John Bennetts replaced Slingerland, and the band changed their name to Eurogliders; domestically, Knight and Lynch had separated.
Eurogliders' second album, 'This Island', was released in May 1984 and peaked at #4 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart. The single, "Heaven (Must Be There)", written by Lynch, also released in May, reached #2 on the Australian singles charts, and #65 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and #21 on its Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album peaked at #140 on the Billboard 200 chart. At the height of the band's success, Knight and Lynch reconciled their relationship and were married in 1985 but the union was short-lived. Despite their marital separation, they stayed together in the band for another four years. In Australia, "Heaven" was followed by three more top 10 hits. Between 1984 and 1986, Eurogliders toured Australia, the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, Japan and New Zealand. Further albums followed, but late in 1989, the Eurogliders disbanded.
After Eurogliders disbanded in 1989, Knight initially sang backing vocals in the Tania Bowra Band. She made a cameo appearance as Lola, a 1940s-night club singer, in the 1990 TV series Come In Spinner and sang on its soundtrack, 'Come in Spinner', recorded with jazz artist Vince Jones, which peaked at #4 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) albums charts. The soundtrack featured jazz standards with half the tracks having lead vocals by Jones, including a single, "I've Got You Under My Skin"; two singles with lead vocals by Knight were also released, "The Man I Love" and "Sophisticated Lady". This launched a new career for Knight as a jazz singer, her first solo album, 'Stormy Weather', produced by Larry Muhoberac was released in October 1991, which peaked at #16. Her debut solo single, "Fever", was released in September, which did not peak into the top 50 singles charts. At the 1992 ARIA Music Awards, 'Stormy Weather' was nominated for "Best Adult Contemporary Album" and Peter Cobbin was nominated for "Engineer of the Year" for his work on four of its tracks.
Knight's second solo album, 'Gracious' appeared in November 1993. It contained "big, brassy and busy arrangements of standards" and included work by 43 session musicians. The album did not peak into the ARIA top 50 but was nominated for "Best Adult Contemporary Album" in 1994. Other solo albums followed with, 'Live' in 1996 and 'Zeitgeist' in 2000.
Eurogliders reformed in October 2005, with Grace Knight and Bernie Lynch using session musicians and they released their fifth studio album, simply called 'Eurogliders' but the album did not peak into the ARIA top 50 charts. Eurogliders started touring again in April 2006 and performed on the Countdown Spectacular during June to August, which was a nostalgic tour of Australian bands from the 1970s and 1980s, as featured on the pop television show Countdown with its host Ian "Molly" Meldrum. The Eurogliders' sixth album 'Blue Kiss' was recorded during the same sessions as the previous and was released in 2007, it also had no top 50 charting.
Knight returned to her solo career and released 'Willow' in April 2008, which was nominated for "Best Jazz Album" at the 2008 ARIA Music Awards. On 17 July 2009, Knight performed at the Press Gallery Mid-Winter Ball attended by federal politicians, including Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and by Canberra journalists. Patrons of the function paid up to $20,000 each and raised $250,000 for various charities. 'Keep Cool Fool' was released by ABC Music on 20 April 2012. 'Fragile' was released in 2015 followed by 'Grace' in 2018.
Maybe Dolls were an Australian pop music band consisting of siblings Annalisse Morrow (bass guitar, lead vocals) and Chris Morrow (lead guitar, lead vocals). The pair were former members of a power pop group, the Numbers. They had issued a single, "A Five Letter Word", in mid-1980, which reached #40 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart.
The Morrows formed Maybe Dolls in 1991 in Sydney as a pop music trio with Paul Wheeler on drums (ex-Icehouse). Tim Powles (ex-Venetians) later took over on drums. In July 1992 Chris Morrow reflected on the differences between the two groups, "With our former band, The Numbers, I used to write most of the material. I tended to focus on lyrics and guitar riffs but being a singer Annalisse broadens the songs melodically. Now the voice is serving the lyrics and vice versa — the songs have got both form and content." The Canberra Times' reviewer felt that "Annalisse's unique vocal style — equal parts pixie and banshee — has been enriched by stints singing jazz and blues in small clubs and even some techno-funk dabblings."
They recorded their first album 'Propaganda' in 1991 with the Morrows being joined in the studio by Paul Gray on keyboards (ex-Wa Wa Nee), Peter Kekel on keyboards (ex-Jimmy Barnes Band), Justin Stanley on keyboards (ex-Noiseworks), and John Watson on drums. Annalise explained that "the songs were written over a three-year period, so they cover lots of ground. I guess lyrically they're all about applying personal politics to the world outside. A lot of them work on a number of different levels so they sort of keep people guessing what they may be about." The album reached the top 30.
Two singles were lifted off the album. "Nervous Kid", was released in August 1991, and reached #32 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was featured in the Australian TV soap opera, E Street. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1992 "Nervous Kid" was nominated for Breakthrough Artist – Single. A second single, "Cool Jesus", reached #31 in February 1992. The following singles ''Only Love'' and ''Never Look Back'' went nowhere.
After disbanding in 1993 Annalisse left the music industry and Chris became a design teacher in northern New South Wales. In January 2008 Annalisse told The Sydney Morning Herald's correspondent that ''The one thing I miss is singing,' she says, adding with a laugh, 'And I still can't get used to getting up in the morning... It got to the point where I couldn't listen to anybody singing for quite some time'."
Members
Annalisse Morrow (bass, vocals), Chris Morrow (guitar), Paul Wheeler (drums), Tim Powles (drums)
Killing Time formed in 1989 in Melbourne with Nina Grant (ex-Good and Evil) on bass guitar and vocals; Chris Paine (ex-Utter Stench) on guitar; Adam Pringle (ex-Compressed Heads) on lead vocals; and Arnie Prazz on drums. By year's end Prazz was successively replaced by Russell Hopkinson and Tubby Wadsworth (aka Alex Nikolzew). Initially the group performed "Stooges-style grunge". In June 1990 Jed Starr (aka Darren McCormack) joined on lead guitar and the band used a "more adventurous contemporary hard rock stance". The group gained a "fanatical live following" and after a bidding war were signed to Red Eye Records.
Their first EP, 'Ruby's Mind', appeared in February 1991 and reached #76 on the ARIA Singles Chart. According to Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, "with its crunching guitar riffs and funkified bass lines, the anthemic 'Ruby's Mind' launched Killing Time as a band with enormous potential and crossover appeal". At the end of 1991 Wadsworth was sacked and eventually replaced by Syd Green (ex-Scoundrel). One of the intervening drummers, Russell Hopkinson, was later a member of You Am I. In February 1992 another EP, 'Dream Alone', was released which peaked at #23 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Soon after Starr left and was replaced by Chris Collins (ex-Greg Brady Overdrive). Killing Time supported national tours by Jane's Addiction, Mudhoney, Scatterbrain and Baby Animals.
In August 1992 Killing Time changed their name to Mantissa due to American and Japanese bands of that name. The new name was chosen from the 1982 John Fowles novel, Mantissa. In October 1992 they issued their debut album, 'Mossy God', (produced by Mantissa and Terry Date), on Red Eye Records / Polydor Records, which reached #47. McFarlane noted "The album mixed grinding, heavy riffs, Grant's rumbling bass lines and Pringle's dramatic vocals with a mystical feel and all manner of psychedelic touches". The two singles from the album, "Mary Mary" (November) and "Land of the Living" (March 1993), peaked at #55 and #60 respectively.
Mantissa supported Red Hot Chili Peppers' national tour followed by their own national tours to promote their releases. In 1993 Mantissa spent nine months touring the US to promote the American release of 'Mossy God', including a support for Mindfunk. Mantissa returned to Australia by 1994 and opened for Pantera in November, they played at the January 1995 Big Day Out festival then released another EP, 'Inter Alia', that month. In August that year they released their second album, 'Thirst' (produced by Mantissa and Michael Letho), which did not chart. After one last national tour Mantissa broke up in 1996. On November 16, 2015, founding member and rhythm guitarist Chris Paine died in Melbourne. The news was broken to fans on the band's Facebook page.
Members
Nina Grant (bass), Chris Paine (guitar), Adam Pringle (vocals), Arnie Prazz (drums), Jed Starr [Darren McCormack] (guitar), Syd Green (drums), Chris Collins (guitar), Russell Hopkinson (drums), Tubby Wadsworth (drums)
After the Models disbanded and his first solo album fizzled in the charts, James Freud linked up with Mental As Anything's Martin Plaza and formed the dance oriented Beatfish. This duo's love for soul and R&B surprised fans of the Models and the Mentals, sounding unlike anything either of the artists had ever done before. Their self-titled debut was released in Australia in 1991 on RCA and featured some fine dance songs "All Around The World" and "Wheels Of Love" but most of it was faceless R&B by a couple of white guys from Australia. After one more single, a great cover of the Youngbloods' "Get Together", Plaza returned to his solo career (and the Mentals) while Freud canned his next proposed solo album, 'BigMouth', but some material was used on the Hawaiian surf-themed 'Postcard to Hawaii' album released in 1996 by his next band, Moondog. On 4 November 2010, Freud died from suicide.
Jo Beth Taylor (born Joanne Guilfoyle on 29 May 1971 in Perth, Australia) is an Australian television personality most well-known for hosting three weekly programs on the Nine Network at the same time between 1993 and 1997: Australia's Funniest Home Video Show, What's Up Doc? and Hey Hey It's Saturday, before taking a hiatus from television for more than two years. Taylor also had a music career in the early 1990s with the release of an album and four singles.
Taylor began singing when she was five years old, and at the age of 13 began performing professionally when she started her career with the television program Perth's Young Entertainers. When she was 17, she joined a band named Street Cafe and played regularly around Perth. Alan Laguda from Street Cafe was originally from Melbourne and talked Jo Beth and the band and crew into moving there. Jo Beth recorded a demo tape, which found its way into the hands of Molly Meldrum, who immediately signed her to Melodian records. In 1990 Taylor toured with Indecent Obsession as the support act for Debbie Gibson. The two became firm friends and Gibson invited Taylor to go to New York, where she then lived for a year. Gibson wrote and produced five tracks on her debut album '99 Reasons'.
While in New York she also worked with Jelly Benetez who produced five tracks on her album. The single "99 Reasons" reached the Australian Top 40, peaking at #31 in 1991. "You Don't Own Me" was released as the second single. In 1993 also saw the release of the song "A Prayer For Jane". The lyrics of the song were about a friend of Taylor's who committed suicide. The song reached #61 on the Australian Charts. In February 1993, Taylor took over the hosting role of the top-rating Nine Network program Australia's Funniest Home Video Show. This made Taylor not only the sole woman to be hosting a prime time show in Australia, but at just 22 years old she was the youngest. In 1996 saw Taylor make a brief return to music with the release of "I Love My Dog", a single for the 101 Dalmatians Movie soundtrack; reaching #95 on the ARIA chart.
Gayle and Gillian Blakeney are Australian identical twins who performed together as actresses and as a dance/pop duo in the 1990s. Born in Brisbane on 9 July 1966, Gayle is older by nine minutes. They are most widely known for their stint in the soap opera Neighbours. The girls knew from a young age that they wanted to be on television. After begging their mother to take them to singing lessons, she finally agreed, and this led them to various talent quests around Southeast Queensland. As first prize at one event on the Gold Coast the girls won entry into a televised talent show on the Nine Network.
Gayle and Gillian then starred in numerous television commercials around Australia – including a series of Kellogg's Corn Flakes commercials. They then decided to take the next step and auditioned for a lead role in a children's telemovie pilot called Earth Patrol starring Spike Milligan. Gillian won the lead children's role of Cassie. However, the producers were delighted with both twins' auditions and planned to write Gayle into the series as her twin sister if the pilot was successful. The pilot was not accepted. The sisters continued their career in 1979 when they appeared in a video clip for the Australian group, The Monitors, "Singin' In The '80s", wearing make-up in the style of rock band Kiss. They also appeared in other music videos by The Monitors between 1980 and 1982, most notably "Nobody Told Me" (dressed as schoolgirls in a jail) and "Having You Around Me" (dressed as 'beach babes').
The sisters have contrasting personalities. When sharing a flat together, Gillian did the man-about-the-house DIY work, while Gayle did the cooking and housework. In 1983 they joined the team on the successful national children's program Wombat, along with the puppet Agro. They enjoyed their roles as reporters for the next seven years. The program also included an on-going mock soap opera segment. Another advertising appearance was in the mid-1980s, in a series of futuristic commercials for Coca-Cola, featuring Max Headroom. In 1990 they joined the cast of the soap opera Neighbours as Caroline (played by Gillian) and Christina (played by Gayle) Alessi. Gillian and Gayle left the show at different stages during 1992.
Following the success of former Neighbours actors Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan as recording artists, the Blakeneys went to England in 1991 to record with Stock Aitken Waterman originally as 'The Twins'. The resulting single, "All Mixed Up", became a modest club hit that year, and peaked at #74 in Australia. After parting with Stock Aitken Waterman, the Blakeneys made a brief return to Neighbours, eventually leaving the show in 1992. In 1993/1994 they released two singles in the United Kingdom as Gayle & Gillian "Mad If Ya Don't" (#75 in the UK Singles Chart in 1993) and a cover version of Prince's "I Wanna Be Your Lover" re-titled "Wanna Be Your Lover" (UK #62 in 1994 and #45 in the Scottish Chart).
Afterwards the two made a brief return to television, this time as co-hosts on the UK game show Take Your Pick. While working in the UK, they also acted on stage. In 1994 the sisters moved to the United States (where they still reside today) to pursue acting roles, landing guest spots on various film and TV projects, such as playing ballerinas in Silk Stalkings. The sisters are married and have children (Gayle has three, while Gillian has one daughter). As of 2015, the Blakeneys have moved on to launching companies and building brands, with Gillian running a scarf line. In June 2019, it was announced that both sisters would be reprising their roles on Neighbours in September, which will be for a three-episode stint.
Troy Adrian Newman was born in Perth, Western Australia. He began writing songs while attending Hollywood Senior High School and in his earlier years fronted The Exdreamists. At age seventeen he joined popular local Perth band Boys as a vocalist, when they reformed in 1987 with Camillo Del Roio and Lino Del Roio on guitar, Eddie Parise on bass guitar, drummer Frank Celenza and Tony Celiberti as keyboardist. A year later the band changed their name to Boyschool but split soon after, with Parise and Celenza moving to form Bamboo Curtain, before joining Baby Animals.
Following the break-up of Boys, Newman moved from Perth to Sydney, where he signed a deal with Warner Music. In September 1989 Newman appeared in the controversial stage musical, Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom alongside Daniel Abineri, Wendy Stapleton, Gary Olsen, Steve Bastoni and Nadine Garner – he took over the lead role from Russell Crowe. The musical spawned a cast album on WEA Records and a top ten single, "Enemy the Sun", (November 1989) performed by Newman.
The label flew Newman to Los Angeles where he recorded his debut solo album, 'Gypsy Moon', with session musicians, Craig Fall, Luis Conte, Bob Glaub, Jerry Goodman, Russ Kunkel, C. J. Vanston and Waddy Wachtel, and guest appearances from Rick Vito and Billy Burnette. The album was produced by Greg Ladanyi (Jackson Browne, Toto, Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley), except "Raining" by Richard Clapton and "Drive My Car" by Ladanyi and Kunkel. It was released 14 May 1991 in Australia by Warner and also in the United States through Atlantic imprint East West Records. The album spent five weeks in the Australian album charts, peaking at #42. The first single released, "Love Gets Rough", reached #22 on the Australian Singles charts and charted at #92 on the Billboard Top 100. Other singles from the album, "Whisper" and "God Only Knows" released later that year failed to chart. His song, "Raining", was used on television series, Heartbreak High (Season 1, 1994, episode 10).
Warner Music offered Troy a second album deal, but stipulated he had to return to Australia to record the album with a different Producer (which he declined). A battle ensued and East/West & Warner Music dropped him from the label just as he was gaining momentum. Warner Music placed the cost of producing the 'Gypsy Moon' album onto any future recording contracts and labels which, in turn, made it virtually impossible for Newman to get a second record deal.
After a lengthy legal battle and change of Management, Newman issued 'It's Like This' on 18 July 1995 on the Curb Records/Edel Records labels. Newman had recorded the album in Los Angeles again, with Wachtel, Glaub, Kunkel, Conte and Vanston. It was produced by Ladanyi and Wachtel but failed to emulate the success of his debut album and didn't chart. Linda Ronstadt later covered Newman & Wachtel's track "I Go To Pieces" on her 'We Ran' album. Newman's track "Don't Make Me Ask" also appeared in the film Two If by Sea (also known in the United Kingdom as Stolen Hearts), a 1996 American romantic comedy film directed by Bill Bennett, and starring Sandra Bullock and Denis Leary.
In August 1996, Ladanyi and Newman teamed up again - This time at 301 Studios, Sydney Australia to record a 10 track demo entitled 'Velvet Hammer.' After recording Ladanyi returned to Los Angeles to remaster the demos personally. Troy Newman died in Sydney in March 1997. As his body was found with a toxic combination of prescription drugs, there was speculation that he committed suicide however the autopsy was inconclusive. Newman had also contracted Hepatitis A which may have contributed to his death. Being devastated after Newman's death, Ladanyi shelved the 'Velvet Hammer' project.Troy Newman left a legacy of published and unpublished songs - many of which have never been heard. Newman's last album finally surfaced in 2018 called Postcards from L.A containing 10 tracks.
Deborah Ann Conway was born in 1959 and grew up in Melbourne. Her father was a lawyer in Toorak and Conway attended Lauriston Girls' School. Later she went to the University of Melbourne modelling and singing her way through. A billboard campaign for Bluegrass jeans featured Conway's nude backside and the phrase "Get yours into Bluegrass". Other ads with Conway as a model include, Big M and Crunchie. At the age of 18, Conway started playing guitar, and in 1980 she joined The Benders as a vocalist whilst still at university. Her father was so concerned when she joined the pop band that he sent her to a psychiatrist. Other members of The Benders included, Neville Aresca (bass guitar), Les Barker (guitars, vocals), Dorland Bray (drums, vocals), John Campbell, Daniel Solowiej and Greg Thomas (guitar, keyboards). They performed mostly in Melbourne pubs playing original material – mostly written by Conway and Thomas – and Blondie and Devo covers. Conway also wrote songs with Bray.
In 1981, Deborah Conway and Bray relocated to Sydney and formed pop rockers Do-Ré-Mi with Helen Carter on bass guitar and Stephen Philip on guitar. They recorded two albums, 'Domestic Harmony' (1985) and 'The Happiest Place in Town' (1988), and eight singles. Their best performed hit, "Man Overboard", peaked at #5 on the Australia Kent Music Report Singles Chart and became the 8th highest positioned Australian song on the 1985 End of Year Chart. In the early 1980s, Conway was the domestic partner of Paul Hester – drummer for Deckchairs Overboard and then Split Enz – before he left for Los Angeles in 1985 and formed Crowded House there.
In late 1983, Conway supplied vocals for actor Tracy Mann's singing in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) TV series Sweet and Sour (1984) including the hit title song, "Sweet and Sour". Two soundtrack albums and three singles from the series were credited to The Takeaways (and Various Artists). Conway sang lead vocals on half the songs and backing vocals on almost all the rest.
In 1986 Conway performed with The Rock Party, a charity project initiated by The National Campaign Against Drug Abuse, which included many Australasian musicians, Neil Finn, Eddie Rayner, Tim Finn, Nick Seymour and Hester (all from Crowded House); Geoff Stapleton, Robbie James and Mark Callaghan (all from GANGgajang); Reg Mombassa and Martin Plaza (both from Mental As Anything); Andrew Barnum and Lissa Barnum (both from The Vitabeats); Mary Azzopardi (Rockmelons), Michael Barclay, Peter Blakeley,Jenny Morris, Danny De Costa, Greg Herbert (The Promise), Spencer P Jones, Sean Kelly (Models), John Kennedy, Paul Kelly, Robert Susz (Dynamic Hepnotics) and Rick Swinn (The Venetians). The Rock Party released a 12" single "Everything to Live For", which was produced by Joe Wissert, Phil Rigger and Phil Beazley.
Do-Ré-Mi disbanded in 1988 not long after their second album was released. Rolling Stone (Australia) named Conway 'Best Australian Female Singer' for that year. In 1990, Conway formed Drawcards as a semi-acoustic band with Vika and Linda, Stephen Cummings, Dror Erez, Tim Finn, Ross Hannaford, Peter Jones, Shane O'Mara and Chris Wilson. Almost immediately it split with half its members – Conway, Hester, Erez, Jones and Wilson – forming Rose Amongst Thorns as a pub rock band from 1990 to 1991. Deborah Conway played the lead role of Julie, in an Australian teenage road movie called Running on Empty, which was released in 1982. Conway had minor roles in Mallacoota Stampede (1979), Hard Knocks (1980) and The Coca-Cola Kid (1985), and appeared as herself in Diana and Me (1997).
While Do-Ré-Mi were working in England in 1988, Conway became involved in Pete Townshend's project The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend. Shortly afterwards she recorded an album of dance music in Los Angeles which was not released except for a solo single "Feel Like Makin' Love" (1990). In 1991, Conway played Juno in Peter Greenaway's Prospero's Books, singing a setting of William Shakespeare's masque from The Tempest to music by Michael Nyman. In 1996, a portrait of Conway as Medusa, painted by Rosemary Valadon, was a finalist in the Archibald Prize. The prize is awarded for the "best portrait painting preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics".
Conway performed Dreaming Transportation: Voice Portraits of the First Women of White Settlement at Port Jackson which was scripted and directed by Andrée Greenwell. The performance premiered at the Sydney Festival in 2003 and a year later was staged again, at the Sydney Opera House. Performing with Conway were Susan Prior, Christine Douglas, Amie McKenna and Jeannie Van de Velde and musicians, Hope Csuturos (violin), James Nightingale (clarinet, saxophone), Jane Williams (cello), Kim Poole (guitar/mandolin), Denise Papaluca (piano), Mardi Chillingworth (double bass) and Jared Underwood (percussion). The work was inspired by a series of poems by Jordie Albiston.
Deborah Conway's solo output has included touring following an album's release with some of her session musicians. In October 1991, Conway released her first solo album, 'String of Pearls', which peaked at #20 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The album was produced by Richard Pleasance, Joe Hardy and Michael den Elzen. Singles from the album include "It's Only the Beginning" which reached #19 on the ARIA Singles Chart in August, "Under My Skin" (December) and "Release Me" (February 1992). For her work on the album, she won 'Best Female Artist'at the ARIA Music Awards of 1992. To support the releases, Deborah Conway and the Mothers of Pearl was formed with Alan Harding (keyboards), Peter Jones (drums, ex-Drawcards and Rose Amongst Thorns), Bill McDonald (bass guitar) and Willy Zygier (guitar). Conway and Zygier became domestic partners and have written and performed much of Conway's subsequent material.
Conway released her second album 'Bitch Epic' in 1993, which peaked at #18 and was produced by Jim Rondinelli and Zygier. The cover features an upper body shot of a topless Conway, covered in Nutella (a hazelnut spread) and cream, as she is about to eat a slice of cake thereby illustrating the concept of Gluttony for ABC TV mini-series Seven Deadly Sins (1993). Conway, Paul Kelly, Vika and Linda and Renée Geyer, provided vocals and song writing for the related soundtrack. An eight-track EP of live songs was added to 'Bitch Epic' to form 1994's Epic Theatre, which was produced by Zygier. Her backing band were Zygier, Harding, McDonald and Hughie Benjamin (ex-Yothu Yindi) on drums.
Ultrasound, an experimental band, with Conway, Zygier, McDonald and Hester, recorded and produced their self-titled album, 'Ultrasound' (1995). At the end of the year, Conway and Zygier relocated to England with their newborn daughter. Conway recorded a new album 'My Third Husband' with Dave Anderson producing and, after returning to Australia in mid-1997, it was released in October. In May 2000, Conway released her fourth studio album, 'Exquisite Stereo', on Shock Records. Her backing band, Deborah Conway and the City of Women, was Zygier, Cameron Reynolds (samples), Edmond Ammendola (bass guitar) and Dave Williams (drums) – the latter two are members of Augie March. This was much more of a rock record than previous releases, it "was a mature album featuring a wide variety of styles, from acoustic love song ("You Come to Earth") and Radiohead-styled epics ("Interzone") to full tilt rockers ("I Lay Down on My Pillow and Cried All Night")".
Following 'Exquisite Stereo', Conway played the lead role of Patsy Cline in the Australian stage production of Always... Patsy Cline and recorded a covers album of Cline's songs, called 'PC' (2001), which was produced by Zygier and Reynolds. She supported the release by touring as Deborah Conway and the Patsy Clones which contained Zygier and Reynolds, and Gerry Hale. 'Only the Bones' is Conway's compilation album which was released in 2002. The cover showed Conway at a table picking over a meal. The album was re-titled 'Definitive Collection', with a different cover, and re-released in 2004. 'Summertown', her next album, was issued in 2004 under the name of Conway and Zygier on the Another Intercorps label and was produced by Conway, Zygier and Hale. It has a 1960s folk-pop sound to it. Conway and Zygier supported sales by appearing in fan's homes. Brisbane group, george, recorded Do-Ré-Mi'shit single "Man Overboard", with Conway providing vocals, on their 2004 EP 'Still Real'. Katie Noonan from george also performed with Conway in Broad 2005. In 2005, Conway provided vocals for Man Bites God's single "Bride of the Dragon" from their album 'The Popular Alternative', the associated video is anime based.
Since 2008, Conway is artistic director of the Queensland Music Festival which runs biennially in late July in odd-numbered years. In May 2010, Conway and Zygier issued 'Half Man Half Woman', which was produced by James Black (from stage band for RocKwiz) who also provided keyboards. The album included a track, "Into the Blue" recorded with Conway and Zygier joined by their three daughters, Syd, Alma and Hettie on vocals. The Age's Michael Dwyer observed that Conway and Zygier did not compromise, "from Zygier's jaunty Wes Montgomery-styled instrumental overture to a charming banjo lullaby featuring their three daughters, it fairly saunters with a relaxed resolve to be whatever it wants to be".
February 2013 saw the release of 'Stories of Ghosts' an unbeliever's examination of Old Testament themes from a Jewish perspective, exploring the connections between ancient practice and modern life. Receiving positive reviews throughout Australia's music press including 4 stars in Rolling Stone and Album of the week on ABC Radio National. Conway and Zygier spent the majority of 2013 touring this CD around Australia to high critical praise.
From 2005 to 2008, Deborah Conway collaborated with different female artists to tour Australia as part of the Broad Festival project. Each year's roster performed their own and each other's songs. Sara Storer, Katie Noonan, Ruby Hunter, Conway and Clare Bowditch were Broad 2005. Melinda Schneider, Mia Dyson, Kate Miller-Heidke, Conway and Ella Hooper were Broad 2006. Anne McCue, Sally Seltmann, Conway, Jade Macrae and Abbe May were Broad 2007. Laura Jean, Elana Stone, Liz Stringer, Dianna Corcoran and Conway were Broad 2008.
In August 2016, Conway announced the release of her ninth studio album 'Everybody's Begging' on 2 September 2016. The album is a collection of mainly acoustic songs about an unbeliever's take on Old Testament themes from a Jewish perspective. This was accompanied by a tour in August and September. A portrait of Conway by Lewis Miller was a finalist in the 2022 Archibald Prize. In December 2022, Conway was inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame
Melissa Tkautz was born in Sydney in 1974. As a young child she studied drama, dance and singing; she began modelling and appearing in commercials. By the age of 17, she had appeared in over 160 television and print commercials. Some of these included ads for QANTAS and Cadbury. She started modelling and then began acting in TV soap operas, Richmond Hill and Home & Away in the late 1980s. In 1989 she entered the Miss Teen Australia contest.
In September 1990, at the age of 16 years, Tkautz was cast in the role of Nikki Spencer on the popular Australian soap opera, E Street. She described her role, "Nikki is everything I don't want to be ... She smokes and she's really the sort of girl most parents would be horrified to have their daughters associating with". Tkautz soon became one of the show's main stars due to the popularity of her character. During this time, she attended the Australian Academy of Dramatic Art in Sydney, graduating in 1991. During that year she appeared on numerous Australian editions of magazine covers including Vogue, Cosmopolitan, TV Week, Smash Hits and Dolly. In 1991 readers of TV Hits voted her as the Hottest Woman on Earth. Tkautz also had a supporting role in the mini-series, The Girl from Tomorrow (1992).
Due to her popularity, the producers of E Street decided to have Tkautz record a song, which would be used in the show as part of a dream sequence, where her character imagines she is a pop star. This resulted in a recording career for Tkautz, she later recalled "I loved singing and I had trained as a singer, but everything happened so quickly, it was just a crazy whirlwind. One minute I'm watching E Street in my lounge room, the next minute I’m starring in E Street and I've got a number one single in the charts". Tkautz was signed to Westside Records, a label created by E Street 's producers, and recorded her debut single, "Read My Lips".
Redlich described why Tkautz was chosen ahead of her fellow actresses "I thought it was too raunchy for Toni Pearen and too teeny-bopper for Alyssa-Jane Cook". It was promoted via the show and released in June 1991, which reached the #1 position on the ARIA Singles Chart in July. The track was written by Tony King and Roy Nicolson and was produced by Leon Berger. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1992 it won Highest Selling Single for the previous year. The song was parodied by Gina Riley on the comedy TV series, Fast Forward, as "Pout Your Lips". The single's B-side is "Say Goodbye" and was written by Berger, Alston Koch and Doug Henderson. Since 1991, Tkautz has re-recorded "Read My Lips" twice: the first version as the "Read My Lips (Electro Pushers Remix)", which was to be included as a bonus track on her proposed third album, Glamorous Life; and the second version as the "Read My Lips (Neon Stereo Remix)", which was performed live by Tkautz on Channel 7's The Morning Show.
Tkautz' second single from her debut album, "Sexy (Is the Word)", was issued in September 1991 and peaked at #3. It was written by Berger, King and Nicholson and produced by Berger, Koch and Henderson. She performed the track at the 1991 Rugby League Grand Final. At the end of that year Tkautz toured nationally as a support act on American dance-pop and hip-hop group, C+C Music Factory's Australian Tour. Her third single, "Skin to Skin", appeared in April the next year, which reached #16, and was written and produced by the same team as "Sexy (Is the Word)". In June that year, having left E Street, Tkautz released her debut album, 'Fresh', which peaked at #15 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Tkautz promoted the album by a national tour, a further single, "Is It...?", was issued in July 1993 and reached the top 40, but a proposed second album was shelved and Tkautz refocused on her acting career.
In September 2005, Tkautz released a new single, a cover version of "The Glamorous Life", a 1984 song by Sheila E and written by Prince, which peaked at #31 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Her second album, 'Lost & Found', was issued on 4 December that year. Also, that year, she re-recorded "Sexy (Is the Word)", which was included as a bonus track on 'Lost & Found'. Tkautz travelled to Sweden in early 2006 to work with 2N and while there she recorded her next single, "Easily Affected", and "Not Enough". Her version of "The Glamorous Life" had some success internationally. It was released in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, South Africa, Sweden, Russia, Dubai and UAE, and Canada. In February 2008 she performed "Easily Affected", "True Love", "Read My Lips (Neon Stereo Remix)" and her new single, "I Want Your Love" at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Fair Day.
In January 2012 Australian comedian, Sam Kekovich, released a music video as an ad for Australian lamb meat, which was a rendition of Aqua's hit "Barbie Girl"; it featured vocals by Tkautz and an appearance by hip-hop dance and pop music group, Justice Crew. Meat and Livestock Australia's marketing manager, Andrew Cox, declared "it's the most successful lamb campaign ever in terms of lamb sales ... people were able to share our 'Barbie Girl' song on Facebook and Twitter". In August that year Tkautz issued a compilation album, 'The Hits and More', and followed with a tour promoting its appearance. Tkautz released a single "The Key" on 26 May 2017.
Richard Arnold Pleasance is an Australian rock musician and producer. He was a founding member of Melbourne-based band Government Drums in 1980 with Steve Bell, Michael Davis, Barbara Hogarth and Willie Zygier. After they disbanded in 1982, Pleasance joined Serious Young Insects in 1983 when founding bass guitarist, Michael Vallance left. Alongside Pleasance were Peter Farnan on guitar and vocals and Mark White on drums but the group soon disbanded. Pleasance then formed Bang in 1983 which included Karen Ansel, Carol Hitchcock, Laurie McRae, Tim Rosewarne, Nick Seymour, Wren Walters, Oleh Witer and Sherine Abeyratne, and disbanded in 1984.
Pleasance teamed up again with Farnan in 1985 to form rock music group Boom Crash Opera with Dale Ryder on lead vocals, Peter Maslen on drums and Greg O'Connor on keyboards. The band signed to Warner Records Australia and in 1986 released their debut single "Great Wall" co-written by Ryder, Pleasance and O'Connor. The single reached #5 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. Their self-titled debut album, 'Boom Crash Opera' was released in 1987, and featured follow up singles "Hands Up in the Air", "City Flat" and "Her Charity"—all co-written by Pleasance.
In 1989 they released "Onion Skin" which peaked at #11 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Singles Chart in June. It was released ahead of their Top 10 album, 'These Here Are Crazy Times' which was produced by Pete Smith and Pleasance and mixed by Nick Launay. The album spent 40 weeks in the ARIA Albums Chart and achieved double platinum sales. "Onion Skin" was followed by Top 30 singles "Get Out of the House" and "Dancing in the Storm".
Boom Crash Opera released 'Look! Listen!!' in 1990, it featured remixed versions of songs from their first two albums plus two new songs and peaked into the Top 50. Soon after its release, Pleasance was diagnosed with tinnitus and while he took time off he was replaced on bass guitar by Mick Vallance. During his break from the band, Pleasance released his debut solo album, 'Galleon' in 1991.
In 1991 the band released an EP, 'Dreams on Fire', with both Pleasance and Vallance on bass guitar. The EP reached Top 50 on the ARIA Singles Chart and featured the track "Holy Water". In 1992 they travelled to Los Angeles and began work on the follow-up to 'These Here Are Crazy Times'. Soon after they began writing and recording Pleasance made his decision to leave the band. He was temporarily replaced by Dorian West and then Ian Tilley.
In 2002 Robert Doyle the Opposition Leader of Victoria used the Boom Crash Opera track "Dancing In The Storm" as his theme song at the Liberal Party State election campaign launch in November. The band wasn't asked their permission and would have refused according to Pleasance. The campaign failed, and Steve Bracks of the Australian Labor Party won the election. Boom Crash Opera recorded an acoustic album entitled 'Dancing In The Storm' in February 2009 with Pleasance guesting on bass, guitar, mandolin, sitar and Oud; he also produced the recording as part of the Liberation Blue series which was released in May.
Pleasance had solo success outside Boom Crash Opera, his 1991 album 'Galleon' featured the singles "Sarah I Miss You" and "Don't Cry". The album's personnel included Paul Hester and Deborah Conway. 'Galleon' was critically acclaimed and went on to earn four nominations at the ARIA Music Awards for 1992. Pleasance then toured the album, as a support act for Elvis Costello. Also in 1991 Pleasance co-produced and performed on the highly successful debut album for Conway, 'String of Pearls' and co-wrote, "King of Jordan", with Conway. Pleasance has also produced, arranged, played and written with other acts, Archie Roach, Paul Kelly, Suzanne Vega, James Reyne, Jon Stevens, Nick Barker, Seven Stories and Augie March.
In 1996, Pleasance formed Felt with fellow singer-songwriter Wendy Morrison on piano and they released the self-titled album, 'Fel't, on Gotham and BMG Records. Pleasance supplied vocals, guitar, bass guitar and keyboard and produced the album. Pleasance wrote and produced the theme for the popular Australian television series SeaChange (1998–2001). He started a band, Pleasantville, which included his wife, Michelle, which released their debut album 'Hill of Beans' in 2004. He composed the theme music for 2006 feature film Kenny. As from May 2009, Pleasance was living in Hepburn Springs, Victoria where he has a recording studio. In May 2018, Pleasance recorded the original motion picture soundtrack for the film Brothers' Nest.In August 2021, Pleasance released "Crooked River", the lead single from his forthcoming third studio album of the same name.
