BERNARD BOLAN

From his time as the first folk performer at the Sydney Opera House, through all the major Australian and New Zealand folk festivals and countless concerts and club shows, Bernard Bolan has made himself a national treasure with his unmistakable blend of words, wit and finely crafted music. Bernard's love songs are passionate and haunting, while his comedy material has had audiences literally gasping for breath with laughter. The words of his songs reveal themselves as gems of poetry and his all-original music has combined to produce many "classics of our time." The light-hearted mood of much of his work can be deceptive; it has poetic and musical subtlety and richness in it that has often baffled well-skilled imitators.

Bolan started writing songs when he was ''knee high to a grasshopper'' in Lancashire in the north of England. Before he emigrated to Australia in 1969, he started writing songs in a lighter vein under the irresistible influence of performers such as Flanders and Swan, Tom Lehrer and Jake Thackery. When he arrived in Australia he was in demand at concerts and folk clubs and eventually made his way on to TV. Bernard became more famous when his single ''The Rose Bay Ferry'' charted in 1974. It came off his first album 'The Liveliness Of The Long Playing Bernard Bolan' released by Larrikin Records.

Bernard never regretted moving to Australia decades ago; "In Britain, it would not have been possible to combine two careers to the same degree as I have in Australia," Bernard said. He has produced a number of bestselling albums. The most recent is an album (released in 2002) of many of his favourite songs issued by ABC Records: 'The Quirky Works of Bernard Bolan' His compositions have been recorded by many Australian artists.

SINGLES
''Australia Square / Toorak Tram'' 1971 RCA
''Rose Bay Ferry (#85) / Toorak Tram'' 1974 Copperfield
''Basingstoke / Not Many Fish In The Harbour Today'' 1980 Larrikin

ALBUMS

'The Liveliness Of The Long Playing' 1974 Larrikin
'Send The City Sunshine' 1982 ABC
'Passage Of Time' 1986 Larrikin

'Upon Sober Reflection'
'An Eclectic Collection'

 

References

http://bernardbolan.com/