SUE BARKER

Sue Barker spent her teenage years moving between Sydney and Adelaide and singing with many different outfits along the way including the Cumberlands. In the early 70's she began working with a group of musicians known as The Onions who were a collective of jazz and soul inspired players who performed regularly around Adelaide in clubs and also on local TV. They encouraged Sue to take her singing seriously and before too long Crest Records approached her to see if they could cut an album.

In Adelaide over three days in 1976 Sue Barker and The Onions recorded a classic album that contains some of the most soulful grooves ever put down in an Australian studio. The Onions comprised of Sylvan Elkay on sax, Grahame Conlon on guitar, Dean Burbeck on drums, Fred Payne on trumpet, Geoff Kluke on bass, Rob Jeffries on sax and Phil Cuneen on keyboards. The LP was self-titled and featured a mix of jazz, blues and soul cover versions of Duke Ellington, Billie Holliday, Marvin Gaye and James Taylor. Sadly, a combination of poor promotion, lack of finance and personal priorities meant that the record never truly got the attention it deserved. Like so many artists disillusioned with the industry she quit the scene in the 80s.

References

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2013/01/30/3679568.htm