Chris Neal was born in 1946 in Sydney. He studied AMEB (Australian Music Examinations Board) grades in classical piano and music theory to the age of sixteen. He attended North Sydney Boys High School and in 1964, began an arts degree at Sydney University with majors in music and Indonesian / Malayan studies. During his Uni years, he gigged around Sydney with rock bands - The Showmen and The Powerhouse.
In 1968, he worked extensively on the soundtrack of the Anglo/Australian feature film, Age of Consent with Peter Sculthorpe, writing and producing the majority of the incidental score. On the eve of completing his degree, Neal suffered a skull fracture during a game of rugby. The resultant Inertia and Tinnitus caused massive hearing loss and sleeplessness which prevented him sitting his final exams. Following a brief convalescence, he joined The Alpha-Omega Revue and headed off to the Vietnam War zone, entertaining US troops for several months in 1968-9.
While in Vietnam, he began writing what was intended to be the world's first rock musical, 'Man-Child'. However, by the time he had returned to Australia, the American show 'Hair' was already in the headlines. Nevertheless, he packaged the show and presented it at the Sydney Showground in the world's first "bubble" air-inflated theatre (financed by his brother, developer James Neal). The season was cut short when a freak storm picked up a design fault in the plastic theatre and destroyed it. So, the whole company (25 people in all) set off on a national capital city tour.
The tour was successful, breaking box office records in several cities and a Man-Child soundtrack album was recorded for the then fledgling M7 record company. This caused Neal to turn his attentions for a time to the development of his skills as a record producer and sound engineer, while continuing to work as a songwriter and composer. In 1974, he recorded his second album, an instrumental rock LP called 'Winds of Isis'. This record created widespread interest and is a highly sought-after collector's item today. The album peaked at #74 in Australia. The multi-layered keyboard and guitar instrumentation was composed, performed and arranged by Neal. Following this, he worked in the Sydney scene as a session keyboardist and performed on literally hundreds of advertising and film soundtracks.
In 1978, Neal composed a complete score for Fritz Lang's silent movie masterpiece, Metropolis. The score was created using the massive Roland System-700 and MC-8 data entry device. (The MC-8 was the world's first fully functioning digital music sequencer). The score was performed live with the movie around several venues in Sydney. A cinema release with synchronised score was in development when Giorgio Moroder announced the release of his version and the local movie producer withdrew, cancelling the project.
In 1980, Neal again used the Roland system to create an electronic soundtrack for the feature film - Crosstalk. The score was released on vinyl and is still available today. As a record producer during the seventies. Neal produced records for the likes of the Marshall Brothers Band, the Nick Boston band, John Currie, Slim De Grey, Frankie Davidson and Lester Coombs. He produced Bob Hudson's smash hit "The Newcastle Song" and Maureen Elkner's hit single "Rak Off Normie", (co-written by Hudson and Neal).
As a screen composer his credits date from the late 1970s and include The Shiralee, Bodyline, Buddies, Rebel, Archer, Shadow of The Cobra and Emerald City. During the 1980s, Neal scored several films from the Winners series of telemovies, produced by Patricia Edgar of the Australian Children's Television Foundation. Five Times Dizzy, produced by Tom Jeffrey followed soon after. These projects kickstarted what would be a recurring part of his career; scoring and writing songs for children's television dramas including the timeless Johnson and Friends, Lift-Off, Kaboodle, Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers and more. Neal's songs and music were also featured in stage shows based on "Johnson and Friends", and in 1995-1996, Neal wrote the music for Lift Off Live; a stage musical based on the Lift-Off television series.
Feature film and television projects continued through the 1990s and 2000s, including Pacific Drive, Foreign Exchange and many more. Neal has worked frequently with Bob Ellis and Denny Lawrence on several musicals throughout the 1990s and 2000s. These include Neon Street (also known as "Man - The Musical" and "The Big Smoke") and High Time, a story about the 1979 Sydney Ghost Train fire at Luna Park. Both of these shows were written as vehicles for the acclaimed performer Philip Quast, who has lent his voice to many of the songs. These recordings still exist as unpublished demonstration tracks.
In 2018, Neal donated his music archive to independent historian and archivist Joseph Marshall, who Neal has mentored for many years. Marshall has taken up the responsibility of preserving and digitising Chris Neal's vast catalogue. Marshall has also sourced many of Neal's early screen works for a planned future YouTube Channel.
Recently, Neal has taken a step back from film scoring to write and release his own, independent rock-based songs under the pseudonym Sirclo. the first of these projects, 'Songs for an Empty Street', was released digitally in 2018. Two follow-up albums are due for release in 2021 - 'High Time - Songs From The Musical' and '70s Unreleased' (a re-mastering of a dozen songs written and recorded in the 70s).
SINGLES
''Kassa-Hoosee Wassawaya (Mother Sun) / Moments'' 1973 M7
''The Rock Theme From "Winds Of Isis" / Isis Revisited'' 1975 M7
''Crosstalk / The Sound Of Murder'' 1982 Grass Roots
''Buddies (Instrumental)'' 1983 Festival
Feature film and television projects continued through the 1990s and 2000s, including Pacific Drive, Foreign Exchange and many more. Neal has worked frequently with Bob Ellis and Denny Lawrence on several musicals throughout the 1990s and 2000s. These include Neon Street (also known as "Man - The Musical" and "The Big Smoke") and High Time, a story about the 1979 Sydney Ghost Train fire at Luna Park. Both of these shows were written as vehicles for the acclaimed performer Philip Quast, who has lent his voice to many of the songs. These recordings still exist as unpublished demonstration tracks.
In 2018, Neal donated his music archive to independent historian and archivist Joseph Marshall, who Neal has mentored for many years. Marshall has taken up the responsibility of preserving and digitising Chris Neal's vast catalogue. Marshall has also sourced many of Neal's early screen works for a planned future YouTube Channel.
Recently, Neal has taken a step back from film scoring to write and release his own, independent rock-based songs under the pseudonym Sirclo. the first of these projects, 'Songs for an Empty Street', was released digitally in 2018. Two follow-up albums are due for release in 2021 - 'High Time - Songs From The Musical' and '70s Unreleased' (a re-mastering of a dozen songs written and recorded in the 70s).
''Kassa-Hoosee Wassawaya (Mother Sun) / Moments'' 1973 M7
''The Rock Theme From "Winds Of Isis" / Isis Revisited'' 1975 M7
''Crosstalk / The Sound Of Murder'' 1982 Grass Roots
''Buddies (Instrumental)'' 1983 Festival
'Manchild' 1972 M7
'Winds Of Isis' (#74) 1974 M7
'Crosstalk' 1982 Grass Roots
'Buddies: Getting Even!' 1984 Festival
'Turtle Beach (Original Soundtrack)' 1992 Polygram
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Neal_(songwriter)
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