COLIN BUCHANAN

 

Colin Buchanan (born 1964 in Dublin Ireland) is a country and western singer, entertainer and multi-instrumentalist. Colin moved with his family to Melbourne as a six-year-old, and then Peakhurst, Sydney, before moving to the outback in 1988, with his wife for a couple of years, studying with Cornerstone Community Inc. This included a year in Bourke, in the corner country of New South Wales, and another in Grenfell, New South Wales.

Colin has won ten Golden Guitar Australian Country Music Awards and has written songs with Lee Kernaghan, Adam Brand and Troy Cassar-Daley. His song "Hat Town", written with Lee Kernaghan, won an APRA Award, while his Christmas album, recorded with Greg Champion, has become an Australian classic, in particular his "Aussie Jingle Bells", now a staple at school end-of-year concerts. He was nominated for four ARIA Awards in 1993 for Best Country Album for 'Hard Times' (lost to Lee Kernaghan for 'The Outback Club'), in 1994 for Best Children's Album for 'I Want My Mummy' (lost to Mic Conway for 'Whoopee'), in 1998 for Best Country Album for 'Edge of the Kimberley' (lost to Shanley Del for 'My Own Sweet Time') and in 2013 for Best Comedy Release for 'The TGIF Songs of Colin Buchanan' (lost to Tom & Alex for 'The Bits We're Least Ashamed Of').

Colin was a regular presenter on ABC TV's Play School from 1992 to 1999, when the program was revamped. More recently he appeared on Playhouse Disney, a co-production between Australia's Seven Network and Disney Channel. He appeared with Monica Trapaga each year representing Seven and Disney on Carols in the Domain. For 20 years he hosted Qantas' in-flight audio entertainment, predominantly "Big Country", pioneering the guest co-host format eventually adopted across all Qantas inflight audio channels.

Since the mid-1990s, Colin has devoted much of his time to producing Christian albums. In particular, his children's albums are popular across Australia, United Kingdom and in parts of the United States. A former school teacher at several schools, his songs can be heard playing in many a primary classroom and Sunday School.