Sunday, May 18, 2008

ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) is honoured to announce the first two of five iconic Australasian music artists who will be inducted into the prestigious ARIA HALL OF FAME on Tuesday, July 1 in Melbourne. 

This greatly respected annual music industry event, now in its 4th year, will take place at MELBOURNE TOWN HALL and will be broadcast exclusively on Vh1 (available on Channel 810 on subscription television Foxtel, Optus & Austar) on SATURDAY, 5 JULY at 9.00pm.

These first two ARIA HALL OF FAME inductees for 2008 may, on the surface, have little in common but they are connected by their love of creating unabashed pop music. One was essentially a solo artist who defied convention by releasing a song that clocked in at over 7 minutes and still climbed to the No. 1 position on the record charts of the day. The other act was able to produce a string of songs that to this day remain etched in the Australian public’s music loving consciousness. Both were highly inventive pop artists who in their own way triumphed over adversity to become two of the most popular acts of their time. A warm welcome please, for the first two music pioneers to be inducted into the 2008 ARIA HALL OF FAME:


 


When DRAGON made their way across the Tasman to become pop sensations with a decidedly dark side, their story became the stuff legends are made of. For 3 intense years (1976 – 1978), DRAGON dominated the Australian charts with a parade of hits which include This Time, Get That Jive, April Sun In Cuba, Still In Love With You, Sunshine, and Are You Old Enough?  - songs that still receive regular radio airplay to this day. By the time they released the album O Zambezi they quickly became Australia's number one band. In commercial terms they were unstoppable, the medals couldn’t be minted fast enough - Band Of the Year, Album Of the Year, Most Popular New Group.  They collected a stack of Gold and Platinum record plaques and toured America twice. But DRAGON’s internal dynamics suffered many turns and twists and the band’s success exacted a heavy personal toll with the deaths of original members: drummer Neil Storey in the mid 1970’s, keyboard player / songwriter Paul Hewson (in 1985) and Marc Hunter of throat cancer in 1998. The DRAGON ‘sound’ reached its peak with the 1983 national No. 2 hit Rain (from the album Body and the Beat) which had a dramatic impact on the band's fortunes, introducing it to a new radio generation. Other hits followed including the bands cover of Kool & the Gang’s Celebration (the only non-original Dragon single) that shot into the Top 10 at Christmas 1987, just in time for the Bi-Centenary celebrations of the New Year. After the official end of DRAGON Todd Hunter retreated into television soundtrack work. But when the Liberation Blue label proposed an acoustic revisiting of the legendary band’s towering body of work, Todd enlisted the superbly voiced Kiwi, Mark Williams, and other talented musicians to cut the acclaimed Sunshine To Rain album in 2007. As at every stage of the DRAGON saga, the sound is unmistakable.


 


Founding member, Todd Hunter, said “It is an honour to be included in the Hall Of Fame and it has always been a privilege to be part of the Australian music industry even though we may have felt like outsiders for much of the time. It is great to be included with bands and musicians whose work we admire.


 


It is fitting that this should happen exactly 10 years after Marc died. I wish he was here and I know he would be thrilled. There have been 35 members of Dragon since 1973, from the original members to the current band, and this induction is for all of them.  The guys you will see on the night are myself, Robert Taylor, Kerry Jacobson and Alan Mansfield, but it’s also for original member Ray Goodwin, for Paul Hewson, Neil Story, Doane Perry, Tommy Emmanuel, Terry Chambers and many others who all served their time, and the current members of Dragon, Mark Williams, Bruce Reid and Pete Drummond.


 


As a member of a band that has been playing on and off for 35 years, I’ve got to say it’s been a great pleasure and this is a great compliment for all involved.”


 


With his distinctive voice, finely crafted songs and compelling stage presence, RUSSELL MORRIS is one of Australia’s most enduring singers. A major pop star in the latter sixties, he went on to become one of the country’s first singer songwriters and achieved great success in Australia during the seventies. The song for which he is most renowned is The Real Thing, a witches’ brew of whirling, twirling psychedelia that rewrote the rules of how a record could be made and could sound. Conjured up from basic ingredients – a simple Johnny Young song structure and a head bursting full of incredible ideas, the song had begun life when Young played Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum a song on acoustic guitar he’d earmarked for Ronnie Burns. The writer envisioned it in a slow, cello-dominated I Am The Walrus style with a guitar line where the eventual “oo mow mamow” would be; but Meldrum had other ideas. With a high profile group of musicians and with little regard for budgetary constraints, he cooked up a cauldron of electronic noise, mesmeric chants and an Armageddon explosion that so alarmed EMI executives that they would only agree to release it in Victoria.  It took just 3 weeks for the song to reach No. 1 there and it became a national smash and a (then rare) gold single. As it did, Russell became the most adored Australian pop star since Normie Rowe and Little Stevie. The Real Thing was released in the US and became a New York’s critic’s favourite, charting there and in Chicago and Huston.  On the home front, a second solo single Part 3 Into Paper Walls, shot straight to No. 1 as well, remaining on the charts for 4 months and also earning a gold single. Many other chart hits followed.  The Sweet Sweet Love single, went Top 10 nationally, as did Wings Of An Eagle. His career, in its many incarnations, took him to England and the US but Australia was always home. Russell’s enduring talent, as a singer and a songwriter, has been recognised by the likes of Rod Stewart, John Denver, Joe Cocker and, particularly, Elton John, who rates him as one of the finest talents in Australia. He has not ceased making music since 1967 and is prepared to take it to wherever there are ears open to it. He is presently out on the road with Brian Cadd, in support of a live collaborative CD – enchanting audiences with stories of the music that has, so very often, in so very many ways, touched their lives.


 


On hearing of his induction, Russell said “When I first began the music path on which I eventually embarked - and walked the full distance – I thought it would be all over at the age of twenty five, and by thirty I would be back doing accounting! So to be here right now and receiving this wonderful award is not only amazing but a beautiful surprise”.


 


The 2008 event will feature the induction of five legendary artists (including DRAGON and RUSSELL MORRIS) and one very special industry inductee who will be welcomed into the ARIA HALL OF FAME. And just a reminder that this year the ARIA HALL OF FAME inductions will be completely separate to the ARIA Awards in October, making this event the only time ARIA Hall of Fame inductees will be honoured before their peers.


 


Hosted by Julia Zemiro, the 2008 ARIA HALL OF FAME promises to deliver musical magic moments with performances by the inductees, contemporary Australian artist performances and, in some cases, musical collaborations with both.


 


Stay tuned for the further inductee announcements.  For complete artist bios please attached.


 


2008 ARIA Hall of Fame


Tuesday, 1 July, 2008 - Melbourne Town Hall


 


Featuring DRAGON and RUSSELL MORRIS with more inductees to be announced


Hosted by JULIA ZEMIRO






 


General Public Tickets:


On sale now from Ticketek


www.ticketek.com.au or Phone 132 489


Ticket Price: $87.70 including GST and booking fees


 


Exclusive Broadcast:


Vh1 will televise the 2008 ARIA HALL OF FAME event:


Premieres Saturday, 5 July, 2008 @ 9.00pm


Encore presentation Sunday, 6 July, 2008 @ 5.00pm