Wendy Matthews returns to the Gold Coast
The Arts Centre Gold Coast presents Wendy Matthews – Live in The Basement – Saturday 9 July, 7.30pm!
In the only Gold Coast appearance of her recent tour, Wendy Matthews will appear as a part of The Arts Centre’s Live in the Basement series.
As an artist Wendy Matthews has an expressive voice that never fails to move those who hear it. Her music is an unhurried journey of clean melodies, infectious energy and simple grace, In an age where uber-production techniques are thought to be hip and cynicism an attribute, Wendy has proven that commitment to beauty is still not only valid but applauded by the public ear. This is exemplified by the reality that Wendy’s music is now in more than 1 million homes in Australia and all her albums to date have multi-platinum status.
Born in Montreal Canada, Wendy joined her first band and left home as a teenager, busking her way across the USA to Los Angeles where she met Glenn Shorrock who invited her to tour with him in Australia in 1982. Wendy immediately became an in-demand session singer, appearing on many commercial jingles and backing vocals for the likes of The Models Out Of Mind Out Of Sight and became a semi-permanent member of the band. She also sang on albums by Jimmy Barnes, Tim Finn, Richard Clapton and Icehouse.
After touring with Absent Friends, Wendy went into the studio to record her solo debut. The album Émigré (Double Platinum) spawned the hits ‘Token Angels’, ‘Let’s Kiss’ and ‘Woman’s Gotta Have It’ and earned Wendy the Best Female Artist and Best Debut Single (for ‘Token Angels’) at the 1990 ARIA Awards. Wendy was also voted Best Female Singer in the 1990 Rolling Stone Reader’s Poll. This was followed up by the multi-Platinum album Lily (over 500,000 albums) with the mega hit ‘The Day You Went Away’ (over 300,000 singles), plus ‘If Only I Could’ and ‘Friday’s Child’. In 1992 Wendy picked up the ARIA for Best Female Artist and Best Single and again in 1993 Best Female Artist. ‘The Day You Went Away’ was the highest selling single of 1993 and the single of the year. Wendy then followed up with another two studio albums The Witness Tree and Ghosts including the hits ‘Love Will Keep Me Alive’, ‘Standing Strong’ and ‘Then I Walked Away’.
Not resting on her laurels, in 2001 Wendy released Beautiful View featuring the hauntingly beautiful title track and club favourite ‘Like the Sun’. 2004 saw the release of the mixed-up, chilled-out Café Naturale, an eclectic suite of songs, which immediately evoke a sense of familiarity. The Tropfest winning film Lamb by Emma Freeman features the highly acclaimed video clip to the popular ‘All I Need’. In 2013 Fanfare Records released Wendy’s brilliant eclectic and first non covers album in 12 years, The Welcome Fire. The album has been critically acclaimed by peers and music critics alike, stating it is Wendy’s best work ever.
Just recently in 2015, Wendy released (through her own record label Barking Bear) a new album, Billie and Me. An intimate and introspective translation of some classic and not so classic Billie Holiday songs, an iconic woman whose soul and music has been long admired. Recorded alongside Wendy’s band members, Brendan St Ledger on piano and Greg Royal, standup bass. Wendy resides on her 10 acre property just north of Coffs Harbour, in the hinterland of the Northern Beaches, with her beloved border collie Bear.
Wendy will be supported on the night by Bradley Stone. Bradley’s achievements range from closing the 2016 ENCORE at the Sydney Opera House as a solo act, his debut single release reached #1 on the Triple J Unearthed charts for over a month straight, and is the support act for Jon Stevens, Rick Price and Kyle Lionhart.
Stay tuned for more Live at the Basement shows to be released!
WENDY MATTHEWS – LIVE IN THE BASEMENT
TIME: Saturday 9 July, 7.30pm
COST: Adult $38.00
Concession $34.00
Group (6 or more) $30.00
WEB: https://theartscentregc.com.au/#!wendy-matthews-live-in-the-basement
