Jon English
Jon English originally fronted the Australian band Sebastian
Hardie until January 1972, when he joined the Australian stage
production of Jesus Christ Superstar. He won the part of
Judas over 2,000 other hopefuls and completed three separate
stints in the role - In 1972, 1975 and 1978. He also appeared
on the Original Cast album of 1972.
Jon performed with the studio band Duck on the soundtrack to
the rock opera Ned Kelly, and released his debut album, Wine
Dark Sea.
English's next album, It's All a Game yielded his
first hit single - a cover version of the Bob Seger song Turn
the Page - which peaked at number seven in Australia in
February 1975. He then joined a new production of Jesus Christ
Superstar and released his third album, Hollywood Seven.
Minutes to Midnight followed and English toured with
his recently formed Jon English Band. His next album, Words
Are Not Enough, scored hits with Words Are Not Enough,
which peaked at number five in July 1978 and Nights in
Paradise which peaked at number 21 in October.
English then starred in the Australian television mini-series Against
The Wind as Jonathan Garrett - a transported convict
freshly arrived in Sydney. He also composed, produced, and
recorded the soundtrack album with Mario Millo, and the theme to
the series - Six Ribbons - was released as a single
and became the best-selling male pop single in Australia in 1979
and peaked at number five in January.
English won Best New Talent at the 1979 Logie Awards and Against
the Wind later became a hit TV series in both Scandinavia and
the UK.
A compilation album, English History, peaked at number
four in August 1979, and English toured Australia and overseas
with his new band Baxter Funt. Two albums followed: Calm
Before The Storm (1980) and Inroads (1981).
English then undertook a sold-out tour of Scandinavia where the
soundtrack to Against The Wind had sold over 100,000
copies.
A live double album, Beating the Boards, was released
in 1982, followed by Jokers and Queens - a
mini-album with Marcia Hines. Some People (1983) was
his next solo outing, and a duet with Renee Geyer, Every Beat
of My Heart, was released in 1984.
In the same year, English joined the stage production The
Pirates of Penzance as the Pirate King. Several stage
musicals followed over the next decade, including Rasputin (1987),
The Mikado, and HMS Pinafore. Several singles
were released during this time, as was the album Dark Horses (1987).
In 1990, English released another album, Always the Busker.
An adaptation of Homer's Iliad was released by WEA in
the same year under the title of Paris - a
collaboration between English and producer David McKay that won
the 1990 Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Award for
Best Original Soundtrack or Cast Recording.
In 1993, English performed in the popular TV series All
Together Now as Bobby Rivers, a washed-up rock relic. All
Together Now was released as a single, as was the Best of
Jon English 20th Anniversary Album in the same year.
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