| Ella Hooper | |
|---|---|
Ella Hooper performing in Killing Heidi, 2006 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ella Keighery Hooper |
| Born | 30 January 1983 |
| Origin | Violet Town, Australia |
| Genres | Rock, Indie, Pop Rock, Country, Acoustic |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | Wah Wah |
| Associated acts | Killing Heidi, Broad, The Verses |
| Website | http://www.theverses.com.au |
Ella Keighery Hooper (born 30 January 1983, Violet Town, Victoria)[1] is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter.[2] Hooper is the lead singer of Killing Heidi, which she has fronted, with her older brother Jesse Hooper, since its formation in 1996 (at the age of 13).[3] Their biggest hits are "Mascara" (#1, 30 January 2000, Australian charts) (Hooper's 17th birthday), "Live Without It" (#5, 23 April 2000) and "Weir" (#6, 19 December 1999).[4] Killing Heidi have been on hiatus since 2006, Ella and Jesse have performed small scale venues as an acoustic band, The Verses.[5]
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Born in Violet Town, Victoria to Helen Keighery and Jeremy Hooper.[6] Hooper grew up in the small rural township (950 people) 175 km North of Melbourne.[7] After finishing Violet Town Primary School, Hooper travelled 27 km by bus to Benalla High School (called Benalla College from 1994) until Year 11. Her parents worked as English and drama teachers, and encouraged Hooper to develop her songwriting skills while Jesse became a guitarist very early on. The Hooper siblings wrote and performed songs for a 1996 Triple J competition and won with "Kettle". Hooper moved to Melbourne after Killing Heidi were signed to a recording deal.[8] They released "Weir" as their first single in August 1999, Hooper left secondary schooling to concentrate on touring Killing Heidi. The Verses debut album SEASONS came Out 13 August. 2010
Track Listing Disc 1:
In March 2011, she released her version of "On the Inside", the theme song to Prisoner.[9]
As a member of Killing Heidi, Hooper won four ARIA Awards in 2000: "Album of the Year" for Reflector, "Best Group", "Breakthrough Artist - Album" and "Best Rock Group".[10] With Jesse, Hooper was awarded APRA 2001 Songwriter of the Year.[11]
Hooper was diagnosed with a cyst on her vocal cords which was subsequently removed.[1][8]
As of 2006[update], Killing Heidi have taken a break from performing, Hooper is playing acoustic gigs at smaller venues in Australia alongside Jesse, as The Verses.[5]
In mid-2006 she toured Australia with the all-female musical line-up of Broad, alongside Australian pop musician Deborah Conway, among others.[12] Hooper is a regular guest on the ABC's musical quiz show Spicks and Specks; she has also appeared on the SBS programme Rockwiz and made an appearance on the premiere of David Tench Tonight.
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