| Troy Newman | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Troy Adrian Newman |
| Born | 1964 |
| Origin | Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
| Died | March 1997 Sydney, New South Wales |
| Genres | Rock |
| Years active | 1986–1997 |
| Labels | Warner, EastWest, Curb, Edel |
| Associated acts | The Extremists, Boys |
Troy Newman was an Australian singer-songwriter and musician who was a member of Perth pop, rock band Boys from 1987 to 1988 and also had a solo career, releasing two albums, Gypsy Moon (1991) and It's Like This (1995) before he died in March 1997.
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Troy Adrian Newman was born in Perth, Western Australia.[1][2] He began writing songs while attending Hollywood Senior High School and, in his earlier years, fronted The Extremists. At age seventeen he joined popular local Perth band Boys as a vocalist, when they reformed in 1987 with Camillo Del Roio and Lino Del Roio on guitar, Eddie Parise on bass guitar, drummer Frank Celenza and Tony Celiberti as keyboardist.[3][4][5] A year later the band changed their name to Boyschool but split soon after,[4] with Parise and Celenza moving to form Bamboo Curtain, before joining Baby Animals.[4][5]
Following the break-up of Boys, Newman moved from Perth to Sydney, where he signed a deal with Warner Music. In September 1989 Newman appeared in the controversial stage musical, Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom alongside Daniel Abineri, Wendy Stapleton, Gary Olsen, Steve Bastoni and Nadine Garner – he took over the lead role from Russell Crowe.[6][7] The musical spawned a cast album on WEA Records and a top ten single, "Enemy the Sun", (November 1989) performed by Newman.
The label flew Newman to Los Angeles where he recorded his debut solo album, Gypsy Moon, with session musicians, Craig Fall, Luis Conte, Bob Glaub, Jerry Goodman, Russ Kunkel, C. J. Vanston and Waddy Wachtel, and guest appearances from Rick Vito and Billy Burnette.[8] The album was produced by Greg Ladanyi (Jackson Browne, Toto, Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley), except "Raining" by Richard Clapton[9] and "Drive My Car" by Ladanyi and Kunkel.[10] It was released 14 May 1991 in Australia by Warner and also in the United States through Atlantic imprint EastWest Records.[4] The album spent five weeks in the Australian album charts, peaking at #42.[11] The first single released, "Love Gets Rough", reached #22 on the Australian Singles charts[11] and charted at #92 on the Billboard Top 100.[12][13] Other singles from the album, "Whisper" and "God Only Knows" released later that year failed to chart. His song, "Raining", was used on television series, Heartbreak High (Season 1, 1994, episode 10).[14]
East/West did not offer him a second album, Newman issued It's Like This on 18 July 1995 on the Curb Records/Edel Records labels.[15] Newman had recorded the album in Los Angeles again, with Wachtel, Glaub, Kunkel, Conte and Vanston.[16] It was produced by Ladanyi and Wachtel but failed to emulate the success of his debut album and didn't chart.
Troy Newman died in Sydney in March 1997.[4][17] As his body was found with a toxic combination of prescription drugs, there was speculation that he committed suicide[18] however the autopsy was inconclusive. Newman had also contracted Hepatitis A which may have contributed to his death.[16]