Sharon O'Neill
| Sharon O'Neill | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Sharon Lea O'Neill |
| Born |
23 November 1952 Nelson, South Island, New Zealand |
| Genres | Rock, pop, new wave |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | vocals, guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Labels | Sony, Polydor |
Sharon Lea O'Neill[1] (born 23 November 1952, Nelson, New Zealand) is a singer-songwriter and pianist from New Zealand, who had an Australasian hit single in 1983 with "Maxine" which reached No. 16 on both the Australian Kent Music Report and Recording Industry Association of New Zealand charts.[2][3][4]
Biography
O'Neill began her solo career in the early 1970s in her home country after a short stint with kiwi band Chapta, then gained moderate success in Australia with the hit "Words" (AUS #56) and the subsequent singles "How Do You Talk to Boys?" (AUS No. 25, 1980), "Maybe" (AUS No. 38, 1981), "Losing You" (AUS No. 26, 1983), and "Power" (AUS No. 36, 1984).[3][4]
The early 1980s proved her most commercially successful period, composing and performing the soundtrack to the 1981 film Smash Palace, and with the Foreign Affairs album in 1983 spawning her biggest hit "Maxine" (AUS No. 16, 1983)[3] a song which chronicled the life of a Kings Cross prostitute.[5] A legal battle with her then record company Sony caused a delay in her career. During the enforced hiatus, O'Neill wrote songs for ABC TV series Sweet and Sour (1984) including the title song performed by Deborah Conway (later recorded by O'Neill as "In Control") and "Glam to Wham".[1] O'Neill met American keyboardist and songwriter, Alan Mansfield on Dragon's Body and the Beat Tour of New Zealand in 1984—they later became domestic and professional partners.[6]
In 1987 O'Neill returned with her album Danced in the Fire on Polygram which featured some biographical songs about the legal wrangles with Sony.
O'Neill's last album of new material, Edge of Winter, was released in 1990. A mature work, two singles were taken from this album, "Satin Sheets" and "Poster Girl", both of which failed to find chart success.
In 1991, O'Neill collaborated with Robert Palmer and they wrote "True Love" together for Palmer's Don't Explain album. She also contributed vocals on that release. In 1994, O'Neill, Palmer, and Palmer's girlfriend Mary Ambrose co-wrote "Love Takes Time" for Palmer's Honey album. O'Neill contributed vocals to that release, as well as to Palmer's 1999 Rhythm & Blues and 2003's Drive.
In 2001 she toured as a guest artist with New Zealand female act When The Cat's Away. In 2005 she toured Australia as a support act for Leo Sayer and a comprehensive collection of her greatest hits was released on CD. In 2006 and early 2007 O'Neill again toured Australia supporting Leo Sayer.
In August–September 2007 O'Neill toured as part of the 'Countdown Spectacular 2' concert series Australia-wide[7] and toured Australia and New Zealand on The Let It Be Tour (The Beatles tribute show) in November–December 2007.[8]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ[4] | |||
| 1979 | This Heart This Song |
|
12 |
| 1980 | Sharon O'Neill |
|
3 |
| 1980 | Words (reissue of Sharon O'Neill containing one additional track) |
|
— |
| 1981 | Maybe |
|
7 |
| 1982 | Smash Palace EP (soundtrack) |
|
— |
| 1983 | Foreign Affairs |
|
12 |
| 1984 | So Far: The Best 14 |
|
— |
| 1984 | How Do You Do? |
|
— |
| 1987 | Danced in the Fire |
|
— |
| 1988 | Four Play: Volume 18 |
|
— |
| 1990 | Edge of Winter |
|
— |
| 1991 | The Very Best of Sharon O'Neill and Collette (with Collette) |
|
— |
| 2001 | Live in Paradise (with When The Cat's Away) |
|
7 |
| 2005 | The Best of Sharon O'Neill |
|
— |
| 2013 | Original Album Classics (4-CD boxset containing the albums: This Heart This Song / Sharon O'Neill / Maybe / Foreign Affairs) |
|
— |
| 2014 | Words: The Very Best of Sharon O'Neill |
|
— |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ[4] | AUS[3] | |||
| 1972 | "Love Song" | — | — | Non-album single |
| 1978 | "Luck's on Your Table" | 27 | — | This Heart This Song |
| "This Heart This Song" | — | — | ||
| "You Take the Sailor from the Sea" | — | — | ||
| 1979 | "Don't Say No Tomorrow" (Telethon song) | 6 | — | Non-album single |
| "Words" | 22 | 56 | Words | |
| "Baby Don't Fight" | — | — | ||
| "Don't Let Love Go" (duet with Jon Stevens) | 5 | 32 | Non-album single | |
| 1980 | "Asian Paradise" | 24 | 76 | Words |
| "How Do You Talk to Boys?" | 26 | 25 | ||
| 1981 | "Waiting for You" | — | 50 | Maybe |
| "Maybe" | 12 | 38 | ||
| 1982 | "For All the Tea in China" | — | 98 | |
| "Smash Palace" | — | — | Smash Palace (soundtrack) | |
| 1983 | "Losing You" | — | 26 | Foreign Affairs |
| "Maxine" | 16 | 16 | ||
| "Danger" | — | 78 | ||
| 1984 | "Power" | — | 36 | Non-album single |
| 1987 | "Physical Favours" | 25 | 39 | Danced in the Fire |
| "Danced in the Fire" | — | 98 | ||
| 1988 | "Shock to the Heart"/"We're Only Human" | — | — | |
| 1989 | "Water for the Flowers" (shared single with Doug Parkinson) | — | — | Non-album single |
| 1990 | "Satin Sheets" | — | — | Edge of Winter |
| "Poster Girl" | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||
Awards
| Awards | Year | Category | Details | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RIANZ[9] | 1979 | Top Female Vocalist | Won | |
| 1980 | Album of the Year | Sharon O'Neil | Won | |
| Top Female Vocalist | Won | |||
| 1983 | Best Film Soundtrack/Cast Recording/Compilation | Smash Palace | Won | |
References
- 1 2 "Australasian Performing Right Association". APRA. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
- ↑ Spencer, Chris; Zbig Nowara, Paul McHenry with notes by Ed Nimmervoll (2002) [1987]. "ONEILL, Sharon". The Who's Who of Australian Rock. Noble Park, Vic.: Five Mile Press. ISBN 1-86503-891-1. Retrieved 13 February 2010. Note: [on-line] version established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition.
- 1 2 3 4 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
- 1 2 3 4 "Discography: Sharon O'Neill". New Zealand charts portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
- ↑ Filmarchive.org.nz
- ↑ Taylor, Phil (P J) (24 August 2006). "The Times interview, Sharon O'Neill explain yourself to PJ Taylor". Howick and Pakuranga Times (Times Online). Retrieved 25 May 2008.
- ↑ "The Countdown Spectacular". Frontier Touring Co. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
- ↑ "The Let It Be Tour entry on Sharon O'Neill". Xazz Media Group. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
- ↑ "NZMAs". nzmusicawards.co.nz. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
External links
- Sharon O'Neill MySpace
- The Official Sharon O'Neill Website
- The unofficial Sharon O'Neill website at the Wayback Machine (archived 29 September 2007)
- The essential Sharon O'Neill fan site
- The Let It Be Tour
- The Australian Sharon O'Neill Website
- Yahoo group sharononeilldownunder
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