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Wendy
Matthews
has a reputation as an artist par excellence with a
sublime, expressive voice that never fails to move those
who hear it.
Both acoustically and physically, Wendy Matthews moves
with an enviable minimalism. Her music is an unhurried
journey of clean melodies, infectious energy and simple
grace. In an age when grunge is 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 – all her
albums to date have multi-platinum status.
Wendy has an immense talent and capacity to capture and
define a diverse range of styles in her music. She
takes songs from every genre and makes them her own,
from jazz to blues, from rock to gospel, from soul to
outright infectious pop and then, of course, there are
the beautiful ballads.
Wendy is adept at reaching both frenetic youth and
mature audiences alike. If older ears are captured by
her soul and unfazed class, a more cynical youth is
convinced by her disarming ease of delivery, wooed by a
voice of stunning emotive capacity yet void of
sentimentality.
This outstanding capability has ensured the strength of
her following – not only with the public but also the
music industry. To date Wendy has won seven ARIAS – the
all time record.
Simply put, Wendy Matthews has a reputation for having
one of the finest voices ever. As Midnight Oil frontman,
Peter Garrett, says when he eloquently describes her
abilities: “Wendy’s voice is to the vocal chords what
the Daintree is to the wilderness”.
Such observations point to Wendy’s uncanny ability to
choose great songs and interpret them with an individual
polish hitherto unknown in this country.
Wendy has performed at some of the most prestigious
musical events. From the Montreaux Jazz Festival in
Switzerland, live TV specials in Asia, MIDEM in Cannes,
to performing in front of over 40,000 people on the
steps of the Sydney Opera House. Her tours play to full
houses in both regional and capital city theatres.
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.
In 1987, Wendy collaborated with Kate Ceberano on the
ABC-TV soundtrack for the series ‘Stringer’. ‘You’ve
Always Got the Blues’ was released the next year
reaching the Top 5 national charts. She then
contributed to the Rockmelons and Peter Blakeley’s
respective albums. She helped form Absent Friends and
sang on the number one hit “I Don’t Wanna Be With Nobody
But You” and the album “Here’s Looking Up Your Address”.
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”, “Lets
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 Triple Platinum album “Lily”
with the mega hit “ “The Day You Went Away” 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”, “Then I Walked
Away”. In 1999 to cap off an already outstanding
career, Wendy released her first “Best Of…Stepping
Stones” which not only included her former hits but also
“Nobody But You” the massive hit from Absent Friends.
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 as the highly acclaimed
video clip to the popular “All I Need”.
There are very few artists in Australia that can cite
Wendy’s credentials, seven arias, a massive 19 singles ,
7 top selling albums and most of all the love from her
fans.
Wendy has recently completed her first independent
record on her own "Barking Bear" record label. "She" is
a personal collection of favourite songs by women who
have inspired her over the years. As she puts it "songs
that have made the singer, women who have made the
woman". Recorded live in a studio room together over
three days with her long standing band and a few
specialty players, Matthews considers it a journey
through her formative years, with songs by Bonnie Raitt,
Aretha Franklin, EmmyLou Harris and Chrissie Hynde and
fellow native Canadians Joni Mitchell, Buffy St Marie
and Jane Siberry to name a few.
"Fallen Angels" is the first song to radio with the
album "She" due for release in late 2008.
When she’s not writing, recording or touring
extensively, Wendy and her beloved border collie Bear, enjoy the beauty of the Northern NSW coast
where she is building a hand crafted home.
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