Darren Middleton | |
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![]() Middleton on guitar with Powderfinger in January 2010 at Big Day Out, Melbourne | |
Background information | |
Born | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | 4 October 1971
Genres | Alternative rock, indie rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | 1989–present |
Labels | Polydor, Universal |
Darren Middleton (born 4 October 1971) is an Australian musician, best known as lead guitarist and songwriter for alternative rock band Powderfinger. He was also lead singer/songwriter for Drag; his current solo tour is 'Splinters', [1] a follow-up to his 2013 solo tour 'Translations.' The 'Splinters' tour is Middleton's tour of Western Australia and Victoria in August and November 2016, respectively. [2]
After Powderfinger's dissolution in 2010, Middleton released his first solo LP, 'Translations' in November 2013, featuring many guests such as Nic Cester (Jet), Bernard Fanning (Powderfinger), Pete Murray, Paul Dempsey (Something for Kate), Clare Bowditch and Amy Findlay (Stonefield).
Middleton attended prestigious private school, Brisbane Boys' College, where he started guitar in high school. He was influenced by Twisted Sister and AC/DC, and began playing in clubs around his hometown of Brisbane as part of his first band, Sonic Tapestry. He went on to form another band, Pirate, with high school friends, and met Powderfinger at a Pirate show. After graduating from Brisbane Boys' College, Middleton was invited to join Powderfinger, and consequently took part in all of Powderfinger's recordings, at the same time writing and releasing an EP and studio album with Drag.
Middleton was inspired to learn guitar by Twisted Sister and AC/DC, noting the first songs he wanted to learn could have been "I Wanna Rock" and "We're Not Gonna Take It", or any song by AC/DC. [3] He did not take guitar lessons, and instead taught himself the instrument. [4] Middleton formed a band named Sonic Tapestry with high school friends, and played around Brisbane's "biker-fest circuit". [5] The band's first show was at the Atcherley Hotel, on Wednesday's "Heavy Metal Night", however the band, unaware of the genre, played "80s glam metal stuff". [6]
Middleton first encountered Powderfinger when it consisted of Bernard Fanning, Ian Haug, John Collins, and Jon Coghill. [7] At the time, Middleton had been playing with Sonic Tapestry, and another band named Pirate. After seeing his band perform, Powderfinger invited Middleton to join them, and he accepted. [3] [4] Middleton described Powderfinger's early days as highly influenced by other popular heavy metal bands at the time, especially Pantera. [8] Despite the band's members all having come from casual projects, the band's meetings were highly serious, according to Middleton, although he admitted they were "confused" in exactly what they wanted to do. [6] [9] Powderfinger generally performed covers of The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and Steppenwolf, as well as Neil Young in their early days, in similar clubs to those in which Middleton had first played. [5]
Powderfinger released two early EPs and a debut album, without success, and considered separating, with Middleton contemplating a return to University. However, after Fanning wrote "Pick You Up", the band's mainstream breakthrough, they decided to stick together. [6] From this point on, the band considered themselves to be making "real money". [9]
In 2001, on a tour in the United States, Powderfinger played with Coldplay, in what Middleton described as a highlight. The band also played on the Late Show with David Letterman to promote Odyssey Number Five . [10] After Coldplay cut short the tour, Powderfinger ended up playing numerous US shows themselves, before returning to Australia to play Splendour in the Grass. [11] Middleton's partner gave birth to the couple's first daughter in September 2001. [8] Middleton summarised the year with the comment "This year has been a bit of a blur". [12]
While touring with Powderfinger, Middleton also wrote his own works, occasionally fine tuning them in hotels where the band was staying. These would go on to be the songs he sang for Drag. Middleton formed Drag with drummer and Powderfinger engineer Mark McElligott, Brisbane bass guitarist Sean Hartman, and long-time friend Matt Murphy. [13] Drag released an EP, Gas Food Lodging , on 26 October 2003 through Dew Process. [14] The band followed this up with several gigs in Brisbane; a tour down the East Coast of Australia was cancelled when Middleton caught the flu. [15] After completing work on Gas Food Lodging, Powderfinger reunited and went on to record Vulture Street .
Drag reunited in 2005 to produce their debut studio album, The Way Out , which was released on 10 July 2005. [14] In recording the album, Drag spent three weeks at Byron Bay in March 2005, collaborating with each other and producer David Nicholas. [13] The album earned Drag some positive reception; Rave magazine wrote that "Darren Middleton's creative genius absolutely beguiled me with some extremely mature compositions", [16] and David Nicholas won an ARIA Award for his role as producer. The album was also nominated for "Engineer of the Year". [17] Following The Way Out, Drag toured around Australia, playing with UK band Athlete. [18] This culminated with the bands playing at Splendour in the Grass, where it was noted that Middleton needed "to work on his stage presence". [19] Following the tour, Powderfinger reunited, and Dream Days at the Hotel Existence was released in 2007.
After Powderfinger called it quits in 2010, Middleton started working on his first solo LP, "Translations". The album was released in November 2013, featuring many guests such as Nic Cester (Jet), Bernard Fanning (Powderfinger), Pete Murray, Paul Dempsey (Something for Kate), Clare Bowditch and Amy Findlay (Stonefield). 2016 sees Darren Middleton return to touring, as he embarks on a four show of Western Australia (three shows) and Victoria (one show) in August and November. This tour is for his newest solo project 'Splinters'. [2]
We really love what we're doing. We still love playing music together. I think there's a whole philosophy with our band. When you know there are a couple thousand people who paid money and just want to have a good night out, and if you think about that for a minute before the show, you get really fired up. It's quite a nice job we have, and a great lifestyle.
—Darren Middleton
When asked what inspires the band before live performances. [20]
Middleton rarely takes a singer or songwriter's role for Powderfinger, generally delegating those tasks to Bernard Fanning. However, the song "Over My Head" from Internationalist had Middleton performing vocals. This came about when Middleton did a recording of himself singing the song before Fanning had the chance to do so. [21] Previously, Middleton had written the lyrics to "JC", which was sung by Fanning. [22] However, Middleton sung JC several times throughout the 2007 Upstairs at the Downstairs tour. Despite Middleton's minimal songwriting, he has been praised for it by his bandmates; Jon Coghill told a 1999 interview that "Darren (Middleton) and Bernie (Fanning) are extremely good at writing songs." [23] Middleton agrees with this analysis; telling Undercover's Paul Cashmere in 2003 that "We are about writing good music." He commented that the band used their position at the top of the Australian industry to comment and give people ideas to think about, rather than "trying to say people should take it as gospel". [24] Middleton has criticised the "boy band" phenomena, pointing out that "A lot of them can sing well, but they have people writing all their lyrics for them." [20]
Middleton has cited numerous Australian bands, including AC/DC, Crowded House, and Midnight Oil, as ongoing influences in his music, as well as international artists including Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, and Ben Harper. "I went through a bad eighties stage. Bad glam bands. Twisted Sister. Some really bad punk", Middleton comments on the time in which he learned the guitar. [20] Middleton has used a Les Paul guitar, and was praised by Alphonse Leong of Drop-D, described as playing it "as well as any of the seminal axe-noodlers of the hippie era". [25]
The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). [26]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
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2004 | Powderfinger – Bernard Fanning, Jon Coghill, Ian Haug, Middleton, John Collins | Songwriter of the Year [27] | Won |
"On My Mind" – Bernard Fanning, Middleton, John Collins, Ian Haug, Jon Coghill | Most Performed Australian Work [28] | Nominated | |
2008 | "Lost and Running" – Jon Coghill, John Collins, Bernard Fanning, Ian Haug, Middleton | Song of the Year [29] | Nominated |
Most Played Australian Work [30] | Nominated |
Middleton attended Brisbane Boys College in Brisbane, Queensland. [31] The School established an annual songwriting competition in 2017, which was named for him in 2018. [32]
Powderfinger were an Australian rock band formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until its break-up in 2010, the line-up consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bass guitarist John Collins and drummer Jon Coghill. The group's third studio album Internationalist peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart in September 1998. They followed with four more number-one studio albums in a row: Odyssey Number Five, Vulture Street, Dream Days at the Hotel Existence and Golden Rule. Their top-ten hit singles are "My Happiness" (2000), "(Baby I've Got You) On My Mind" (2003) and "Lost and Running" (2007). Powderfinger earned a total of eighteen ARIA Awards, making them the second-most awarded band behind Silverchair. Ten Powderfinger albums and DVDs certified multiple-platinum, with Odyssey Number Five—their most successful album—achieving eightfold platinum certification for shipment of over 560,000 units.
Parables for Wooden Ears is the debut studio album released by the Australian band Powderfinger. It was released on 18 July 1994 by Polydor Records, after recording at the Metropolis Studios in Melbourne during February 1994.
Internationalist is the third studio album by Australian alternative rock band Powderfinger. The album was released on 7 September 1998 and was often labelled Powderfinger's most adventurous work, with greater experimentation than in previous works.
Odyssey Number Five is the fourth studio album by the Australian rock band Powderfinger, produced by Nick DiDia and released on 4 September 2000 by Universal Music. It won the 2001 ARIA Music Award for Highest Selling Album, Best Group and Best Rock Album. The album was the band's shortest yet, focusing on social, political, and emotional issues that had appeared in prior works, especially Internationalist.
Bernard Joseph Fanning is an Australian musician and singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist of Queensland alternative rock band Powderfinger from its formation in 1989.
John Collins is the mainstay bass guitarist for Australian rock band Powderfinger since 1989. He is one of the founding members of the band, along with guitarist Ian Haug, forming at their high school, Brisbane Grammar School, as a three-piece. Powderfinger has released seven studio albums, a greatest-hits album, and a double CD live album. After they released their first best-of album, Fingerprints, in 2004, they decided to take a break. During the hiatus, Collins played with fellow Powderfinger member Darren Middleton in his new band Drag on a number of occasions as well as performing with Ian Haug and Steven Bishop in The Predators. Collins is often referred to as "J.C." by his fellow band members, as they are his initials and to distinguish him from the group's drummer Jon Coghill. Initially, the nickname was given to him following the group's song "JC" from their second album, Double Allergic, which referred to Jesus Christ.
Ian Haug is an Australian musician and the lead guitarist, songwriter, and backing vocalist in the rock band Powderfinger from its formation in 1989 until its breakup in 2010. He is presently a member of The Church.
Tea & Sympathy is the debut solo album by Australian musician Bernard Fanning. It was released on 31 October 2005, by Dew Process records while Powderfinger—Fanning's main band—were on hiatus. Contrary to Powderfinger's usual alternative style, the album blends alternative and country-folk music. Most of the record was written after the cancer-related death of his brother in 2002. His brother's death coincided with the end of Fanning's twelve-year relationship with his partner, and both events were instrumental in his move away from his typically political and socially lyrical subject matter.
Jon Coghill is an Australian drummer best known for his work with the rock band Powderfinger, although he has also toured with Regurgitator. Coghill replaced Powderfinger's original drummer, Steven Bishop, in 1991. At this time, Powderfinger had not made any recordings, and as such, Coghill has been the group's drummer for all of their releases.
Dream Days at the Hotel Existence is the sixth studio album by Australian rock band Powderfinger, released by Universal Music on 2 June 2007 in Australia, 19 November 2007 in the United Kingdom, and 11 November 2008 in the United States on the Dew Process label. It was released in Australia with a limited edition bonus DVD, titled Powderfinger's First XI, featuring eleven music videos spanning the band's career, from the first single, "Tail" to "Bless My Soul", the band's latest single before the release of the album. A collector's edition, including a CD and DVD, was released on 18 April 2008.
"Passenger" is a song from Powderfinger's third studio album Internationalist. It was released as a single on 9 August 1999, and reached #30 on the Australian music chart. The single was nominated for Single of the year in 2000 at the Australian ARIA Music Awards. "Passenger" was also featured as the opening song performed by Powderfinger while supporting Crowded House's Farewell to the World charity concert in November 1996.
"My Happiness" is a song by Australian rock band Powderfinger. It was released via record label Universal Music Australia on 21 August 2000 as the first single from the band's fourth album, Odyssey Number Five. Powderfinger frontman Bernard Fanning wrote the lyrics for "My Happiness" as a reflection on the time the band spent touring to promote their work, and the loneliness that came as a result. It was inspired by his love of gospel and soul music. The rest of the band are co-credited with Fanning for composing the track. Despite its melancholy mood, "My Happiness" is considered by many to be a love song, a suggestion Fanning regards as mystifying.
Mr Kneebone is the third EP by the Australian rock band Powderfinger. It was released after their first full-length studio album, Parables for Wooden Ears, and before the album, Double Allergic. It contains five songs, none of which were included on either album. The EP peaked at #83 on the Australian singles chart, and is considered to be "the turning point in Powderfinger's song writing career".
"The Day You Come" is a song from the third studio album by Powderfinger. It was released as a single on 10 August 1998 by Universal Music Group. It won the 1999 ARIA Music Award for Single of the Year.
"Living Type" is the third single released from Powderfinger's second album Double Allergic. The single was released on 11 November 1996. The song, written by Bernard Fanning, the band's lead singer, concerned the victims of Charles Manson. The song was well received by the public, who voted it onto the Triple J Hottest 100, 1996. This was the first time Powderfinger had appeared on the chart.
Drag are an Australian rock band led by Darren Middleton, most known as the lead guitarist from rock group Powderfinger.
The Way Out is the debut album by Australian rock band Drag released 10 July 2005. Drag recorded and toured for the album while lead singer and guitarist Darren Middleton was on a break from his other band Powderfinger.
"These Days" is a 1999 song by Australian alternative rock band Powderfinger, later included on their fourth studio album, Odyssey Number Five.
"Nobody Sees" is a song by Powderfinger from their sixth album Dream Days at the Hotel Existence. It is the third single from the album and was released in Australia on 1 December 2007. The announcement that it would be released as a single came at the same time as releasing the music video to the internet on the official Universal Records website.