Iva Davies | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Ivor Arthur Davies |
Born | Wauchope, New South Wales, Australia | 22 May 1955
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Years active | 1971–present |
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Member of | Icehouse |
Website | icehouse-ivadavies |
Ivor Arthur Davies, AM (born 22 May 1955), known professionally as Iva Davies, [1] is an Australian singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.
Davies' music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of rock band Icehouse, becoming one of Australia's top rock stars of that decade. [2]
In addition to his work with Icehouse and his solo career, Davies has made music for television series and films. He is known for his work as composer for the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World .
Davies was born on 22 May 1955 in Wauchope, New South Wales and was first attracted to bagpipes at the age of six. He played oboe with the Sydney Youth Orchestra and was a member of the Epping Boys High School Band where he also played the euphonium. He went on to be an oboe and composition student at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music, but dropped out at age 21 to pursue a professional career. [3] [ better source needed ]
Davies first performed professionally as a 16-year-old musician with the Lucy Fields Jug Band. [4] The band secured a recording contract with M7 Records, but the company changed hands shortly thereafter and the band's album was never released.[ citation needed ] In 1974, Davies performed Handel's Concerto for Oboe in E♭ major with Strathfield Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Richard Gill. [5] Davies would later use his woodwind skills on some tracks with his band Icehouse, playing oboe on several albums and adding cor anglais to "Man of Colours", the title track of their sixth studio album.[ citation needed ]
In July 1975, Davies released his first single, “Leading Lady”, on the RCA label. [6] [ better source needed ]
In early 1977, Davies was working as a part-time cleaner at a squash court in Lindfield, New South Wales managed by bass player Keith Welsh's mother. Davies and Welsh got together to form the band Flowers, rehearsing in a house next door to the squash court. [7] In 1977, Davies re-established an old acquaintance with Cameron Allan, the director of Sydney-based independent label Regular Records; Flowers signed with the label in early 1977. In 1980, the band's debut album Icehouse, which included the song "Can't Help Myself", reached the Top Five, making it the highest-selling debut album in Australia. [6] To take advantage of this success, the band changed its name to Icehouse in 1981. The name was taken from a cold flat Davies lived in and the strange building across the road populated by itinerant people. [8]
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In 1983, Davies and Icehouse went on a European tour with David Bowie. [9]
In 1985, Davies and fellow Icehouse member Bob Kretschmer worked on the ballet Boxes with the Sydney Dance Company. [10] In addition to scoring the ballet, they also co-wrote the script with Graeme Murphy. Boxes opened at the Sydney Opera House in December, and Davies performed in an acting/singing/dancing role to sold-out crowds for three weeks straight.[ citation needed ] 1985 also saw Davies win an APRA Music Award for Most Performed Australasian Music for Film for Razorback . [11] Davies was an early adopter of the Fairlight which he used to compose the music of the film. His score has been described as "pioneering" and "an important contribution to Australian film scoring". [2]
In 1988, Davies and co-collaborator John Oates won an APRA Music Award for the Icehouse song "Electric Blue" (from the Man of Colours album) in the Most Performed Australasian Popular Work category. [12] On 25 January 1988, Icehouse performed "Electric Blue" at the Royal Command, New South Wales Bicentennial Concert in front of the Prince and Princess of Wales at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. [13]
In the early 1990s, the Sydney Dance Company worked on creating a work which became the ballet Berlin. As well as recording the score to the ballet, Davies performed live with Icehouse at each show. [14] Berlin was an instant success and ran for two seasons.[ citation needed ]
In 2003, Davies travelled to Los Angeles to record the soundtrack to the Peter Weir film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with Christopher Gordon and Richard Tognetti. Together, they won the 2004 APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award in the Best Soundtrack Album category. [15]
In 2005, Davies scored the miniseries The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant . On 6 November 2006, he won the 2006 APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award in the Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie category. [16] From 15 June 2008, Davies was a judge on Seven Network TV series Battle of the Choirs ; [17] his band Icehouse performed "Great Southern Land" on the grand final show won by the University of Newcastle Chamber Choir. [18]
Davies lives in Whale Beach, New South Wales. He married Tonia Kelly in 1990; at the time, Kelly was the principal dancer at the Sydney Dance Company. The couple divorced in 2010. From his marriage to Kelly, he has two children, Brynn (born 1993) and Evan (born 1996). [10] [ better source needed ]
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
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AUS [19] | NZ | ||
Razorback (Music from the Original Soundtrack of the Film) |
| - | - |
Boxes (with Sydney Dance Company) |
| - | - |
The Berlin Tapes (with Icehouse) |
| - | 47 |
The Ghost of Time |
| 63 | |
The Far Side of the World (with Christopher Gordon & Richard Tognetti) |
| - | - |
In 2013, Davies was honoured in the Queen's Birthday Honours as a "Member (AM) in the General Division" for services to music, entertainment and the community [20]
The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
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1986 | Razorback | Most Performed Australasian Music for Film | Won |
1989 | "Electric Blue" (Iva Davies, John Oates) by Icehouse | Most Performed Australasian Popular Work | Won |
2004 | Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Iva Davies, Christopher Gordon, Richard Tognetti) | Best Feature Film Score | Nominated |
Best Soundtrack Album | Won | ||
2006 | The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (Iva Davis) | Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie | Won |
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | The Berlin Tapes | Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album | Nominated | [21] |
2000 | The Ghost of Time | Nominated |
The Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 2004 to honour the lifetime achievements of some of Australia's greatest songwriters. [22]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | himself | Australian Songwriter's Hall of Fame | inducted |
Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987; it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week . The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards. [23]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | himself | Best Recorded Songwriter | Nominated |
1982 | himself | Best Songwriter | Nominated |
Best Australian Producer | Nominated | ||
himself | Most Popular Male Performer | Won | |
1984 | himself | Most Popular Male Performer | Nominated |
Icehouse are an Australian rock band, formed in Sydney in 1977 as Flowers. Initially known in their homeland for their pub rock style, the band later achieved mainstream success playing new wave and synth-pop music and attained Top 10 singles chart success locally and in both Europe and the U.S. The mainstay of both Flowers and Icehouse has been Iva Davies supplying additional musicians as required. The name "Icehouse", adopted in 1981, comes from an old, cold flat Davies lived in and the strange building across the road populated by itinerant people.
Primitive Man, the second studio album by Australian rock band Icehouse, was released on 20 September 1982. In January 1982, Icehouse founder Iva Davies started recording Primitive Man essentially as a solo project. It was co-produced with Keith Forsey, who later worked with Simple Minds and Billy Idol. Forsey supplied additional percussion; Davies supplied vocals, lead guitar, keyboards, bass guitar and programmed the Linn drum machine. Released as an Icehouse album, Primitive Man reached number 3 on the National album charts and provided their international breakthrough single, "Hey Little Girl", which peaked at number 7 in Australia, number 2 in Switzerland, number 5 in Germany, the top 20 in UK, Sweden and Netherlands, and number 31 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Another single "Great Southern Land" made the Australian top 5; it was later featured in the 1988 Yahoo Serious film Young Einstein, and remains their most popular song according to listeners of Triple M in 2007. To promote Primitive Man on tour, Davies re-assembled Icehouse with Michael Hoste (keyboards) and John Lloyd (drums), and new members: Bob Kretschmer, Guy Pratt and Andy Qunta.
"Electric Blue" is a song by Australian rock band Icehouse. It was co-written by Iva Davies of Icehouse and John Oates of US band Hall & Oates. Oates became involved with Davies after contacting him to state he was a fan. The resulting collaboration produced this song and Oates has stated that if Davies had not released the song under the Icehouse name, then it would have been a Hall & Oates track.
Amanda Gabrielle Brown is an Australian composer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. She was the violinist of Australian indie rock band The Go-Betweens (1986–1989): recorded on their studio albums, Tallulah (1987) and 16 Lovers Lane (1988). Brown has also worked as a session musician and, since 2000, as a screen music composer. She won the AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score in 2020 for Babyteeth (2019) and also Best Original Music Score in a Documentary for Brazen Hussies (2020). At the APRA-AGSC Screen Music Awards of 2009 she won Best Music for a Documentary for Sidney Nolan: Mask and Memory (2008) and Best Music for a Television Series or Serial for The Secrets She Keeps at the 2020 ceremony.
Cezary Jan Skubiszewski is a Polish-born Australian film and television composer. He composed film scores for Red Dog, Two Hands, The Sapphires and TV series Picnic at Hanging Rock.
John Martin Armiger was an Australian musician, record producer and composer. He was one of the singer-songwriters and guitarists with Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from August 1978 to late 1981, which had Top 30 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart with, "Don't Throw Stones" (1979), "Strangers on a Train" (1980) and "How Come" (1981); and Top 20 albums with Don't Throw Stones, Suddenly and Sondra (1981).
Icehouse is the first album released by the Australian rock/synthpop band Flowers, later known as Icehouse, on the independent label Regular Records in October 1980. The title and the artist are sometimes incorrectly swapped, because the band changed their name from Flowers to Icehouse after this album was released. Containing the Top 20 Australian hits "Can't Help Myself", "We Can Get Together" and "Walls"; the album made heavy use of synthesisers, which would continue to be used throughout the band's career. Founder Iva Davies wrote all the tracks including four co-written with keyboardist Michael Hoste, however Hoste was replaced during recording sessions by Anthony Smith.
"Great Southern Land" is a song by Australian rock band Icehouse. It was released on 9 August 1982 as the lead single from their second studio album Primitive Man. It peaked at No. 5 on the Australian Singles Chart, it was later featured in the 1988 Yahoo Serious film Young Einstein, and remains their most popular songs according to listeners of Triple M in 2007.
Code Blue is the sixth studio album by the Australian rock/synthpop band Icehouse and was released in November 1990 by Regular Records. Code Blue peaked at #7 on the Australian album charts.
"Hey Little Girl" is a single released by Australian band Icehouse, the second single from the band's 1982 album, Primitive Man. The album and single were co-produced by band member and the track's writer, Iva Davies, and Keith Forsey. It was released in November 1982 on Regular Records in 7" vinyl single and 12" vinyl single formats. UK and Europe releases by Chrysalis Records were also on 7" and 12" formats, but with different track listings. The single was then released in the US in 1983 on the same formats. On "Hey Little Girl", Iva Davies uses the Linn drum machine—the first for an Australian recording. It peaked at No. 7 on the Australian singles chart and No. 2 in Switzerland, No. 5 in Germany, Top 20 in UK, Sweden and Netherlands, and No. 31 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.
Big Wheel is the seventh and final studio album by the Australian rock synthpop band, Icehouse, released on 25 October 1993 in Australia by dIVA Records – founder Iva Davies' own label – and Massive Records. It was recorded at Davies' home in Whale Beach during 1993 with Davies on vocals, guitar, bass guitar and keyboards, David Chapman on guitar, keyboards and backing vocals, and Paul Wheeler on drums, percussion and backing vocals. Big Wheel peaked at #44 and was their first studio album not to reach the Top Ten on the Australian album charts. The album was digitally remastered by Davies and Ryan Scott with five bonus tracks added for the 2002 re-release by Warner Music Australia.
Man of Colours is the fifth studio album by Australian rock/synthpop band Icehouse, released locally on 21 September 1987 on Regular Records / Chrysalis Records.
The APRA Music Awards in Australia are annual awards to celebrate excellence in contemporary music, which honour the skills of member composers, songwriters, and publishers who have achieved outstanding success in sales and airplay performance.
"Can't Help Myself" is the first single released by the Australian synthpop/rock band Flowers, later known as Icehouse. It was released in May 1980 as a 7" vinyl single on independent label, Regular Records, five months ahead of debut album Icehouse. A 10" vinyl single was released in July and had a cover depicting individual images of band members diagonally across the band's name and the single's title. It peaked at #10 on the Australian Singles Charts.
"Walls" is the third single released by the Australian rock band Flowers, later known as Icehouse. It was released in January 1981, on independent label Regular Records from their debut album, Icehouse, it peaked at #20 on the Australian Kent Music Reoport Singles Charts. It was also released in New Zealand, with a different cover, which was the last release before the band was renamed as Icehouse.
"Icehouse" is a song by the Australian rock band Flowers, later known as Icehouse. It was released as a single in Europe in 1982 by Chrysalis Records from the band's first album, Icehouse, after the band changed its name to Icehouse. In the United States, the song peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart in 1981.
Roger Ashley Mason is an Australian keyboardist who has been a member of new wave groups Models, Absent Friends and Icehouse. He was a session and backing musician for United Kingdom's Gary Numan and for various Australian artists. From the early 1990s he has composed music for television and feature films.
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2011 are a series of related awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards of 2011 was the 29th annual ceremony by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) to award outstanding achievements in contemporary songwriting, composing and publishing. The ceremony was held on 21 June 2011 at CarriageWorks in Sydney, Australia. The Art Music Awards were introduced in 2011 to replace the Classical Music Awards and were distributed on 3 May. They are sponsored by APRA and the Australian Music Centre (AMC) to "recognise achievement in the composition, performance, education and presentation of Australian music". The Screen Music Awards were issued on 14 November by APRA and Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) at the City Recital Hall, Sydney which "acknowledges excellence and innovation in the genre of screen composition".
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2012 are a series of related awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards of 2012 was the 30th annual ceremony by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) to award outstanding achievements in contemporary songwriting, composing and publishing. The ceremony was held on 28 May 2012 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Art Music Awards were introduced in 2011 to replace the Classical Music Awards and were distributed on 3 April at the Sydney Opera House. They are sponsored by APRA and the Australian Music Centre (AMC) to "recognise achievement in the composition, performance, education and presentation of Australian music". The Screen Music Awards were issued on 19 November by APRA and Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC), which "acknowledges excellence and innovation in the genre of screen composition".
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2017 are a series of related awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards of 2017 was the 35th annual ceremony by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) to award outstanding achievements in contemporary songwriting, composing and publishing. The ceremony was held on 3 April 2017 at the International Convention Centre Sydney. The host for the ceremony was Julia Zemiro, presenter on SBS-TV's RocKwiz.
Icehouse musician Iva Davies was one of Australia's premier 80s rock stars.