John O'Donnell (music journalist)

Last updated

John O'Donnell (born 1962) is a long-standing member of the Australian music industry. Starting as a freelance writer, he eventually became the music editor of Rolling Stone Australia before leaving to co-found and edit Juice Magazine .

Contents

In 1994 O'Donnell created the Murmur label for Sony Music Australia and went on to sign bands including Silverchair, Ammonia, Jebediah and Something for Kate. He later worked for Sony at the corporate level before leaving for EMI Music Australia in 2002. Ultimately O'Donnell was the CEO of EMI in the Oceania region from 2002 until September 2008. [1] Because O'Donnell's departure from EMI was quickly followed by the departure of many of its biggest selling artists (Missy Higgins, Silverchair), the situation was interpreted by some in the media as symptomatic of the difficult takeover of EMI by Terra Firma. [2]

O'Donnell is also active in a number of industry bodies such as ARIA and PPCA.

Management

In November 2009, O'Donnell and John Watson announced that they were jointly assuming the management of one of Australia's longest running and most successful rock bands, Cold Chisel. [3]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cold Chisel</span> Australian rock band

Cold Chisel are an Australian pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums and Don Walker on piano and keyboards. They were soon joined by Jimmy Barnes on lead vocals and, in 1975, Phil Small became their bass guitarist. The group disbanded in late 1983 but subsequently reformed several times. Musicologist Ian McFarlane wrote that they became "one of Australia's best-loved groups" as well as "one of the best live bands", fusing "a combination of rockabilly, hard rock and rough-house soul'n'blues that was defiantly Australian in outlook."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silverchair</span> Australian rock band

Silverchair was an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Newcastle, New South Wales, with Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars, Ben Gillies on drums, and Chris Joannou on bass guitar. The group got their big break in mid-1994 when they won a national demo competition conducted by SBS TV show Nomad and ABC radio station Triple J. The band was signed by Murmur and were successful in Australia and internationally. Silverchair has sold over 10 million albums worldwide.

<i>Neon Ballroom</i> 1999 album by Silverchair

Neon Ballroom is the third studio album by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair, released in 1999 by record labels Murmur and Epic. The songs "Anthem for the Year 2000", "Ana's Song " and "Miss You Love" were released as singles and a short film was released for the song "Emotion Sickness". Neon Ballroom debuted at No. 1 on the Australian albums chart and peaked at No. 50 on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was also their most successful album on the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 29. The album was nominated for 10 ARIA Awards and was certified Triple Platinum by the ARIA for selling over 210,000 copies in Australia. The album has been described as "heavy rock with orchestral flourishes and synthetic touches with powerfully emotional lyrics" that reflects the personal demons of frontman Daniel Johns, due to the band's rapid international success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Living End</span> Australian band

The Living End is an Australian punk rockabilly band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney, Scott Owen, and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in 1997 after the release of their EP Second Solution / Prisoner of Society, which peaked at No. 4 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. They have released eight studio albums, two of which reached the No. 1 spot on the ARIA Albums Chart: The Living End and State of Emergency. They have also achieved chart success in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

<i>Diorama</i> (Silverchair album) Silverchair album

Diorama is the fourth studio album by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair, released on 31 March 2002 by Atlantic/Eleven. It won the 2002 ARIA Music Award for Best Group and Best Rock Album. The album was co-produced by Daniel Johns and David Bottrill. While Bottrill had worked on albums for a variety of other bands, Diorama marked the first production credit for lead singer Johns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sleepy Jackson</span> Australian alternative rock band

The Sleepy Jackson are an Australian alternative rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia. The band's name was inspired by a former drummer who was narcoleptic. The band revolves around the distinctive vocal style of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Luke Steele. Stemming from a musical family, Luke's father Rick Steele is a local blues musician, and two of Luke's siblings are also musicians, with brother Jesse a former member of The Sleepy Jackson, and sister Katy, who fronts another Perth rock band, Little Birdy. While a series of acclaimed EPs brought The Sleepy Jackson to a broader musical attention of Australia, it was the release of their 2003 album Lovers and 2006 second album Personality – One Was a Spider, One Was a Bird that directed significant international focus upon the band.

Craig Mathieson is an Australian music journalist and writer. His books include, Hi Fi Days (1996), The Sell-In in (2000) and the 100 Best Australian Albums in 2010, with Toby Creswell and John O'Donnell

Murmur was a record label that started as an imprint of Sony Music Australia in mid-1994. Named after R.E.M.'s first album, Murmur signed a number of Australia's most successful rock bands, including Silverchair, Ammonia, Something for Kate and Jebediah. Notable alumni of Murmur include John O'Donnell, a former Rolling Stone journalist who became the head of EMI Australia, and John Watson, who runs a music management company and independent record label Eleven.

<i>The Best Of: Volume 1</i> (Silverchair album) 2000 greatest hits album by Silverchair

The Best Of: Volume 1 is the first compilation album by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair, which was issued on 13 November 2000. It includes every single they had released up until that point, with the exception of "Shade". The album peaked at No. 15 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

Eleven: A Music Company is an Australian record label and management company known for its small but successful roster, currently including Birds of Tokyo, Cold Chisel, Dustin Tebbutt, Gotye, Midnight Oil, Missy Higgins, Paul Mac, Peter Garrett, The Presets, and Silverchair. The company was founded on 11 November 2000 by artist manager, John Watson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlton Hill</span> Australian singer

Andrew James Charlton Hill better known as Charlton Hill is an Australian singer-songwriter, music publisher and actor. Charlton's experience in the music, television, advertising and branding industries ranges from major recording artist, songwriter and actor to sonic branding strategist and tech entrepreneur.

<i>East</i> (Cold Chisel album) 1980 studio album by Cold Chisel

East is the third studio album by Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel, released in June 1980. The album peaked at No. 2 and spent 63 weeks on the national chart. It was the biggest-selling Australian album release of the year. It was the only Cold Chisel album to chart in America, reaching 171 on the Billboard 200. It also reached number 32 on the New Zealand charts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ana's Song (Open Fire)</span> 1999 single by Silverchair

"Ana's Song (Open Fire)" is a song by the Australian alternative rock band Silverchair. It was released in May 1999 as the second single from their third album, Neon Ballroom. The song is about lead vocalist Daniel Johns' struggle with anorexia nervosa. "Ana's Song" peaked at No. 14 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart, at No. 12 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and at No. 28 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1999, it was nominated for two awards. The track also earned Silverchair a Comet Award in Germany.

<i>Circus Animals</i> 1982 studio album by Cold Chisel

Circus Animals is the fourth studio album by Australian band Cold Chisel, released on 8 March 1982. It was recorded and mixed at Paradise Studios and EMI Studios 301, Sydney, between September and December 1981. It reached number one on the Australian charts, remaining in the charts for 40 weeks, and also topped the New Zealand charts. The working title for the album was "Tunnel Cunts".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silverchair discography</span> Band discography

The discography of Silverchair, an Australian alternative rock band, consists of five studio albums, one extended play (EP), nineteen singles, one live album, two compilation albums, four video albums, and twenty music videos.

The 13th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 12 October 1999 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Hosted by Paul McDermott and Bob Downe, and presenters, including Melanie C of the Spice Girls, Tina Cousins, Fiona Horne and Molly Meldrum, distributed 33 awards. The big winner for the year was Powderfinger with four awards.

<i>100 Best Australian Albums</i> 2010 book by John ODonnell

The 100 Best Australian Albums is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The book was published on 25 October 2010 by Hardie Grant Books. Sony Music has released a five CD compilation to support the book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forever Now (Cold Chisel song)</span> 1982 single by Cold Chisel

"Forever Now" is a song by Australian rock band Cold Chisel. The second single from the album Circus Animals, it was the first Cold Chisel single to be written by Steve Prestwich. The song reached number two in New Zealand and number four in Australia, becoming the band's highest chart placement. In the United States, the song was titled "Forever Now ".

John Philip Woodruff OAM is a former Australian talent manager, record label owner and music magazine owner. He managed Flowers/Icehouse, the Angels, Diesel, Baby Animals and Savage Garden. He combined with fellow managers to found Dirty Pool as a booking agency and management company in 1978. Woodruff established a magazine The Music Network in 1994. For his work in the local music industry he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the ARIA Music Awards of 2007. He was described by music journalist Christie Eliezer as one of seven movers and shakers of the Australian Music Industry in the book High Voltage Rock 'n' Roll (2007). On Australia Day 2008 Woodruff was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for "service to the popular music industry, particularly as a manager, promoter and mentor of musical acts." He retired in December 2018 after selling his management company to Sony Music Australia.

References

  1. Eliezer, Christie (28 July 2008). "O'Donnell Splits EMI Australia, Poston Rises". Billboard . Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  2. Zuel, Bernard (12 August 2008). "How record rack lost its groove". The Age . Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  3. "Cold Chisel hook up a new management deal". Vega FM radio. 14 November 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. "100 Best Australian Albums". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 November 2010.