Mark Seymour | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Mark Jeremy Seymour |
Born | Benalla, Victoria, Australia | 26 July 1956
Origin | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
Genres | Rock, blues rock |
Occupation(s) |
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Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
Years active | 1981–present |
Labels | Mushroom, Sony |
Website | markseymour |
Mark Jeremy Seymour (born 26 July 1956) is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. He was the frontman and songwriter of rock band Hunters & Collectors from 1981 until 1998. Seymour has carved a solo career, releasing his debut solo album in 1997 and winning an ARIA Award in 2001 for One Eyed Man in the category of Best Adult Contemporary Album.
Mark Jeremy Seymour was born on 26 July 1956 in Benalla, Vistoria to Frank and Paula Seymour. [1] He has two older sisters, Hilary and Helen, and a younger brother, Nick (born 1958) – later bass guitarist for Crowded House. [2] His mother encouraged all four children to learn musical instruments and sing. [2] He initially learned piano but switched to guitar as a teenager. Seymour and his family moved to Melbourne in 1972. He was a resident of Ormond College at the University of Melbourne where he graduated in 1978 and was qualified to teach. [2] He later lived in the St Kilda area.
By 1980 Seymour, on lead guitar, was a member of The Jetsonnes, a post-punk pop group formed in Melbourne, with John Archer on bass guitar; Doug Falconer on drums; Margot O'Neill on lead vocals; and Ray Tosti-Gueira on guitar. [3] Clinton Walker described the group as "lighter, bouncier (rather than funkier) and more infectious than other like-minded bands such as Models". [3] In June 1980, [4] record label Missing Link [5] issued a double A-sided single "Newspaper" by the Jetsonnes and "Miniskirts in Moscow" by International Exiles. [3] [6] The Jetsonnes, Models, and International Exiles were "the first bands to rise out of Melbourne's hothouse punk, new wave explosion playing an exuberant brand of neo-pop". [6]
In 1981, Seymour formed Hunters & Collectors from the remnants of The Jetsonnes with Archer, Falconer, and Tosti-Gueira. [3] According to musicologist, Ian McFarlane, this was "a far more radical and unremitting concept" and Seymour, with his "blue labourer's singlet, bulging biceps, introspective angst and impassioned vocals" became the "thinking woman's sex symbol". [3]
Between 1981 and 1998, The Hunters and Collectors released nine studio albums, and were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2005.
In 1992, Seymour released his debut single, "Hey Boys" with Paul Kelly from the Garbo (soundtrack) . The song peaked at number 71 on the ARIA Charts.
Seymour wrote the Hunters and Collector's song "Holy Grail", which although not intended to be about sport, has been widely used in television broadcasts of Australian Football League matches, especially the AFL Grand Final. It was also used by the Queensland cricket team in the years leading up to its first Sheffield Shield win in 1995.[ citation needed ] Seymour has performed at several AFL Grand Finals.
In May 1997, whilst still officially part of Hunters and Collectors, Seymour released his first solo single, "Last Ditch Cabaret". The song peaked at number 85 on the ARIA Charts. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1997, the song earned him two nominations; Best Male Artist and Breakthrough Single. "The Ghost of Vainglory" and "Home Again" followed and Seymour released his debut studio album King Without a Clue in September 1997. The album peaked at number 53 on the ARIA charts and earned Seymour another nomination for Best Male Artist at the ARIA Music Awards of 1998. [7]
In March 2001, Seymour released his second studio album, One Eyed Man , which peaked at number 61 on the ARIA Charts and won Best Adult Contemporary Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2001.
In April 2004, Seymour released Embedded . The album did not chart. In September 2005, Seymour released Daytime & the Dark , an album, featuring acoustic versions of mostly Hunters and Collectors songs. The album peaked at number 99 on the ARIA Charts. In September 2007, Seymour released Titanic , a second album of acoustic versions of mostly Hunters and Collectors songs.
In 2011, Seymour formed and began recording and with a band again. The band, titled Mark Seymour & The Undertow released Undertow in May 2011.
In 2013, Mark Seymour & The Undertow released Seventh Heaven Club, an album which paid homage to love songs, featuring tracks by Bob Dylan, Dave Dobbyn, Otis Redding, Neil Young, Tom Petty and Lucinda Williams.
Mark Seymour & The Undertow released the album Roll Back The Stone on 24 March 2015. It was recorded live at Melbourne's Bakehouse Studios and featured 24 tracks from Seymour's back catalogue, stretching back to 1985, reinterpreted by The Undertow. [8]
In 2020, Seymour released his tenth studio album (and fourth as Mark Seymour & The Undertow), titled Slow Dawn. [9]
In 2023, he collaborated with synthwave group September '87, providing lyrics and lead vocals to their track Room Service. [10]
In 2024, Seymour's eleventh studio album The Boxer will be released. [11]
Seymour married his wife Jo in 1994; they have two daughters Eva and Hannah. [12]
Both of Seymour's parents and his two sisters were teachers, so following on from their careers Seymour became a teacher for about ten weeks but decided to focus on becoming a musician. [13]
In 2008, Seymour released the memoir, Thirteen Tonne Theory, which was published by Penguin Books, detailing his experiences with Hunters and Collectors. [13]
Seymour suffered an Achilles injury when he was 23 and has accumulated scar tissue on both knees. [13]
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
AUS [14] | ||
King Without a Clue |
| 53 |
One Eyed Man |
| 67 |
Embedded |
| 159 |
Daytime and the Dark |
| 99 |
Westgate |
| 128 |
Titanic |
| 197 |
Undertow (credited to Mark Seymour & The Undertow) |
| — |
Seventh Heaven Club (credited to Mark Seymour & The Undertow) |
| — |
Mayday (credited to Mark Seymour & The Undertow) |
| 43 |
Slow Dawn (credited to Mark Seymour & The Undertow) |
| — |
The Boxer (credited to Mark Seymour & The Undertow) |
| 41 [15] |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Album details |
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Ballad of the One Eyed Man – Live at the Basement |
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From Bondi to Bedlam |
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Roll Back the Stone: 1985–2016 (credited to Mark Seymour & The Undertow) |
|
Title | Album details |
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The Closest Living Thing |
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Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
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AUS [14] | |||
"Hey Boys" (with Paul Kelly) | 1992 | 71 | Garbo (soundtrack) |
"Last Ditch Cabaret" | 1997 | 85 | King Without a Clue |
"The Ghost of Vainglory" | 152 | ||
"Home Again" | 1998 | 201 | |
"You Don't Have to Cry Anymore" | 202 | ||
"Do You Know Me?" | 2001 | 153 | One Eyed Man |
"The Ballad of the One Eyed Man" | — | ||
"A Shoulder to Cry On" | 2004 | — | Embedded |
"Westgate" | 2007 | — | Westgate |
"The Whole World Is Dreaming" [9] | 2020 | — | Slow Dawn |
"The Whole World Is Dreaming" (live) (featuring Missy Higgins) [16] | 2021 | — | |
"Even When I'm Sleeping" [17] | 2023 | — | Mushroom: Fifty Years of Making Noise (Reimagined) |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Seymour has won one award from five nominations.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
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1997 | "Last Ditch Cabaret" | Best Male Artist | Nominated |
Breakthrough Artist – Single | Nominated | ||
1998 | King Without a Clue | Best Male Artist | Nominated |
2001 | One Eyed Man | Best Adult Contemporary Album | Won |
2011 | Undertow | Best Adult Contemporary Album | Nominated |
Hunters & Collectors are an Australian rock band formed in 1981. Fronted by founding mainstay, singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, they developed a blend of pub rock and art-funk. Other mainstays are John Archer on bass guitar, Doug Falconer on drums and percussion. Soon after forming they were joined by Jack Howard on trumpet and keyboards, Jeremy Smith on French horn, guitars and keyboards, and Michael Waters on trombone and keyboards. Also acknowledged as a founder was engineer and art designer Robert Miles. Joining in 1988, Barry Palmer, on lead guitar, remained until they disbanded in 1998. The group reformed in 2013 with the 1998 line-up.
Human Frailty is the fourth studio album by Australian rock band Hunters & Collectors, which was released on 7 April 1986. It was a commercial and critical success. The album peaked at No. 10 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and No. 5 on the New Zealand Albums Chart. Four singles were issued from the album, "Say Goodbye", which reached No. 24 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart; "Throw Your Arms Around Me", No. 49; "Everything's on Fire", No. 78; and "Is There Anybody in There", which did not chart in Australia but did reach No. 41 on the New Zealand Singles Chart.
Ghost Nation is the sixth studio album by Australian rock band, Hunters & Collectors. It was co-produced by the band with Clive Martin and issued on White/Mushroom Records on 27 November 1989. It reached No. 10 on the ARIA Albums Chart, No. 29 in New Zealand and No. 31 in Sweden.
Frente! is an Australian folk-pop and indie pop group which originally formed in 1989. The original line-up consisted of Simon Austin on guitar and backing vocals, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar, and Mark Picton on drums.
Tumbleweed are an Australian rock group formed in 1990 in Tarrawanna. Three of their studio albums appeared on the ARIA top 50: Tumbleweed (1992), Galactaphonic (1995), and Return to Earth (1996).
Deadstar were an Australian alternative rock band formed in August 1995 by Peter Jones on drums and percussion; Caroline Kennedy on lead vocals and guitar; and Barry Palmer on guitar and bass guitar. They released three studio albums, deadstar, Milk and Somewhere Over the Radio. Two singles reached the top 100 on the ARIA Singles Chart, "Run Baby Run" and "Deeper Water", both in 1999. The group were nominated for three ARIA Music Awards. The group disbanded in 2001.
Indecent Obsession were an Australian pop rock band formed early in 1987 in Brisbane with founding mainstays Daryl Sims on drums and Michael Szumowski on keyboards. By 1988 the line-up also included Andrew Coyne on lead guitar and David Dixon on lead vocals. They released three studio albums, Spoken Words and Indio, both reached the top 50 on the ARIA Albums Chart. In 1990 Spoken Words was repackaged for United States market as Indecent Obsession, which reached the Billboard 200. In May 1989 they issued their debut single, "Say Goodbye", which peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Singles Chart – their highest position in Australia. Their second single, "Tell Me Something" (September), reached No. 17 nationally. When issued in the US it peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. It reached No. 1 in Indonesia and Hong Kong, and Top 10 in Japan and South Africa. For the Asian market the band used the shortened name, Obsession. In 1992 they were the first Western act to tour South Africa after the lifting of the cultural isolation during the apartheid era. They were "greeted by screaming fans and scenes of mass hysteria", both their second album, Indio, and one of its singles, "Kiss Me", peaked at No. 1 on the relevant South African charts. By 1993 Sims and Szumowski were joined by Mark Gray on bass guitar, Richard Hennassey on lead vocals and Graham Kearns on lead guitar. The following year they issued another studio album, Relativity, before disbanding a year later.
Cut is the seventh studio album by the Australian rock band, Hunters & Collectors. It was mostly produced by American Don Gehman with the group and issued by White Label/Mushroom on 5 October 1992. It reached No. 6 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 17 on the New Zealand Albums Chart. The band were nominated for Best Group at the 1992 ARIA Music Awards and Album of the Year for Cut in the following year.
"Last Ditch Cabaret" is a song written and performed by Australian singer-songwriter, Mark Seymour. The song was released in May 1997 as the lead single from his debut studio album, King Without a Clue. The song peaked at number 85 on the ARIA singles chart.
"Throw Your Arms Around Me" is a song by Australian rock band Hunters & Collectors first released as a single in November 1984 by White Label for Mushroom Records. A re-recorded version of the song later appeared on the band's 1986 album Human Frailty. Written by bass guitarist John Archer, keyboardist Geoffrey Crosby, drummer Douglas Falconer, trumpet player Jack Howard, recorder/mixing engineer Robert Miles, vocalist/lead guitarist Mark Seymour and trombone player Michael Waters. The song captures the intensity of sensual love at the same time portraying its fleeting nature with lyrics including "And we may never meet again, So shed your skin and let's get started".
King Without a Clue is the debut studio album by Australian musician Mark Seymour. The album was released in September 1997 and peaked at number 53 on the ARIA Charts. The album release included a second limited edition disc, titled "Live at The Continental". All of the tracks on this second disc were recorded live on 17 May 1997, at the Continental Cafe, in Melbourne, Australia.
The Badloves are an Australian R&B, soul band that formed as DC3 in 1990 by founding mainstay member Michael Spiby on guitar and lead vocals. They changed their name after a year. Their debut studio album, Get on Board, was issued in July 1993, which peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1994 they won Best New Talent and Breakthrough Artist – Album for Get on Board and Breakthrough Artist – Single for its first single, "Lost" (1993). The Badloves' second album, Holy Roadside, reached the top 20. Their highest-charting single, "The Weight" (1993), is a cover version of the Band's 1968 single and features Jimmy Barnes on co-lead vocals. It reached the ARIA singles chart top 10.
Titanic is the sixth studio album by Australian musician Mark Seymour.
Hunters & Collectors is the self-titled debut studio album by Australian rock band, Hunters & Collectors, which was released on 26 July 1982. It was produced by the band with Tony Cohen as audio engineer. The album peaked at No. 21 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and No. 14 on the New Zealand Albums Chart. The album's first single, "Talking to a Stranger", was released ahead of the album on 12 July, and was accompanied by a music video directed by film maker Richard Lowenstein, but it did not reach the Top 50 on the related singles chart.
The Fireman's Curse is the second studio album by Australian rock band Hunters & Collectors, which was released on 5 September 1983. It was co-produced by Konrad Plank and the band in Neunkirchen, Germany. The album peaked at No. 77 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and No. 46 on the New Zealand Albums Chart. The lead single, "Judas Sheep", was released in August that year but failed to reach the Top 50 on the Australian singles chart, however it appeared in the top 40 in New Zealand.
The Jaws of Life is the third studio album by Australian rock band Hunters & Collectors; it was released on 6 August 1984. It was co-produced by Konrad Plank and the band in Weilerswist, Germany. The album peaked at No. 89 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and No. 37 on the New Zealand Albums Chart. The only Australian single from the album, "The Slab" /"Carry Me", was released as a Double A sided single, in August but failed to chart on the Australian or New Zealand singles charts.
Collected Works is the first compilation album by Australian rock group, Hunters & Collectors. It was issued on 19 November 1990 by Mushroom Records' White Label and includes material from their previous six studio albums as well as a re-recording of "Throw Your Arms Around Me", which was released as a single. The album peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 26 on the New Zealand Albums Chart.
"True Tears of Joy" was the fourth single from Australian pub rockers, Hunters & Collectors' seventh studio album, Cut. It was released after the album on 23 November 1992. It peaked at No. 14 on the ARIA Singles Chart – the highest-charting single of their career – and No. 47 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. "True Tears of Joy" was co-written by band members John Archer, Doug Falconer, Jack Howard, Robert Miles, Barry Palmer, Mark Seymour, Jeremy Smith, and Michael Waters.
Australian singer Kate Ceberano has released 18 studio albums, two compilation albums, five live albums, two soundtrack album, and 44 singles.
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