Toni McCann

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Toni McCann
Also known asToni McRae, Toni Nicholas, Sue Collier
Born
Susan Judith Hutson

1950or1951(age 74–75)
London, England
Origin Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Genres Garage rock, R&B
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Vocals, harmonica
Labels Sunshine, Everybody's, Good Thyme

Toni McCann (or Toni McRae) (born Susan Judith Hutson, 1950or1951) is an English-born Australian singer-musician. She fronted groups, worked as a solo artist and in the duo Toni and Royce with Royston Edward Nicholas. McCann issued two popular singles in the mid-1960s, "My Baby" and "If You Don't Come Back". These were described by Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane as "among the wildest garage beat songs of the era". The singer displayed "her rowdy, nasally vocal delivery and wailing harmonica playing". [1] McCann and Nicholas were married by 1970 and continued their duo into the 1980s delivering Australiana-based children's albums. Nicholas died in 2013. From 2017 McCann has worked as a prison chaplain.

Biography

Toni McCann was born in 1950or1951 as Suisan Judith Hutson, [2] in London. She migrated with her parents to Brisbane in August 1964 via Fairsky . [1] [3] [4] While still in England, McCann had been inspired to become a musician after seeing Helen Shapiro on television and attending a Rolling Stones concert. [2] [5] At 15 she entered a Brisbane talent quest where she met record producers Pat Aulton and Nat Kipner. [1] [5] The pair introduced her to promoter and Sunshine Records founder Ivan Dayman, who signed her to his label and she joined his East Coast touring circuit. [1] [5]

McCann provided lead vocals and harmonica on her debut single, "My Baby" (July 1965), and was backed by labelmates Tony Worsley and the Fabulous Blue Jays' band members Mal Clarke on guitar and Royce Nicholas on bass guitar. [1] The track had been written by Clarke and Nicholas, [6] while its B-side "No" was written by Nicholas and Kipner. Aulton produced the recording. [1] McCann became a regular on teen-orientated television series, Saturday Date – she recorded its theme song, which was written by Kipner. [5] According to The Australian Women's Weekly 's writer, McCann "won many fans with her unusual, arresting voice, which her recording manager describes as 'just like a frog's'." [3] "Saturday Date" was issued as the B-side of her second single, "If You Don't Come Back" (December 1965), [1] which was produced by Kipner and released on Everybody's Records.

In 1966 McCann formed the duo, Toni and Royce, with Nicholas, which issued three singles moving form garage beat to folk pop sound; the pair relocated to United Kingdom before returning to Australia in 1971. [1] The duo played the club and country circuit. [1] By 1970 the couple were married. As Toni McRae, the singer issued her debut album, Banjo Flat, in 1975. [1] In 1979 McCann and Nicholas undertook a tour of Queensland, performing The Dreamtime Show, an Australiana-based show, across Rockhampton, Darling Downs, Toowoomba and Central Queensland. [7] Toni and Royce released three children's albums, The Dreamtime Show (1981), Wind in the Wattle (1982) and The One That Got Away... and Other Unlikely Tales (1987). [1] Royce Nicholas died in September 2013, [1] aged 70. [8] McCann remarried and, as Sue Collier, she has worked as a prison chaplain since 2017. [9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 McFarlane, Ian (2017). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Toni McCann'". The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop . Jenkins, Jeff (Foreword) (2nd ed.). Gisborne, VIC: Third Stone Press. p. 292. ISBN   978-0-9953856-0-3.
  2. 1 2 Brown, Graeme (2001), Saturday Date: an Overview of the Musical Career of Toni McCann and Royce Nicholas, Moonlight Publishing, ISBN   978-1-876187-36-1
  3. 1 2 "Who's Who in the Teen Scene". The Australian Women's Weekly . Vol. 33, no. 33. 12 January 1966. p. 47. Retrieved 22 November 2025– via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Passenger listing: NAA: K269, 20 AUG 1964 FAIRSTAR". National Archives of Australia. 20 August 1964. p. 36. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 McIntyre, Iain. "Toni McCann". Wild About You - A Tribute to the Australian Underground 1963 - 1968. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2025– via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'My Baby'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  7. ↑ "AusStage: The Dreamtime Show ". 1979. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  8. ↑ "The Ryerson Index". Ryerson Index Inc . Retrieved 25 November 2025.. Note: User must add 'Nicholas' into the Surname search parameter and 'Royston' into the Any Given Name(s) parameter.
  9. ↑ "Prison Chaplain is On Song". Australilan Seniors News. 27 March 2022. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2025– via National Library of Australia.
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