User:Kerrie Biddell

KERRIE BIDDELL started singing in 1965 as a session singer. Her first live gig was as a backing singer for Dusty Springfield at Chequers in the mid 60's. She is third generation professional musician and it was inevitable that after the experience with Dusty she started singing full time - it was in her blood. She briefly joined a group called The Echoes and later joined the well known band The Affair, which had James Kelly, guitar and Tony Bolton, drums and Phillip Rigg on bass. Phillip Rigg left and was replaced by Mike Howlett (Gong) and this line up of the band worked at Whisky au Go Go, Hawaiian Eye and generally toured the Australian rock scene with bands like The Strangers, The Executives, The La Di Das and others for about 3 years before winning the 1969 Battle of the Sounds and going to England. She returned to pursue a solo career and also joined the Daly-Wilson Big Band. During this time she toured with Dudley Moore, Cilla Black and Buddy Rich. She was a regular on TV variety shows and had her own radio show, Kerrie Biddell and Friends on ABC radio. In 1972 she married David Glyde (Major) formerly front man for Sounds Incorporated. In that year they moved to Canada with the help of Phil Birnbaum who briefly managed her for a year. She lived in Toronto and made her living doing session work, cabaret and TV, working with the likes of Ben McPeek and Rob McConnell et al. For the next few years she lived between Australia and the US. Finally getting a 5 year contract with the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. She also appeared on TV shows in L.A. including Midnight Special and the Merv Griffin Show. Everything seemed to be going her way but Kerrie became disillusioned musically and against all advice returned to Australia to continue her career. She was one the stars who opened the Sydney Opera House and was working constantly touring and on TV as there was a vibrant live scene in Australia at that time. She continued session singing - backing other peoples' albums and doing jingles but she wanted to improve herself musically and enrolled in the Summer Jazz courses at the Conservatorium of Music and joined a band called Steamboat Willie earning $15 a night at Red Ned's Wine bar in Chatswood, Sydney. This changed her musical direction for the rest of her career. That band later was known as Compared To What and its personnel was Rick Best, piano, Alan Freeman, bass, David Glyde, reeds and Jim Piesse, drums. They played a wide range of material including jazz, funk, fusion, pop, ballads, comedy - hence the name. Other players to contribute to the band over its 10 year life span were Mark Isaacs and Michael Bartolomei, keyboards, Graham Pearce and Nicky Lister, drums, Graham Jesse, reeds, Paul Pooley and Clive Harrison, bass. Biddell, Bartolomei, Freeman and Lister recorded Australia's first digital album in 1979 at EMI. In 1982 she sang the theme tune for the successful Network 7 soap opera Sons And Daughters. In the 1980's she sang with the Con big band working and studying with such greats as Howie Smith, Rufus Reed, Dave Liebman (her improvisation teacher), Ray Brown, John Hoffman and many others.