Iva Davies
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Iva Davies AM | |
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Birth name | Ivor Arthur Davies |
Born | 22 May 1955 |
Origin | Wauchope, New South Wales, Australia |
Genres | Synthpop, new wave, rock |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, oboe, keyboards, synthesizer, cor anglais |
Labels | Diva Records |
Iva Davies AM, (born Ivor Arthur Davies, 22 May 1955, Wauchope, New South Wales, Australia), is the frontman for Australian synthpop/new wave/rock band Icehouse.
Biography
Davies has worked with such notable musicians as David Bowie, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, Yukihiro Takahashi, John Oates, Elvis Costello, Simple Minds, Peter Tosh, Robert Palmer, XTC, The Psychedelic Furs, Nik Kershaw, and many more.
1970s
Davies first performed as a 16-year-old musician with the "Lucy Fields Jug Band" led by Lindsay Campbell around 1971. Three floors down in the YMCA Basement in Sydney was a regular folk and acoustic music venue which featured artists such as Bob Hudson, Mike Mclelland, Al Ward, Pat and Geoff Drummond, Al Head, Marion Henderson, Margaret Roadknight and Graeme Lownde. Davies is famous for his vocal style, which was influenced by David Bowie, Bryan Ferry and Marc Bolan.
Davies played oboe with the Sydney Youth Orchestra and was a member of the Epping Boys High School Band where he also played Euphonium. The Lucy Fields Jug Band secured a recording contract with M7 records but the company was soon to change hands and the band's album was never released.
In late 1977, Davies, a former oboe and composition student at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music joined with bass guitar player Keith Welsh to form a band called Flowers. In 1979 Davies re-established an old acquaintance with Cameron Allan, the director of Sydney-based independent label Regular Records, to whom Flowers signed in early 1980.
1980s
In 1985 Davies and fellow Icehouse member Bob Kretschmer worked on the ballet Boxes with the Sydney Dance Company. 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.
1985 also saw Davies win an APRA Music Award for "Most Performed Australasian Music For Film" for Razorback.[1]
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.[2]
On 25 January 1988, Icehouse performs "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.[3] Davies performance was notable for his stage-fright and, due to his being greatly affected by nerves, singing off-key and out of tune.[4]
1990s
The Sydney Dance Company worked on creating a ballet which became Berlin. As well as recording the score to the ballet, Davies performed these songs live with Icehouse at each show. He was an intrinsic part of the ballet, in a role similar to the one in he played in Boxes. He was successful in creating a translation from the dancers to the audience. Berlin was an instant success and ran for two seasons. Boxes and Berlin are two of the most successful shows that the Sydney Dance Company has had to date.[citation needed]
2000s
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.[5] In 2005 Davies scored the mini-series 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.[6] From 15 June 2008, Davies was a judge on Seven Network TV series Battle of the Choirs;[7] his band Icehouse performed "Great Southern Land" on the grand final show won by University of Newcastle Chamber Choir.[8]
Awards
1982 | Countdown Award – "Most Popular Male Performer" |
1985 | APRA Music Award – "Most Performed Australasian Music For Film" for Razorback |
1988 | APRA Music Award – "Most Performed Australasian Popular Work" for Electric Blue |
1991 | 16th Annual "Mo Awards" (Australian Variety Artist Association) Nomination for "Best Male Performer" |
2004 | APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award – "Best Soundtrack Album" for Master And Commander |
2006 | APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award – "Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie" for Mary Bryant |
2013 | Queen's Birthday Honours – "Member (AM) in the General Division" for services to music, entertainment and the community.[9] |
Achievements
1985 | Boxes ballet with the Sydney Dance Company at the Sydney Opera House voted "Event of the year" by Rolling Stone magazine |
1995 | Berlin with Max Lambert and the Sydney Dance Company opens at the Sydney Opera House and continues its success into 1996 with international and Australian seasons. |
1999 | The Ghost of Time performed with Richard Tognetti, and the Sydney Symphony on New Year's Eve at the Sydney Opera House as part of Australia's contribution to the international Millennium Celebrations, which was telecast to a viewing audience of 2.5 billion people. |
2000 | Circles in the Sky commissioned as the theme song for the Olympic Live sites during the celebration of the Sydney Olympic Games. |
Personal life
He married Tonia Kelly in 1990. They have two children: Brynn (born 1993) and Evan (1996). Iva and Tonia Davies subsequently divorced in February 2010. Davies currently lives in Whale Beach, New South Wales.
References
- ^ APRA Music Award "1985 Winners" list
- ^ APRA Music Award "1988 Winners" list
- ^ "The New South Wales Royal Bicentennial Concert". University of South Australia. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
- ^ "Icehouse Royal Bicentennial Concert". YouTube. 14 March 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
- ^ APRA Screen Music Awards "2004 Winners" list
- ^ APRA Screen Music Awards "2006 Winners" list
- ^ Blundell, Graeme (14 June 2008). "Choir wars". The Australian. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Newcastle group wins Battle of Choirs". National Nine News. 3 August 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
- ^ "Queen's Birthday Honours List 2013". News Limited. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
External links
- Spellbound – Icehouse News, interviews, discography, photo gallery
- Iva Davies at IMDb
- Flowers – Icehouse The new official website as of April 2011
- 1955 births
- Living people
- Icehouse (band) members
- Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni
- Australian electronic musicians
- Australian New Wave musicians
- Australian rock singers
- Australian singer-songwriters
- Musicians from New South Wales
- Australian rock guitarists
- Australian multi-instrumentalists
- Members of the Order of Australia
- Australian people of Welsh descent
- People educated at Epping Boys High School