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Renée Geyer, the ARIA Hall of Fame-inducted singer with an abundance of jazz, blues and soul in her powerful voice, died Tuesday (Jan. 17) from complications following hip surgery. She was 69.
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Born Sept. 11, 1953, in Melbourne, Geyer “lived her life as she performed – on her own terms and to the fullest,” reads a statement from her family and issued by Mushroom Group, whose founder, the late Michael Gudinski, was a decades-long friend and supporter of the artist.
She enjoyed solo success in Australia with covers “It’s a Man’s Man’s World”, “Heading in the Right Direction” and the bouncy ’80s number “Say I Love You,” and sang until the end, performing just last month to a full house, read the statement. The late artist was looking forward to “another busy year ahead doing what she loved most – performing for her loyal fans around the country.”
Geyer got her break in the ‘70s, initially in Sydney, with a string of pop, soul and reggae releases. Later, she would relocate to Los Angeles, where she contributed to recordings for Stevie Wonder, Joe Cocker, Neil Diamond, Bonnie Raitt and Chaka Kahn, before making a comeback in her homeland in the 1990s, with some help from Paul Kelly.
Australia’s music community remembers Geyer as a force of nature, and one of the finest artists produced by this country, whose recording career spanned five decades.
Matt Gudinski, CEO of Mushroom Group and son of Michael Gudinski, recounts Geyer as a “fierce, independent, strong and passionate” trailblazer for women in the music industry, while Philip Mortlock, creative director ORiGiN Music, remembers her as an “astonishing talent” with “a wicked sense of humor and intellect.”
Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett writes, “Sang with Renee at a charity show back in the day, of course she blew the roof off. One of the very best voices we ever had the privilege to hear.”
Oh dear, big loss. Condolences to family, friends, fans. Sang with Renee at a charity show back in the day, of course she blew the roof off. One of the very best voices we ever had the privilege to hear. ‘Renee Geyer dies aged 69 https://t.co/92ml2WEQwy via @ABCaustralia— Peter Garrett (@pgarrett) January 17, 2023
Geyer’s “impact as a female singer with both an uncontainable voice and personality has been immeasurable for Australian music,” comments ARIA and PPCA CEO, Annabelle Herd.
We mourn the passing of iconic Australian artist, producer and ARIA Hall of Fame inductee Renée Geyer. ARIA and PPCA CEO, Annabelle Herd, said: “Renée’s impact as a female singer with both an uncontainable voice and personality has been immeasurable for Australian music.” pic.twitter.com/AVozCmJjP0— ARIA (@ARIA_Official) January 17, 2023
Renée Geyer. A game changer. A soul diva. My sister in song. Heart felt condolences to her family and friends, and to the Australian music industry as a whole who have just lost a person who possessed one of the greatest voices I have ever heard. pic.twitter.com/MdWwHaozO2— Marcia Hines (@TheMarciaHines) January 17, 2023
Australia’s own Queen of Soul. A truly incredible singer has left us. My love to her friends, colleagues and many fans. Rest in peace Renee Geyer. pic.twitter.com/OcZXXWsMjW— paul grabowsky (@paulgrab) January 17, 2023
Composer Paul Grabowsky celebrates Geyer as “Australia’s own Queen of Soul.”
Geyer is also remembered for her rebellious nature, and for the slap she planted on interviewer Molly Meldrum while live on air on the ABC’s Countdown.
In her 2000 autobiography, Confessions of a Difficult Woman, co-written with music journalist Ed Nimmervoll, Geyer discussed her problems with substance abuse. And in its pages, she described herself as a “a white Hungarian Jew from Australia, sounding like a 65-year-old black man from Alabama.”
Geyer’ talents were unique, and celebrated, and her catalog 25 albums deep, a list she most recently added to with 2013’s Swing.
She cemented her icon status in 2005, when she was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame alongside Split Enz, Normie Rowe, Smoky Dawson, The Easybeats, Hunters & Collectors and Jimmy Barnes. Then, in 2013 she was the first woman to be inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame; and in 2018 received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at the Australian Women in Music Awards.
On International Women’s Day 2021, Double J celebrated 50 Game-Changing Women of Australian Music. Naturally, Geyer was on the list.
Despite her Hall of Fame recognition and several nominations, an ARIA Award eluded her.
While attending University Hospital Geelong, specialists discovered that Geyer also had inoperable lung cancer.
“She was in no pain and died peacefully amongst family and friends,” the family statement explains.
Details of her memorial will be forthcoming. In lieu of flowers, the late singer’s family asks that preferred donations be made to Support Act “as a way of giving back to an industry that loved her so much.”
We’re deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Renée Geyer, one of the most highly regarded singers in contemporary music. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this time. In lieu of flowers, she would have preferred donations be made here – https://t.co/vz6QjLv8RM pic.twitter.com/o1O1ue3OBG— Support Act (@SupportAct) January 17, 2023
It’s a New Year, Christmas songs perform their disappearing act for another time, and “Unholy” is back on top in Australia.
Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ global hit lifts 13-1 on the ARIA Chart, published Jan. 6, for its fifth non-consecutive week at No. 1.
The 2023 rebirth of “Unholy” (Capitol/EMI) closely follows the announcement that Petras will headline Sydney WorldPride’s closing concert, Rainbow Republic, on March 5, and comes ahead of Smith’s intimate performance at McLaren Vale’s d’Arenberg Cube in Adelaide.
“Unholy” leads a fresh top 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart, as Xmas tunes tumble out of sight.
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SZA‘s “Kill Bill” (RCA/Sony) vaults 12-2, while former leader “I’m Good (Blue)” (Warner) by David Guetta and Bebe Rexha leaps 25-3.
Meanwhile, British singer and songwriter Raye enjoys a new chart peak with “Escapism” (Orchard), up 26-7. “Escapism,” which represents a new, independent era for the rising artist, was the top single on the midweek U.K. chart.
Following the publication of ARIA’s year-end charts, which saw Harry Styles’ “As It Was” (Columbia/Sony) coming in at No. 1 for 2022, the Harry’s House number is once again on the rise. “As It Was” lifts 34-9 on the weekly survey.
Just one single makes its debut in the top 40 on the new chart, Dutch DJ Tiesto’s collaboration with Canadian singer-songwriter Tate McRae, “10:35” (Sony/Warner). It’s new at No. 24.
The top album for 2022, ARIA reported earlier in the week, is Taylor Swift’s Midnights (Universal). Swift’s tenth and latest studio album holds at No. 1 on the latest ARIA Chart, for its ninth non-consecutive week at the summit. It’s one of five Swift albums currently in the top 40.
Australia was Harry’s House in 2022, as Harry Styles locked up the best-selling single and the No. 2 album, according to year-end data published by ARIA.
The former One Direction star leads the ARIA Top 100 Singles Chart with “As It Was” (via Columbia/Sony Music), which racked up five platinum certifications following its April 1 release.
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Its parent LP, Harry’s House, Styles’ third successive solo No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, spawns three of the top 50 tracks for 2022, and finishes at No. 2 on the year-end albums tally. Styles confirmed his popularity when he won most popular international artist at the 2022 ARIA Awards, a fan-voted category.
The best-selling album, according to ARIA, is Taylor Swift’s Midnights (Universal), which chalked up the biggest single sales cycle of any LP in 2022 and scooped a record nine of the top 10 singles in its first week. Also, Midnights was the year’s best-selling LP on wax.
Both Midnights and Harry’s House are platinum certified (for 70,000 combined units).
U.S. and international acts dominate the year-end tallies.
The top-ranked homegrown album is the Kid LAROI’s F*ck Love (Over You), which finished 2022 at No. 21, after landing at No. 3 on the 2021 year-end survey. The Sydney-raised, Los Angeles-based singer and rapper also scores three singles in the top 100 for 2022, led by “Stay” (Columbia/Sony) featuring Justin Bieber at No. 3 (“Stay” finished 2021 at No. 2).
Also, Pnau’s award-winning remix of “Cold Heart” (via Warner/Universal) featuring Elton John and Dua Lipa finishes 2022 at No. 4 (“Cold Heart” finished 2021 at No. 13).
The year in music will be remembered by the stranger things done by Kate Bush’s 1985 song “Running Up That Hill (Deal With God)” (via Warner), which caught fire on sales charts around the globe. Powered by Netflix’ Stranger Things, the single logged nine weeks at No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart, more than any other song in 2022, and arrives at No. 11 on ARIA’s year-end tally.
ARIA 2022 Top 5 Albums
Taylor Swift – MidnightsHarry Styles – Harry’s HouseThe Weeknd – The HighlightsOlivia Rodrigo – SourEd Sheeran – =
ARIA 2022 Top 5 Singles
Harry Styles – “As It Was”Glass Animals – “Heat Waves”The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber – “Stay”Elton John & Dua Lipa – “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)”Ed Sheeran – “Bad Habits”
ARIA 2022 Top 5 Vinyl Albums
Taylor Swift – MidnightsHarry Styles – Harry’s HouseSpacey Jane – Here Comes EverybodyArctic Monkeys – AMEd Sheeran – =
BRISBANE, Australia — It’s closing time for Sanity, the once-great Australian music retail specialist which confirmed it would close all its bricks-and-mortar stores in the coming months.
In a statement issued Wednesday (Jan. 4), Sanity announced plans to close its remaining 50 stores by the end of April 2023, in line with the lease expiry of each outlet.
It’s a sad end to a music and entertainment chain which, like so many brands in the business of racking physical soundcarriers, has been left behind as consumers move to streaming platforms.
“With our customer shifting to digital for their visual and music content consumption, and with diminishing physical content available to sell to our customer, it has made it impossible to continue with our physical stores,” explains Sanity CEO and owner Ray Itaoui.
Despite the “challenging and ever evolving entertainment landscape,” the Sanity business has “prospered and remained successful for many years, quite an achievement in the fast-changing retail space,” Itaoui adds.
Founded by retail guru Brett Blundy, Sanity began life in 1980 with just one store. The retailer grew to become Australia’s leading music and retail chain, a status which has later challenged by JB Hi-Fi.
With Blundy at the helm, his Brazin company entered the U.K. in the early 2000s with the purchase of 77 Our Price branded stores from Virgin Group. The experiment ended in 2003 when Brazin sold its 118 Sanity Entertainment U.K. stores to an investment firm for an estimated £12 million ($16.67 million).
A consortium led by Itaoui acquired the business from Brett Blundy Retail Capital (BBRC) in 2009, when the Sanity chain boasted 238 stores across Australia, including Sanity and the domestic branches of U.K. High Street brands Virgin and HMV.
In the late 2000s, Sanity launched what it claimed was Australia’s first online music subscription service, LoadIt, at a time when the business had an estimated 23%-25% share of Australia’s physical music retail market. LoadIt shut down in early 2009.
Digital platforms, and streaming, in particular, is how Australians consume music in the 2020s.
The recorded music market in these parts expanded by 4.4% to A$565.8 million ($421 million) in 2021, for the third successive year of growth, according to trade body ARIA. Subscription services, contributed $377 million ($281 million) that year, up 4.1% from A$317 million ($236 million) in 2020.
Sanity’s online business will continue to operate, and the team is currently working to dispatch all over-the-counter orders, including pre-orders.
“There is so much to be proud of,” adds Itaoui. The Sanity brand “became synonymous with the go-to place to get anything that mattered in the world of music: from vinyl, to CDs and DVDs, hardware, accessories, and of course face to face advice on everything musical.”
Mariah Carey already locked up the Christmas No. 1, now she’s certain to see in the New Year as queen of the Australian singles chart.
Carey’s nine-times platinum hit from 1994, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (Columbia/Sony), enters a third week at No. 1 on the latest ARIA Singles Chart, as holiday numbers flood the survey.
“All I Want” leads an “all-Christmas” top ten, published Dec. 30, and is one of 18 Christmas songs impacting the top 20, with SZA’s “Kill Bill” (down 2-12 via RCA/Sony) and Sam Smith & Kim Petras’ former leader “Unholy” (down 3-14 via Capitol/Universal) the only exceptions.
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A string of Xmas-themed tracks impact the upper tier of the chart for the first time, including the late Nat King Cole’s 1946 recording “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)” (via Universal), new at No. 27; The Beach Boys’ “Little Saint Nick” (Universal) at No. 39; Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” (Universal) at No. 41; Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” (via Sony) at No. 49; and another Nat King Cole classic, “Deck The Hall” (EMI), at No. 50.
Over on the ARIA Albums Chart, Taylor Swift’s platinum-certified Midnights (Universal) retains top spot, ahead of Michael Buble’s Christmas (up 3-2 via Reprise/Warner) and SZA’s SOS. (down 2-3 via RCA/Sony).
As the New Year nears, Swift can rest assured that her fanbase in Australia is amped for a potential tour to these parts. The U.S. pop superstar makes her presence known up and down the national albums survey, with Folklore (up 31-21), Evermore (up 50-22), Red (Taylor’s Version) (up 33-23), 1989 (up 32-27), Lover (up 34-30), Reputation (up 53-44), and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (up 62-50) making gains.
Mariah Carey isn’t called the queen of Christmas for nothing. The U.S. pop veteran lives up to her nickname as her enduring holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You” rings in Christmas as the No. 1 single in Australia.
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Carey’s 1994 release bags a second consecutive week at the top Down Under, and a fifth year at No. 1 during the Christmas week, ARIA reports.
Although it’s peak summer in Australia, a time when Aussies head to the beach en masse, those wintry yuletide classics dominate playlists in these parts, a fact that’s reflected by both main ARIA Charts.
Four of the top 10 singles on the chart published Dec. 23 are Christmas numbers, including Wham’s “Last Christmas” (up 6-3), Michael Bublé’s “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” (up 11-5), Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (up 12-7) and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” (up 15-8), while Bobby Helms’ ‘50s tune Jingle Bell Rock lifts 19-14. Also, Xmas singles from Kelly Clarkson, Andy Williams, The Ronettes, Band Aid, Sia, John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band and Burl Ives impact the top 40.
The highest debut belongs to British rapper Central Cee, whose sentimental song “Let Go” bows at No. 15. The song, which samples the 2008 track “Let Her Go” by English singer-songwriter Passenger, recently cracked the top 10 in the U.K. It’s the only new release to impact the Top 40 on either of ARIA’s main surveys.
Over on the ARIA Albums Chart, Taylor Swift’s platinum-certified 2022 juggernaut Midnights holds at No. 1, ahead of SZA’s sophomore album SOS and Michael Bublé’s Christmas, respectively, while Christmas-themed albums from the Bocelli family, Paul Kelly, Jimmy Barnes, Mariah Carey, and Vika & Linda appear further down the list.
The queen of Christmas is crowned on Australia’s chart, while SZA makes her presence felt on both main surveys with her sophomore album and several singles from it.
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Nothing can top Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (via Columbia/Sony) at this time of year. The 1994 holiday classic lifts 3-1 on the ARIA Singles Chart, published Dec. 16, ahead of former leaders “Unholy” (Capitol/Universal), by Sam Smith & Kim Petras; and “Anti-Hero” (Universal) by Taylor Swift, respectively.
Carey’s seasonal number finally cracked the summit in 2018. It has returned there each December, like clockwork.
SZA’s long-anticipated second album SOS (RCA/Sony) has been well-received by Aussie fans, as album track “Kill Bill” bows at No. 5 on the singles survey, “Nobody Gets Me” arrives at No. 16, “Blind” drops at No. 27, “Low” appears at No. 34, and “Seek and Destroy” starts at No. 38.
Indeed, the U.S. R&B singer is responsible for the only tracks to debut in the top 40 on the latest cycle.
It’s that most wonderful time of the year, again, and Christmas is the big story on the ARIA Singles Chart, where perennial hits by Wham (“Last Christmas” up 11-6 via RCA/Sony) and Michael Buble (“It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” up 13-11 via Reprise/Warner), Brenda Lee (“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” up 15-12 via Universal), Ariana Grande (“Santa Tell Me” up 17-15 via Universal) and Bobby Helms (“Jingle Bell Rock” up 21-19 via Universal) climb the top 20.
SZA’s SOS, meanwhile, enjoys the highest debut on the ARIA Albums Chart at No. 2, behind Swift’s long-reigning Midnights.
The top five on the albums list is rounded out by Songs of Disappearance – Australian Frog Calls (MGM), which stays put at No. 3, and respective former best-sellers from Jimmy Barnes (Blue Christmas via Liberation/Universal) and Harry Styles (Harry’s House via Columbia/Sony).
Finally, Coterie makes a splash with their self-titled debut LP. The four-piece Australian-New Zealand band blasts in at No. 13 on the ARIA Albums Chart with Coterie (Sony), one of just two new releases to crack the top 50, after SZA’s latest LP.
BRISBANE, Australia — Universal Music Australia taps Sean Warner for the top job, which will vacated by the incumbent George Ash at year’s end.
Announced Tuesday (Dec. 13), Warner is promoted to president, Universal Music Australia & New Zealand, with effect from Jan. 1, 2023.
The incoming chief is a UMA stalwart with 15 years’ experience leading the company’s commercial business, both physical and digital.
Warner joined UMA in 2007 as national sales manager and has served on its senior management team in recent years, most recently as senior vice president of commercial, with duties for the commercial growth, innovation and digital development for UMA & New Zealand.
During his time with Universal, Warner has overseen the commercial strategy in Southeast Asia (SEA), launched the Bravado merchandise and licensing interests on both sides of the Tasman, and developed UMA’s eCommerce activities.
Prior to joining the music major, Warner held senior roles with BMG Interactive, Sony PlayStation, DMX Music and Foxtel. Also, he serves as chair of the AMTD fundraising committee for the music industry charity organization Support Act.
“Sean’s deep understanding of the Australian market combined with his operational experience and the respect he has earned from his UMG colleagues and artists—both domestic and international—makes him the ideal executive to take on the role of president,” comments Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of UMG.
“I’m confident he will expand our track record of creative and commercial success in a market that so culturally important.”
Warner will succeed UMA’s long-time leader Ash, who, as previously reported, plans to retire from his position at UMA.
Ash, who led the company as president since 2010, marked the end of an era in the Australian music industry when he announced his departure on Monday (Dec. 12).
“The time is right for me to step down from Universal,” Ash explained in a separate statement. “I feel confident that with the brilliant leadership group we have now, the organization will continue to grow and thrive.”
As previously reported, Ash last year initiated an investigation into workplace culture at UMA, and engaged Darren Perry at law firm Seyfarth Shaw to conduct the probe.
“As the region’s leading music company, we will continue to innovate and evolve our businesses,” says Warner in a statement, “and support our artists and labels as they deliver the very best music and culture to fans.”
Paul Kelly scores an early Christmas gift, as the veteran Australian singer, songwriter and wordsmith bags the chart crown with his holiday collection.
Kelly’s “2022 Edition” of Christmas Train (GAWD/EMI) stops at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, published Dec. 9. That’s one better than Christmas Train’s No. 2 debut and peak position following its original release in 2021, an effort that made it the highest-charting Christmas album of the year in Australia.
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Christmas Train collects a batch of classics, and features a new recording of Ron Sexsmith’s “Maybe This Christmas” — recorded with Kelly’s live band at Soundpark Studios in Melbourne — and, of course, Kelly’s own holiday standard, “How to Make Gravy,” a tale of a prisoner reflecting on the friends and family he’ll miss while he’s locked up for Christmas.
Guest vocalists on the LP include Marlon Williams, Waleed Aly, Lior, Emma Donovan, Kasey Chambers, Kate Miller-Heidke, Vika & Linda Bull, and more.
With another Aussie Christmas set blazing to No. 1 last week, Jimmy Barnes’ Blue Christmas (down 4-1 this cycle), ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd is calling the result “amazing” and “one more thing to celebrate as we enter the festive season. Congratulations to Paul for his success, it’s fantastic to see such an accomplished and important national storyteller continue to reach new heights.”
Kelly had to wait for his first No. 1. It finally came in 2017 with Life Is Fine, his 23rd studio album. Its followup, 2018’s Nature, also scaled the summit.
A smattering of Christmas gifts are placed on the ARIA Charts, including Michael Bublé’s Christmas (Reprise/Warner), up 36-8 on the albums survey, and the Bocellis’ A Family Christmas (Decca/Universal), which holds at No. 9.
Leaping in at No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart, just behind Taylor Swift’s Midnights (Universal), is Australian Frog Calls: Songs of Disappearance (via MGM), an album that features calls from 43 of Australia’s most threatened frogs.
The set is a collaborative project of Australia Museum FrogID project, the Bowerbird Collective, Listening Earth and Mervyn Street of Mangkaja Arts, and aims to raise awareness for Australia’s declining frog population. Currently, one in six Australian native frog species are threatened.
The amphibian benefit recording is from the same well as Australian Bird Calls: Songs of Disappearance, an album of bird songs that reached No. 2 on the national chart in 2021.
Also new to the ARIA Albums Chart is Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains (Republic/Universal), new at No. 5, while BTS star RM’s starts at No. 26 with his solo debut Indigo (Interscope/Universal), and Magic Dirt singer Adalita bows at No. 29 with Inland (Liberation/Universal).
Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Sam Smith & Kim Petras’ “Unholy” (Capitol/Universal) unseats “Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” (Universal) after six weeks, while Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (Columbia/Sony) races 11-3.
Metro Boomin’ has the top debut on the singles survey with his Heroes & Villains release, “Creepin’” featuring the Weeknd and 21 Savage. It’s new at No. 8.
BRISBANE, Australia — Australian dance music fans have two new charts to add to their weekly diet.
The fresh surveys, the Australian Dance Singles Chart, a countdown of the top 20 dance singles, and the Australian Dance Albums Chart, a tally of the top 10 dance albums, will publish each Friday starting this week.
Both charts will sit alongside ARIA’s other Australia-focused albums and singles charts, which include Australian Hip- Hop/R&B, Country, and Top 20 Singles and Albums, and more.
“ARIA is determined to find ways to showcase Australian music from all who create it, this is another step in the right direction as we endeavor to provide a transparent scoreboard for our industry and music fans alike to understand how local music is being streamed, purchased and engaged with,” explains the trade body’s CEO Annabelle Herd.
ARIA’s suite of charts are calculated with a combination of streams, physical and digital sales, with the exception of the ARIA Club Chart, which is based on reports by working DJs across Australia. None of those “official” tallies collate radio airplay information.
“It makes total sense to have Australian Dance Charts in addition to our regular Dance Charts, you only have to look at this year’s ARIA Awards featuring Rüfüs Du Sol, Luude and Flume to see that dance music plays such an important role in Australian music culture,” comments Herd.
“It represents many of our most-loved acts across the globe and countless DJs filling clubs across the country on a nightly basis. We’re determined to work with the dance music community to find ways to ensure established and up-and-coming producers are recognized for their contribution to this culture, and provide a greater spotlight as nightlife across Australia continues to recover.”
In June, the labels body and charts compiler rolled out its first new survey in three years — the New Release Chart, a weekly examination of the most popular new local and international singles on a four-month cycle. Earlier in the year, ARIA’s main charts began incorporating data on music consumption from YouTube.
Next year, 2023, marks the 40th anniversary of the ARIA Singles and Albums Charts.
