Soul and sensibility with Wendy Matthews

ONE of Australia’s most beloved and respected vocalists, Wendy Matthews, is heading to the North Coast and performing in Ballina on May 25.

With a back catalogue of songs from every genre – from jazz to blues, rock to gospel, soul to pop, and haunting ballads – Matthews has a distinctive vocal quality that is instantly recognisable.

Effortlessly blending pop, soul and adult contemporary, Matthews has earned critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base for her pure, emotive voice and timeless hits.

Born in Montreal, Canada, Matthews joined her first band as a teenager. Busking her way across the USA to Los Angeles, she met Glenn Shorrock, who invited her to tour with him in Australia in 1982.

She became the voice of the 1980s as an in-demand session singer, working with The Models, Jimmy Barnes, Tim Finn, Richard Clapton, Icehouse, Peter Blakeley, and The Rockmelons.

Her 1987 collaboration with Kate Ceberano on the ABC-TV soundtrack for the series Stringer, You’ve Always Got the Blues, reached the Top 5 on national charts and was this writer’s favourite album as a teenager.

As part of Absent Friends, Matthews sang on the number one hit, I Don’t Want To Be With Nobody But You and the album Here’s Looking Up Your Address.

Her solo debut Émigré went double platinum and featured the hits Token Angels, Let’s Kiss, and Woman’s Gotta Have It, earning Matthews Best Female Artist and Best Debut Single ARIA awards.

The follow-up Lily included her signature ballad, The Day You Went Away, which topped the charts

and also won multiple ARIAs, including Highest Selling Single and Single of the Year.

Her 2013 album, The Welcome Fire, was hailed by critics as the best work of her career.

In 2015, her record Billie and Me was an intimate interpretation of Billie Holiday songs, recorded with band members pianist Brendan St Ledger and bassist Greg Royal.

Matthews’ cross-generational reach with older listeners captured by the sheer class of her performances, and younger audiences wooed by her emotive capacity and purity, makes her one of Australia’s most enduring and influential artists of her generation.

To experience the soul and sensibility of the incomparable Wendy Matthews, visit ballinarsl.com.au/event/wendy-matthews .