Angela Ruth Hart (born 8 March 1972), billed as Angie Hart, is an Australian

pop singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

best known for her role as lead vocalist in the alternative pop rock band

Frente! Frente! (or Frente) were an Australian folk- pop and indie pop group which originally formed in 1989. The original line-up consisted of Simon Austin on guitar and backing vocals, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar (later r ...

and the

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

duo Splendid with her then husband

Jesse Tobias Jesse Tobias (born April 1, 1972) is an American guitarist who is the lead guitarist and co-writer for Morrissey since 2004. Tobias first gained fame during a brief tenure with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1993, although he was replaced by Dave ...

. Hart's solo career commenced in 2006 with the release the album, ''Grounded Bird '' (2007).

Career

1972-1989: Early life

Born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, she has an older sister, Rebecca, also a musician. Her parents were Christians from a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

background. The family moved to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

while Hart was still a baby where they lived in a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

until she was 10 years old. They then moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to join another commune where they remained until Hart was 15 when, with the separation of her parents, the family left the church altogether. It was this family disruption which led Hart to the Punters Club, a live music venue on Brunswick Street in

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

, one of Melbourne's eclectic and

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

inner suburbs. She frequented the venue to play pool and drink, though she was still under the

legal drinking age The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary between ...

. It often fell to bartender

Simon Austin Simon Sean Nicholas David Austin (born 9 October 1966) is an Australian guitarist, songwriter, producer and sound engineer. Austin was a founding member of Frente! in Melbourne in 1989 with Angie Hart on vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar and M ...

to eject her from the premises. Hart's older sister was also bartending at the Punters Club in 1989 and when Austin, a guitarist and songwriter, mentioned he was starting a band and looking for a singer, Becky Hart suggested her little sister Angie. Austin and Hart began writing songs together almost immediately, and with the already-recruited bass player Tim O'Connor and drummer Mark Picton,

was born. In 1990, she co-wrote the song "

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

" with the Melbourne post-punk band Man in the Wood's bassist and drummer, Owen Bolwell and Stanley Paulzen. In 1991, the band, by then renamed to Tlot Tlot, recorded the song with Hart on vocals which appeared on the album ''

A Day at the Bay ''A Day at the Bay'' is the debut album by the Australian rock band Tlot Tlot and their first release under that name. It was released in 1991. It was only released on cassette. Angie Hart from Frente sings on "Marshall". "Marshall" was later r ...

1989-1997: Frente!

Frente! were formed in Melbourne in 1989 by Simon Austin on guitar and backing vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar, Mark Picton on drums and recorder and Angie Hart on lead vocals. In August 1991, Frente! self-released their debut EP, ''Whirled'', which featured the song "Labour of Love". "Labour of Love" achieved national airplay on Australia's youth radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

and ranked highly in the

Triple J Hottest 100, 1991 The 1991 Triple J Hottest 100 was the third yearly poll of the most popular songs, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J. From 1989 to 1991, listeners could vote for songs released in any year. There was no poll in 199 ...

. Subsequently, Frente! were signed to

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...

' White label. In 1992, the group released the top 5 single, " Kelly Street", top 5 EP ''

Clunk (EP) ''Clunk'' is the second extended play (EP) by Australian alternative rock group Frente!. The five-track EP, produced by Daniel Denholm, was released in March 1992 via the White Label imprint of Mushroom Records. It peaked at 3 on Australia's ...

'' and top 5 album ''

Marvin the Album ''Marvin the Album'' is the Australian folk-pop and alternative rock group Frente!'s debut album, released 24 November 1992 (26 April 1994 outside Australia), and recorded in 1992 at Platinum Studios in Melbourne, Australia. Music videos were m ...

''. The group won two

ARIA Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music The music of Australia has ...

at the

ARIA Music Awards of 1993 The Seventh Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 14 April 1993 at the Entertainment Centre in Sydney. Note: User may be required to access archived i ...

. In 1993 Hart gained brief fame and notoriety by posing near nude for ''Juice'', a now-defunct Australian music magazin

Following an appearance on ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

'' in 1993, Hart, with the rest of Frente!, went overseas to pursue success in Europe and America and achieved success with the

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of New Order's "

Bizarre Love Triangle Bizarre may refer to: *Bizarre (rapper) (born 1976), an American rapper and member of hip hop group D12 *Bizarre (band), a Spanish rock band * ''Bizarre'' (TV series), a Canadian sketch comedy television series * ''Bizarre'' (magazine), a sister ...

". In 1995, Hart lent her vocal to the single " Tingly" by an Australian studio outfit,

Pop! featuring Angie Hart Pop! is an Australian studio band formed in the 1990s. It was formed as a side project of Amy Flower (formerly known as Tony Stott) of now defunct Melbourne band About Six Feet. Together with Frente's Angie Hart they recorded the song " Tingly", ...

. The song was peaked at number 92 on the ARIA Charts. In March 1996 Hart appeared on the album ''More of Her'' by "Melbourne supergroup" Four Hours Sleep, with Frente's new bassist Bill McDonald, plus

Stephen Cummings Stephen Donald Cummings (born 13 September 1954) is an Australian rock singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from 1976 to 1981, followed by a solo career which has met with critical acclaim but ha ...

Peter Luscombe Peter Luscombe is an Australian drummer and composer. Career Luscombe was a member of The Black Sorrows from 1985 to 1993 appearing on the albums ''A Place in the World'' (1986), ''Dear Children'' (1987), ''Hold on to Me'' (1988), ''Harley and ...

and

Dan Luscombe Daniel Francis Luscombe is an Australian guitarist, producer and composer. He has been a member of The Blackeyed Susans, The Drones, Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males, Stardust Five, Spencer P. Jones & the Last Gasp and Paul Kelly and the Boon ...

. In July 1996, Frente! released their second studio album, ''

Shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external Surface (mathematics), surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, Surface texture, texture, or material type. A pl ...

'', which failed to match the success of their debut. Frente! embarked on a world tour to promote ''Shape'', beginning in Australia in July 1996. In January 1997, following an appearance at Melbourne's

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...

, the band went their separate ways. In 1997, Hart collaborated with The Angel for the single "Anything", before leaving Australia for the US.

1998-2005: USA, Marriage, Splendid and Holiday on Ice

From 1998 to 2004, Hart performed as part of the pop duo Splendid with her then-husband,

, whom she met August 1996 when Frente! was supporting

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with tw ...

in Canada. Tobias was Morissette's touring guitarist. Hart and Tobias were married on 22 March 1997 in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. As Splendid, the duo released their debut album, ''Have You Got a Name for It'', on 11 October 1999 in Australia. Due to the collapse of their US record company,

Mammoth Records Mammoth Records was an independent record label founded in 1989 by Jay Faires in the Carrboro area of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The majority of the acts on Mammoth were executive-produced by Faires and the label's general manager, Steve Balcom ...

, immediately prior to the album's US release date, ''Have You Got a Name for It'' was never released outside of Australia. In 2002, Hart recorded and performed the song "Blue" for the episode "

Conversations with Dead People "Conversations with Dead People" is the seventh episode of the seventh and final season of the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. It is the only episode other than " Once More, with Feeling" where the title appears on screen. Plot S ...

" of the television show ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

''. The song was co-written by Hart with the show's creator,

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...

. As part of Splendid, Hart twice appeared on the show, performing Splendid's songs "Charge" and "You and Me". Splendid's song "Tomorrow We'll Wake" was also aired on ''Buffy'' as background music to a scene featuring characters Xander and Anya. She also sang backing vocals on Tara's song, "Under Your Spell" in the musical episode " Once More, with Feeling", of which Tobias was co-music director. Hart also appeared in Joss Whedon's short-lived TV series ''

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

'', playing the part of Lucy in " Heart of Gold". This part required Hart to perform "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

. A second album was being produced but Hart and Tobias separated in September 2004 and later divorced. In December 2004 an EP, ''States of Awake'' was released, featuring six of these recordings. Hart returned to Australia and in January 2005 Frente! reformed to perform some Australian concerts. The line-up of Austin, Hart and McDonald were joined by

on drums. The group issued a three-track EP, ''Try to Think Less'', on Pop Boomerang Records. Later in 2005, Hart became a member of the band ''Holidays on Ice'', a project by Dean Manning, formerly of

Leonardo's Bride Leonardo's Bride were an Australian pop band that formed in 1992. It consisted of Abby Dobson on lead vocal and acoustic guitar; Dean Manning on electric guitar, piano, wurlitzer and hammond; Jon Howell on drums; and Patrick Wong (aka Patr ...

2006-present: Solo career

In 2006, Hart relocated to Melbourne where she began work on her solo career. She appeared on Four Hours Sleep's second album ''Love Specifics'', released in November 2006, where she again joined Bill McDonald, Stephen Cummings, and the Luscombe brothers. Hart's debut solo single "Pictures of You" was released on Level Two Music. In 2007, Hart released "Cold Heart Killer", the lead single from her debut album, ''Grounded Bird'' released in September 2007 on ABC Music. On 23 October 2009, Hart reeled her second studio album ''Eat My Shadow''. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 2010 The 24th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) are a series of award ceremonies which included the 2010 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fine ...

, the album was nominated for ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. Hart appeared on

SBS One SBS is a national public television network in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally. In 2018, SBS had a 7.7% audience share. As of 2022, SBS is the lowest ...

rock quiz show '' Rockwiz'' on 2 October 2010. In March 2014, Four Hours Sleep released their eponymous third album featuring Hart, Cummings, McDonald, and the Luscombe brothers. Hart appeared on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

news satire show ''

The Weekly with Charlie Pickering ''The Weekly with Charlie Pickering'' is an Australian news satire series on the ABC. The series premiered on 22 April 2015, featuring Charlie Pickering as host with Tom Gleeson, Adam Briggs and Judith Lucy in the cast who joined the show i ...

'' on 12 August 2015 singing the song "Hey Boy" with

Miranda Tapsell Miranda Tapsell (born 11 December 1987) is an Aboriginal Australian actress of both stage and screen, best known for her role as Cynthia in the Wayne Blair film '' The Sapphires'' and her 2015 performance as Martha Tennant in the Nine Network d ...

and Geraldine Quinn. In 2018, Hart was featured on the Ben Mastwyk single "Happiness".

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Other appearances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Angie 1972 births Living people Musicians from Adelaide Hart, Angie 21st-century Australian singers 21st-century Australian women singers Frente! members