Christa Teresa Hughes is an Australian singer, circus performer and comedian. She utilises wild on-stage antics and a powerful voice. From age 15, she has performed gigs with her father,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist, journalist and broadcaster, Dick Hughes. At age 17 had a regular set at Sydney's Shakespeare Hotel. She was the vocalist for the band

Machine Gun Fellatio Machine Gun Fellatio were an Australian alternative rock band, formed in 1997. They were well known for their provocative on-stage antics and humorous lyrics, as well as the musical merit of their songs. Their outrage-provoking name (coined by a ...

(as KK Juggy) from 2000 to 2005. Alongside her solo career, Hughes was also the Ring Mistress with

Circus Oz Circus Oz is a contemporary circus company based in Australia, collectively owned by its Membership, founded in 1977. Its shows incorporate theatre, satire, rock 'n' roll and a uniquely Australian humour. History Early years Circus Oz was inco ...

(2006–08) and has issued an album, ''21st Century Blues'' (2010) with her father.

Biography

Christa Hughes was raised in the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

suburb of

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019. Her father, Richard "Dick" Hughes, was a journalist and sometime jazz pianist. Hughes later recalled that her parents "were hard-working people, we just happened to live in a posh suburb. In fact, I think the suburb tried to have us moved out several times because we were the noisiest household on the block." She is a granddaughter of the journalist and writer, Richard Hughes (1906–1984) and his wife, May Hughes ''née'' Bennett. She started singing at the age of 15 with her father. She opened and sang with international blues artists when they were in Sydney such as

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk music and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee was ...

, Swamp Boogie Queen Katie Webster and Champion Jack Dupree. After she turned 21, Hughes travelled the world, singing in New York, Edinburgh, London and Paris. Hughes returned to Australia in 2000. She wrote and starred in musical theatre, cabaret shows, ''Sleepless Beauty'' (June 2002), ''Beer Drinking Woman'' (June 2003) and Temptation. She was also singing and dancing, as KK Juggy (KK for knickers and knockers, respectively) or Spark Jug for

from 2000 to 2005. From 2006 to 2008 she was the ring mistress with

. In 2010 Christa and her father, Dick Hughes, released an album, ''21st Century Blues''. A documentary, ''You Only Live Twice'', by Brendan Young, about her family's life was broadcast. In November 2011 Christa released ''Shonky'' with the Honky Tonk Shonks. File:Christa_Hughes_Le_Bar2.JPG, File:Christa_Hughes_Le_Bar3.JPG,

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music 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 industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, ''Twenty First Century Blues'' , Best Jazz Album , , ARIA Award previous winners. , -

References

External links

* - archived copy (7 March 2018) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Christa Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian women singers Australian musicians Machine Gun Fellatio members Singers from Sydney Comedians from Sydney 20th-century Australian musicians 21st-century Australian musicians