Flying Emus are an Australian

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

/ bluegrass band that formed in 1984 and released four studio albums, including, '' This Town'', which won an

ARIA Award for Best Country Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Country Album, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indust ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

. They disbanded in 1990. At the

Country Music Awards of Australia The Country Music Awards of Australia also known as the Golden Guitar Awards (originally named Australasian Country Music Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales ...

in January 2013, John Kane (guitar, mandolin), announced they had reformed with other founders: his younger sister Genni Kane on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Kerin on

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

and mandolin and Ian Simpson on banjo, joined by new member Michael Vidale on bass guitar.

History

1984-1991

In 1984 the Flying Emus were formed in Sydney with Genni Kane and her older brother John Kane, Mike Kerin, and Ian Simpson, as a country, bluegrass group. In 1985 the band released their debut studio album, ''Look Out Below'', which won Instrumental of the Year at the 1986 CMAA Country Music Awards. At the same ceremony they won Vocal Group of the Year for their song "Diamond Creek". Note: source does not specify album or song. At the 1987 CMAA awards, the band took Instrumental of the Year again, for the track "Emu Strut". In October 1986 they supported Steeleye Span in a show at the

Canberra Theatre Canberra Theatre Centre (CTC), also known as the Canberra Theatre, is the Australian Capital Territory’s central performing arts venue and Australia’s first performing arts centre, the first Australian Government initiated performing arts c ...

, where local correspondent Robert Hefner of ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' praised the vocals of Genni Kane, violin work by Kerin and banjo by Simpson. In 1987 the band released '' This Town'' and in September of that year they supported Suzanne Vega at the Sydney Town Hall. ''

Tharunka ''Tharunka'' is a student magazine published at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Established in 1953 at the then New South Wales University of Technology, ''Tharunka'' has been published in a variety of forms by various ...

''s Jim Dwyer felt the venue did not suit their intimate style. At the 1988 CMAA awards the group won Instrumental of the Year for the third consecutive year with the track "Jackaroo", and secured another Vocal Group of the Year for "Auctioneer". They won

Best Country Album The Grammy Award for Best Country Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the country music genre. Honors ...

for ''This Town'' at the

ARIA Music Awards of 1988 The Second Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 29 February 1988 at the Sheraton Wentworth Hotel in Sydney. Cliff Richard was the host, with Bryan F ...

. In 1989 the band released ''Postcards from Paradise'', which was nominated for an ARIA Award for Best Country Album in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

. Also in that year they released their final studio album, ''Thank You and Goodnight'', before breaking up. At the 1991 CMAA awards they won Instrumental of the Year for the fourth time with the track "Dixie Breakdown".

2013-present: Reformation and ''The Collection''

In January 2013 at the

, band member John Kane announced the group were reforming. In December 2013 the Flying Emus announced a reunion tour for January 2014 with the four original members (John and Genni Kane, Simpson and Kerin) joined by Michael Vidale on violin. A compilation album, ''Flying Emus: The Collection'', was released through Warner Music on 10 January 2014, with tracks from the band's four albums spanning from 1984 to 1990.

Members

* Genni Kane (Genevieve Wilby) – lead vocals, guitar * John Kane – guitar, mandolin * Mike Kerin – violin, mandolin, guitar, vocals * Ian Simpson – banjo, guitar * Hanuman Dass – percussion * Graham Thompson – bass guitar * Michael Vidale – bass guitar * Malcolm Wakeford – drums, percussion * Wayne Goodwin – violin *

Lucky Oceans Lucky Oceans (born Reuben Gosfield, 21 April 1951) is an American pedal steel guitarist and a former member of country and Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel. From 1995 to 2017 he was a broadcaster in Perth, Western Australia with the Austr ...

– pedal steel guitar * Michael Rose – pedal steel guitar Credits:

Discography

Singles

Awards

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Flying Emus have won one awards from five nominations. , - , rowspan="2",

, , rowspan="2", ''This Town'' , ,

, , , - ,

ARIA Award for Best Indigenous Release The ARIA Music Award for Best Indigenous Release was an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was presented from 1987 through to 1998. Originally titled Best Indigenous Record in 1987. It was renamed Best Aboriginal/Islander Release in ...

, , , - , rowspan="2",

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, , "I Just Want to Dance With You" , , Best Country Album , , , - , "This Town" / "Darling Street" , , Best Indigenous Release , , , - ,

, , ''Postcards From Paradise'' , , Best Country Album , , , -

Country Music Awards of Australia

The

(CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the

Tamworth Country Music Festival The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual Australian music festival held for 10 days from Friday to Sunday in mid to late January each year, sometimes including Australia Day, in Tamworth, New South Wales. The festival is the second bigg ...

, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973. Flying Emus have won six awards. , - , 1986 , , "Look Out Below" , , Instrumental of the Year , , , - , 1986 , , "Diamond Creek" , , Vocal Group of the Year , , , - , 1987 , , "Emu Strut" , , Instrumental of the Year , , , - , 1988 , , "Auctioneer" , , Vocal Group of the Year , , , - , 1988 , , "Jackaroo" , , Instrumental of the Year , , , - , 1991 , , "Dixie Breakdown" , , Instrumental of the Year , , * Note: Wins only

References

{{reflist ARIA Award winners Australian country music groups Australian bluegrass music groups 1984 establishments in Australia Musical groups disestablished in 1990 Musical groups established in 1984