Liv Maessen is an Australian pop singer who had hits in the early 1970s with "
The Love Moth", "
Knock, Knock Who's There?
"Knock, Knock Who's There?" is a song written and composed by John Carter and Geoff Stephens, released on Apple Records. It was originally sung and recorded by the Welsh singer Mary Hopkin and was the 's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1 ...
" and "
Snowbird
Snowbird is a common name for the dark-eyed junco (''Junco hyemalis'').
Snowbird may also refer to:
Places
*Snowbird, Utah, an unincorporated area and associated ski resort
*Snowbird Lake, a lake in the Northwest Territories, Canada
*Snowbird ...
". In 1969, Maessen had finished second in the ''
New Faces
''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central.
Original series: 197 ...
'' talent show. Her prize included a recording contract with Ron Tudor's Fable Records which released her albums, ''Live for Life'' (1971) and ''Best of Liv Maessen'' (1974). She won the 1971
Logie Award
The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...
for 'Best New Talent'. In the
''Go-Set'' Pop Poll, Maessen was voted in the top 5 as most popular female vocalist in both 1970 and 1971. For her single "Knock, Knock Who's There?", Maessen became the first Australian female artist to be awarded a gold record certificate. After her recording career, Maessen turned to cabaret and club work by the mid-1970s.
Biography
In 1969 Maessen finished second on the series final of the TV talent show ''
New Faces
''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central.
Original series: 197 ...
''.
[McFarlan]
'Liv Maessen'
entry. Retrieved 31 January 2012. Maessen was a mother of two children from Melbourne and signed with Ron Tudor's production company.
In December Maessen released her debut single "The Love Moth", which was an English language cover version of an Italian song, "La Pioggia", by
Gigliola Cinquetti
Gigliola Cinquetti (; born Giliola Cinquetti on 20 December 1947) is an Italian singer, songwriter, and television presenter.
Life and career
Gigliola Cinquetti was born into a wealthy family in Verona. From the ages of 9 to 13, she studied and ...
.
Maessen's version reached the ''
Go-Set
''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...
'' National Top 40 in April 1970 and was a top 10 hit in Melbourne.
[ Note: ''Go-Set'' published its national charts from October 1966 until August 1974. Liv Maessen's last name is misspelled as Maesson.] Maessen also appeared on local TV shows.
Maessen's second pop single, "Knock, Knock Who's There?" was a cover version of
Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer-songwriter best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single "Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists ...
's entry in the
Eurovision Song Contest 1970
The Eurovision Song Contest 1970 was the 15th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest and took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), the ...
.
It was released on Fable Records in April 1970 and peaked at No. 2. It co-charted with Hopkin's version.
During the
1970 radio ban, a major dispute between commercial radio stations and record companies, Hopkin's version was not well known to Australian listeners.
"Knock, Knock Who's There?" finished third on ''Go-Set''s Top Records for the Year of 1970 and was the highest placed by an Australian artist.
Maessen became the first Australian female artist to be awarded a gold record certificate for a single with sales of over 50,000.
She won the 1971
George Wallace Memorial Logie for Best New Talent
The George Wallace Memorial Logie for Best New Talent was an award presented annually at the Australian TV Week Logie Awards
The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to ...
and in the ''Go-Set'' Pop Poll was voted in the top five as most popular female vocalist.
[ Note: This PDF is 282 pages.]
Maesson's third single, "Snowbird", was a country pop hit for Canadian singer
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career.
Murray was the fir ...
.
It was issued in August 1970 and peaked at No. 16.
In March 1971 Maessen released her fourth single, "Hurry on Down", which did not chart.
In mid-1971 she was again voted in the top five as most popular female vocalist by ''Go-Set'' readers.
Her debut album, ''Live for Life'', appeared in July with another single, "Here I Go Again", in October. She released "Love Is for the Two of Us" late in 1971 which was a duet with TV personality
Jimmy Hannan
Jimmy Hannan (25 August 1934 – 7 January 2019) was an Australian radio and television personality, variety show host, singer, entertainer and game show host of the 1960s and 1970s. One of the pioneers of television, he appeared regularly on va ...
.
Two further singles followed in 1972 and her last commercial release was "Hey Mama, Sing Me a Song" in 1974 composed by Miki Gavrielov an Israeli singer song writer.
After her recording career, Maessen turned to cabaret and club work by the mid-1970s.
Discography
Albums
Extended plays
Singles
Other appearances
* "
Little Green Apples
"Little Green Apples" is a song written by Bobby Russell that became a hit for three different artists, with their three separate releases, in 1968. Originally written for and released by American recording artist Roger Miller, "Little Green Ap ...
", "A New Love Day" on ''Channel 9 'New Faces' Discoveries'' by Various Artists (Fable Records, 1970)
Awards and nominations
Go-Set Pop Poll
The Go-Set Pop Poll was coordinated by teen-oriented pop music newspaper, ''
Go-Set
''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...
'' and was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll during 1966 to 1972 of its readers to determine the most popular personalities.
, -
, 1970
, herself
, Girl Vocal
, 4th
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, 1971
, herself
, Best Girl Vocal
, style="background:silver;", 2nd
, -
References
;General
* Note: Archived
n-linecopy has limited functionality.
;Specific
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maessen, Liv
Australian women singers
Australian television personalities
Women television personalities
Living people
Logie Award winners
Year of birth missing (living people)