Margaret Mary Urlich (24 January 1965 – 22 August 2022) was a New Zealand singer who lived in Australia for most of her career. Urlich's 1989 debut solo album, ''

Safety in Numbers Safety in numbers is the hypothesis that, by being part of a large physical group or mass, an individual is less likely to be the victim of a mishap, accident, attack, or other bad event. Some related theories also argue (and can show statistica ...

'', won " Breakthrough Artist – Album" at the 1991 ARIA Awards. Its 1992 follow-up, '' Chameleon Dreams'', was also a success. Urlich was successful in both New Zealand and Australia, selling over 400,000 albums during her career, ranking her as one of New Zealand's most successful recording artists. She was the cousin of fellow New Zealand singer

Peter Urlich Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

Life and career

Urlich began her career as lead vocalist for the new wave band

Peking Man Peking Man (''Homo erectus pekinensis'') is a subspecies of ''Homo erectus, H. erectus'' which inhabited the Zhoukoudian Cave of northern China during the Middle Pleistocene. The first fossil, a tooth, was discovered in 1921, and the Zhoukoudi ...

with her brother Pat, Tim Calder, Perry Marshall, Jan Foulkes, Neville Hall, John Fearon and Jay F-bula. Peking Man won the 1984 ''Shazam! Battle of The Bands'' (a

TVNZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...

pop show) and had a number of hit songs in New Zealand, including "Good Luck to You" (No. 6), "Lift Your Head Up High" (No. 21) and 1985's " Room That Echoes" (No. 1). Urlich was later a member of an all-girl pop group in New Zealand called When the Cat's Away. Urlich moved to Australia in 1988. She recorded her debut solo studio album, ''

'', at

Studios 301 Studios 301 is an Australian recording studio and is both the longest-running professional recording studio in the southern hemisphere and the largest studio complex in Australia. History The studio was founded in 1926 under the Columbia Gra ...

in Sydney and released it in New Zealand in 1989 and Australia in March 1990. The album peaked at No. 4 on the New Zealand album charts in December 1989 and No. 5 on the Australian album charts in December 1990 and went triple

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

in Australia. Urlich won an ARIA Award in 1991 for "Best Breakthrough Artist". In 1990, Urlich, then little known outside New Zealand, provided backing vocals on a track for Australian artist

Daryl Braithwaite Daryl Braithwaite (born 11 January 1949) is an Australian singer. He was the lead vocalist of Sherbet (1970–1984 and many subsequent reunions). Braithwaite also has a solo career, placing 15 singles in the Australian top 40, including t ...

on his second solo album, ''

Rise Rise or RISE may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world * Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3'' * Rise Kujikawa, a vide ...

'', which was released in November 1990. The song she featured in was the

Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including Rock music, rock, Rhythm and blues, R&B ...

ballad "

The Horses "The Horses" is a song written by Rickie Lee Jones and Walter Becker. It was originally performed by Jones on her 1989 album, ''Flying Cowboys''. While not released as a single, the original version did appear in the 1996 film ''Jerry Maguire'' a ...

", which was a No. 1 hit for Braithwaite. The video clip featured Braithwaite singing on a beach, with a model (riding a horse),

lip-syncing Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

Urlich's voice. Urlich chose not to appear in Braithwaite's film clip as she had just released ''Safety in Numbers'' and was working to establish herself as a solo artist. In March 1991, Urlich, armed with a half-million-dollar recording budget, returned to the studio to commence pre-production for her second album, '' Chameleon Dreams'', with English writer/producer Robyn Smith, the man behind her highly successful debut. By mid-year, Urlich and Smith had entered Studios 301 to record their two songs, plus a third track written by Smith and

Barry Blue Barry Blue (born Barry Ian Green, 4 December 1950) is an English singer, producer, and songwriter. As an artist, he is best known for his hit songs "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" and "Do You Wanna Dance" (both 1973). Blue has also been a pro ...

. The same team had been responsible for two of the tracks on ''Safety in Numbers'' ("

Escaping Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...

" and "Guilty People") and their latest offering, " Boy in the Moon", proved pivotal to the sound of the new album. Other tracks were collected by travelling around the world. Urlich went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to co-write with writers such as Rob Fisher, with whom she wrote the album's title track, "Chameleon Dreams". She then went on to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where she met with

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning writer/producer Ian Prince, with whom she wrote two songs for the album and he produced four tracks. She returned to London, where she co-wrote a number of songs with

Simon Law Simon Law (born 28 May 1961, in Luton, England) is a producer, keyboardist and songwriter for Soul II Soul. Career Law is an original member of Soul II Soul. The band had a #1 UK hit single with "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)", where h ...

and Tony Swain, before completing the project with three tracks produced by Swain. The success of ''Chameleon Dreams'' earned Urlich the "Best Selling New Zealand Artist of the Year" award at the 1992

World Music Awards The World Music Awards is an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event is based in Monte Carlo. Awards are presented to the world's ...

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

. She attended the awards ceremony and performed "Love Train". In 1993, Urlich was part of Export Music Australia (EMA) and

Austrade The Australian Trade and Investment Commission, or Austrade ( ), is the Australian Government's trade, investment and education promotion agency which was also given responsibility for tourism policy, programs and research from 2013. Austrade ...

's second Wizards of Oz promotion. She toured Japan with fellow singer Rick Price and the group

Yothu Yindi Yothu Yindi (Yolŋu Matha, Yolngu for "child and mother", pronounced ) are an Australian musical group with Australian Aboriginal, Aboriginal and ''List of English words of Malay origin#B, balanda'' (non-Aboriginal) members, formed in 1986 as ...

. Urlich and

Dale Barlow Dale Barlow (born Sydney, Australia, 25 December 1959) is a jazz saxophonist, flute player and composer. He has a Masters of Music degree begun at City College New York under Ron Carter and completed at ANU Canberra. He has received ARIA Awards, ...

recorded a version of "

I've Got You Under My Skin "I've Got You Under My Skin" is a song written by American composer Cole Porter in 1936. It was introduced that year in the Eleanor Powell musical film ''Born to Dance'' in which it was performed by Virginia Bruce. It was nominated for the Aca ...

" for

Kate Ceberano Catherine Yvette Ceberano ( or , born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the soul, jazz, and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as '' Jesus Christ Superstar''. Her song " Pash" received a gold ...

's 1994 album '' Kate Ceberano and Friends''. She spent much of 1994 living back in New Zealand and appeared as

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

in a major concert production of

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

''. Urlich released a version of "

I Don't Know How to Love Him "I Don't Know How to Love Him" is a song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' written by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics), a torch ballad sung by the character of Mary Magdalene. In the opera ...

" that reached No. 44 on the New Zealand singles charts. For her third studio album, ''

The Deepest Blue ''The Deepest Blue'' is the fourth solo album (third studio album) by Margaret Urlich, released in July 1995 through Columbia Records. Retrieved 23 September 2022 froDiscogs In November 2010 the album was re-released in digital form on various o ...

'', Urlich returned to her long-standing partnership with British writer/producer Robyn Smith. She and Smith co-wrote all but two of the tracks on the album. ''The Deepest Blue'' was released in August 1995 but failed to have the same impact as her previous two albums, reaching No. 18 on the New Zealand charts and No. 17 on the Australian charts. In 1998, her contract with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

having expired, she moved to the Southern Highlands of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

where she set up home and a new recording studio with her partner. Here she produced her fourth album, '' Second Nature'', a recording project produced by

Eddie Rayner Anthony Edward Charles Rayner (born 19 November 1952) is a New Zealand musician who spent twelve years as a keyboardist in the band Split Enz. He has also played in the groups Orb, Space Waltz, Crowded House, The Makers, The Angels in 1986-19 ...

from

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built a ...

that was recorded on and off over 12 months and involved musicians from Australia and New Zealand. The album comprised cover versions of some of Urlich's favourite New Zealand songs that she grew up with. These included songs from artists such as Split Enz,

Crowded House Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later ban ...

Dave Dobbyn Sir David Joseph Dobbyn (born 3 January 1957) is a New Zealand musician, singer–songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash. Since then he ...

Max Merritt Maxwell James Merritt (30 April 1941 – 24 September 2020) was a New Zealand-born singer-songwriter and guitarist who was renowned as an interpreter of soul music and R&B. As leader of Max Merritt & The Meteors, his best known hits are " Slipp ...

Shona Laing Shona Laing (born 9 October 1955) is a New Zealand musician. She has had several hits in her native country, as well as a few minor international hits, most notably " (Glad I'm) Not a Kennedy" and "Soviet Snow". Laing contributed to Manfred ...

Don McGlashan Donald McGlashan (born 18 July 1959) is a New Zealand composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist who Is best known for membership in the bands Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, and The Mutton Birds, before going solo. He has also composed for ci ...

and

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowd ...

. The album was released in New Zealand in 1999 and reached No. 11 on the charts, achieving platinum status. This was her final studio album. Urlich made a special guest performance on series 1, episode 6 of ''

The Micallef Program ''The Micallef P(r)ogram(me)'' is an Australian sketch comedy TV series hosted by Shaun Micallef, and written by Micallef and Gary McCaffrie, that ran from 1998 to 2001 on ABC TV. It was known as ''The Micallef Program'' in its first series, ...

'', performing a comical duet of the

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...

classic "

You're So Vain "You're So Vain" is a song written in 1971 by American singer and songwriter Carly Simon and released in November 1972. It is one of the songs with which Simon is most identified, and upon its release, reached No. 1 in the United States, Canada, ...

" with

Shaun Micallef Shaun Patrick Micallef (; born 18 July 1962) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer and television presenter. He is currently the host of the satirical news comedy series ''Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell'' on the ABC. He also hosted the game sh ...

. The two had previously performed a comical duet of the

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

and

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatra ...

song "

Somethin' Stupid "Somethin' Stupid", or "Something Stupid", is a song written by C. Carson Parks. It was originally recorded in 1966 by Parks and his wife Gaile Foote, as Carson and Gaile. A 1967 version by Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy Sinatra became ...

", with Micallef in his Milo Kerrigan persona, on the sketch comedy program ''Full Frontal''. After a two-and-a-half-year struggle with cancer, Urlich died on 22 August 2022, at the age of 57, surrounded by her family at her home in the Southern Highlands.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

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. ! , - , rowspan="3" ,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, , rowspan="3" , ''

'' , , Breakthrough Artist – Album , , , , rowspan="6" , , - , Album of the Year , , , - , Best Female Artist , , , - , 1993 , , '' Chameleon Dreams'' , , Best Female Artist , , , - , rowspan="2" ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, , "Burnt Sienna" , , Best Female Artist , , , - , "Where Is the Love?" (with Rick Price) , , Best Adult Contemporary Album , , , -

New Zealand Music Awards

The

New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in

New Zealand music The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including ...

and have been presented annually since 1965. ! , - , 1985 , , Margaret Urlich , , Female Vocalist of the Year , , , , rowspan="10" , , - , 1986 , , Margaret Urlich , , Female Vocalist of the Year , , , - , rowspan="4" , 1989 , , Margaret Urlich , , Female Vocalist of the Year , , , - , ''Safety in Numbers'' , , Album of the Year , , , - , Polly Walker and Debbie Watson for ''Safety in Numbers'' , , Album Cover of the Year , , , - , "Escaping" , , Single of the Year , , , - , rowspan="3" , 1990 , , Margaret Urlich , , Female Vocalist of the Year , , , - , Margaret Urlich , , International Achievement , , , - , "Number One (Remember When We Danced All Night)" , , Single of the Year , , , - , 2000 , , Kimberley Renwick for ''Second Nature'' , , Album Cover of the Year , , , - , 2021 , , Margaret Urlich and When the Cats Away' , ,

New Zealand Music Hall of Fame The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians. The hall was created in 2007 by Recorded Music NZ (then known as the Recording Industry Associati ...

, , , , , -

World Music Awards

The

is an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of

Albert II, Prince of Monaco Albert II – Website of the Palace of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, since 2005. Albert was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, and he is the second child and only son of Prince Rai ...

and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. , - , 1992 , , Margaret Urlich , , Best Selling New Zealand Artist of the Year , , , -

Television appearances

References

External links

Official website
(archived at Internet Archive) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Urlich, Margaret 1965 births 2022 deaths ARIA Award winners New Zealand expatriates in Australia 20th-century New Zealand women singers Women new wave singers CBS Records artists Sony Music New Zealand artists Musicians from Auckland Deaths from cancer in New South Wales 21st-century New Zealand women singers