Sharon Lea O'Neill (born 23 November 1952) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and pianist, who had an

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

n hit single in 1983 with " Maxine" which reached No. 16 on both the Australian Kent Music Report and Recording Industry Association of New Zealand charts. Note: n-lineversion established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition.Australian chart peaks: *Top 100 ( Kent Music Report) peaks to 19 June 1988: N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by

ARIA In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988. *Top 100 (

ARIA Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: *"Satin Sheets" (ARIA Chart) peak: *''The Very Best of Collette and Sharon O'Neill'': New Zealand chart peaks: *All except "Don't Let Love Go": *"Don't Let Love Go":

Career

1960s–1977: Career beginnings

Sharon O'Neill is a self taught musician who learned to play guitar by ear and started composing at an early age, by putting chords to her poetry. She began playing the acoustic guitar around Nelson in the 1960s. O'Neill began recording with Robin Winch and Nancy Richman under the name Suitewater. An entry into the 1970 Mobil Song Quest, saw Sharon & Nancy make the finals with a song called "Life Upon Life" written by O'Neill. Another of her songs, "Nothing Makes It Easy", got her to the finals of the ''New Faces'' television talent show in 1972 In 1972, O'Neill released "

Love Song A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order ...

" a

Lesley Duncan Lesley Cox (née Duncan; 12 August 1943 – 12 March 2010) was an English singer-songwriter, best known for her work during the 1970s. She received much airplay on British radio stations such as BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2, but never achieved ...

cover on Ode Records. Between 1972 and 1977 O'Neill joined New Zealand band Chapta, a covers band called Jessica, and a rock-pop band called Shiner. In 1977, encouraged by Shiner guitarist and future husband Brent Thomas, O'Neill began concentrating on song writing. O'Neill was featured on the track "If There's Still a Little Love" on Mark Williams' 1977 album ''Taking It All in Stride'', with the song also featuring on ''Mark Williams Greatest Hits'' compilation album released in late 1977. O'Neill also supported Williams on tour.

1978–1983: CBS Records

In 1978, O'Neill performed the track " Luck's on Your Table" on the New Zealand TV show ''The Entertainers'', where she finished third. She subsequently signed to

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

and released "Luck's on the Table" in September 1978. It reached number 27 on the New Zealand singles chart and was included on her debut album '' This Heart This Song'', which was released in February 1979. In June 1979, O'Neill released " Don't Say No to Tomorrow", which was featured on a Telethon. It reached number 6 on the charts. That same year she received an APRA Silver Scroll Award for the song "Face in a Rainbow" from her debut album. O'Neill won best female artist at 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 ...

in 1978, and 1979. In February 1980, O'Neill released her second studio album titled ''

Sharon O'Neill Sharon Lea O'Neill (born 23 November 1952) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and pianist, who had an Australasian hit single in 1983 with " Maxine" which reached No. 16 on both the Australian Kent Music Report and Recording Industry Association ...

'', which peaked at number 3. At the 1980 New Zealand Music Awards, O'Neill won her third Female Artist of the Year as well as her first Album of the Year. The album gained moderate success in Australia with the hit "

Words A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no conse ...

" (AUS #56) and the subsequent singles " Asian Paradise" (AUS #76) and " How Do You Talk to Boys" (AUS #25). O'Neill joined

Jon Stevens Jon Stevens (born 8 October 1961) is a New Zealand singer, best known for his work with Noiseworks and ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. Biography 1980–1986: career beginnings and ''Jezebel'' Stevens was born in Upper Hutt, New Zealand, and is ...

on a duet called "

Don't Let Love Go "Don't Let Love Go" is a song recorded by New Zealand singer-songwriters, Sharon O'Neill and Jon Stevens. The song was produced by Jay Lewis. It was released in New Zealand as a single in February 1980 and peaked at number 5 in New Zealand in Marc ...

", which reached number 5 in New Zealand in March 1980. O'Neill's third studio album '' Maybe'' was released in October 1981. It produced the hits " Waiting for You" and " Maybe" (AUS #38). O'Neill supported Boz Scaggs on his Australian tour before she moved to Australia to settle. O'Neill provided the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

Roger Donaldson Roger Lindsey Donaldson (born 15 November 1945) is an Australian-born New Zealand film director, producer and writer whose films include the 1981 relationship drama '' Smash Palace'', and a run of titles shot in the United States, including t ...

's 1982 movie ''

Smash Palace ''Smash Palace'' is a New Zealand feature film that premiered at Cannes in May 1981 and was released theatrically in April 1982. The film chronicles a former race car driver (played by Bruno Lawrence) who inadvertently contributes to the end of ...

''. It was a five-track extended play and won Best Film Soundtrack/Cast Recording/Compilation at the 1983

. O'Neill's fourth studio album '' Foreign Affairs'' was released in May 1983. It contained the tracks " Losing You" (AUS #26) and " Maxine" (AUS #16), a song which chronicled the life of a Kings Cross prostitute. In a 2016 interview, O'Neill said: "I was living in a hotel in Kings Cross when I got the inspiration to write 'Maxine'. She was always out there working at 3am when we'd get home bleary-eyed from a gig." ''Foreign Affairs'' was certified gold in New Zealand.

1984–1999: Polydor Records and compilations

A legal battle with her then-record company

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

caused a delay in her career. In 1984, CBS budget label J&B released a best of collection titled '' So Far''. During the enforced hiatus, O'Neill wrote songs for

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 ...

's 1984 TV series ''

Sweet and Sour Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine and cooking methods. It is commonly used in East Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been used in England since the Middle Ages. Dickson Wright, Clarissa (2011) ''A Histor ...

'' including the title song performed by

Deborah Conway Deborah Ann Conway (born 8 August 1959) is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and had a career as a model and actress. She was a founding member of the 1980s rock band Do-Ré-Mi with their top 5 hit "Man Overboard". Conw ...

(later recorded by O'Neill as "In Control") and "Glam to Wham". She wrote "Blood Red Roses" for the movie soundtrack of " Street Hero" and music for " Dancing Daze". O'Neill met American keyboardist and songwriter Alan Mansfield on Dragon's Body and the Beat Tour of New Zealand in 1984—they later became domestic and professional partners. In October 1987, O'Neill returned with her fifth studio album '' Danced in the Fire'' on Polygram, which featured some biographical songs about her legal wrangles with CBS. " Physical Favours" peaked at number 25 in New Zealand and 39 in Australia. In 1988, CBS Records released a series of four-track EPs; ''Volume 18'' was O'Neill and featured four of O'Neill's greatest hits. In 1990, O'Neill released her sixth studio album '' Edge of Winter''. Two singles were taken from this album, " Satin Sheets" and "Poster Girl", both of which failed to find chart success. '' The Very Best of Collette and Sharon O'Neill'' was released in 1991 by J&B Records. It contained eight tracks from Collette Roberts and eight tracks from O'Neill, including the previously non-album single "Power" from 1984. In 1991, O'Neill collaborated with Robert Palmer and wrote " True Love" together for Palmer's '' Rhythm & Blues'' album. She also contributed vocals on that release. In 1994, O'Neill, Palmer, and Palmer's girlfriend Mary Ambrose co-wrote "Love Takes Time" for Palmer's ''

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

'' album. O'Neill contributed vocals to that release, as well as to Palmer's 1999 '' Rhythm & Blues'' and 2003's '' Drive''.

2000–present: Later career

In 2001, she toured as a guest artist with New Zealand female act When the Cat's Away. In 2005, she toured Australia as a support act for

Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...

and a comprehensive collection of her greatest hits was released by

Sony Music Australia Sony Music Entertainment Australia is the predominant record label operated by American parent company Sony Music Entertainment in Australia. SMEA also formerly published and distributed video games in Australia & New Zealand on behalf of Sony ...

under the title '' The Best of Sharon O'Neill''. In 2006 and early 2007, O'Neill again toured Australia supporting Leo Sayer. From August–September 2007, O'Neill toured as part of the ' Countdown Spectacular 2' concert series Australia-wide and toured Australia and New Zealand on The Let It Be Tour (

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

tribute show) in November–December 2007. In 2014, Sony New Zealand released a new greatest hits collection titled '' Words: The Very Best of Sharon O'Neill''. The album peaked at number 6 on the New Zealand albums chart. In 2018, Sharon performed a duet with Ben Ransom titled "Young Years", the song she co-wrote for the group Dragon. The track is available via digital streaming service Apple Music.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' This Heart This Song'' (1979) *''

'' / ''

'' (1980) *'' Maybe'' (1981) *'' Foreign Affairs'' (1983) *'' Danced in the Fire'' (1987) *'' Edge of Winter'' (1990)

Awards and nominations

, - , 1978 , Sharon O'Neill , New Zealand Music Awards - Top Female Vocalist , , - , 1979 , Sharon O'Neill , New Zealand Music Awards - Top Female Vocalist , , - , 1979 , "Face In a Rainbow" ,

APRA Awards (New Zealand) The APRA Music Awards are several annual and two-yearly award ceremonies run in New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members. APRA hold the annual Silver ...

- Silver Scroll Awards , , - , rowspan="2" , 1980 , Sharon O'Neill , New Zealand Music Awards - Top Female Vocalist , , - , ''Sharon O'Neill'' , New Zealand Music Awards - Album of the Year , , - , 1981 , ''Sharon O'Neill'' , rowspan="3" , Australian Countdown Awards - Most Popular Female , , - , 1982 , ''Sharon O'Neill'' , , - , rowspan="2" , 1983 , ''Sharon O'Neill'' , , - , ''

'' , New Zealand Music Awards - Best Film Soundtrack/Cast Recording/Compilation , , - , rowspan="3" , 1984 , Sharon O'Neill , Australian Countdown Awards - Best Female Performance in a Video , , - , Sharon O'Neill , Australian Countdown Awards - Most Popular Female Performer , , - , Sharon O'Neill , Australian Countdown Awards - Best Songwriter , , - , 1985 , "Power" , Australian Countdown Awards - Best Female Performance in a Video , , - , 1988 , Sharon O'Neill , ARIA Music Awards - Best Female Artist , , - , 1989 , "We're Only Human" , ARIA Music Awards - Best Female Artist , , - , 2017 , , Sharon O'Neill , ,

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 ...

, , TELEVISION

References

External links

Sharon O'Neill MySpace
* * *
The essential Sharon O'Neill fan siteYahoo group sharononeilldownunder
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Sharon 1952 births Living people APRA Award winners 20th-century New Zealand women singers New Zealand film score composers New Zealand women singer-songwriters People educated at Waimea College Sony Music New Zealand artists