''Spirit of the Anzacs'' is the thirteenth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Australian country singer

Lee Kernaghan Lee Kernaghan OAM (born 15 April 1964) is an Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. Kernaghan has won four ARIA Awards and three APRA Awards, and has sold over two million albums, and as of 2021, has won 38 Golden Guitars at ...

. It was released digitally and physically in Australia on March 13, 2015, through

ABC Music 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 ...

. A limited deluxe edition features four additional tracks plus a 64-page booklet that includes many of the letters, stories and images behind the songs. It is Kernaghan's first number one album in Australia and has been certified

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 ...

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 accompanime ...

Background

2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC's landing of Australian and New Zealand soldiers at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In honour of this landmark occasion, former

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...

Kernaghan teamed up with a host of local artists and musicians to record ''Spirit of the Anzacs''. The album was recorded at Rancom Street Studio in Sydney and Kernaghan worked with long-time producer and collaborator

Garth Porter Garth Ivan Richard Porter (born 24 September 1948) is a New Zealand-born Australian multi-instrumental musician, songwriter and record producer. He was a member, on keyboards and backing vocals, of the pop group, Sherbet (1970–84), and co-wr ...

. The project was inspired by Kernaghan's 2014 visit to the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

when he was shown archives of soldiers' letters to family from the front lines from

through to the present day.

Track listing

;Standard edition (Barcode: 0602547172938): # "For King and Country" (by George Sheppard) 0:46 # "To the Top of the Hill" 3:46 # "Song for Grace" (by

Sara Storer Sara Bettine Storer (born 6 October 1973) is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and former teacher. She won a record breaking seven Golden Guitar awards in the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January 2004, and as of 2017, she has w ...

) 4:37 # "We'll Take Beersheba" 3:23 # "Oh Passchendaele" 4:32 # "When the First Bombs Fell" 3:32 # "Being Your Sons" 4:05 # "Kokoda – Only the Brave Ones" (duet with

John Schumann John Lewis Schumann (born 18 May 1953) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist from Adelaide. He is best known as the lead singer for the folk group Redgum, with their chart-topping hit " I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)", a so ...

) 4:12 # "Teddy Sheean – Forever Eighteen" 3:29 # "We Heard a Bugle Play" 3:01 # "Tell Carmelita" 3:52 # "The Unbearable Price of War" (duet with

Lisa McCune Lisa McCune (born 19 February 1971) is an Australian actress, known for her role in TV series ''Blue Heelers'' as Senior Constable Maggie Doyle, and in '' Sea Patrol'' as Lieutenant Kate McGregor RAN. She has won four Gold Logie Awards. McCun ...

) 3:13 # "The Dust of Uruzgan" (duet with Fred Smith) 6:44 # "I Will Always Be with You" 3:52 # " Lest We Forget" (duet with

Ben Roberts-Smith Benjamin Roberts-Smith (born 1 November 1978) is an Australian businessman and a former Australian Army soldier. The Victoria Cross (VC) in 2011 and the Medal for Gallantry (MG) in 2006 made Roberts-Smith the most highly decorated serving membe ...

) 3:10 # " Spirit of the Anzacs" (with

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter who was the winner of the first '' Australian Idol'' in 2003, judge on Australia's ''The X Factor'' from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2016, and coach ...

, Sheppard,

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 o ...

Jessica Mauboy Jessica Hilda Mauboy (born 4 August 1989) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory, she rose to fame in 2006 on the fourth season of ''Australian Idol'', where she was runner-up and subseq ...

Shannon Noll Shannon Noll (born 16 September 1975) is an Australian singer-songwriter who first came to prominence as runner-up of the first season of ''Australian Idol'' in 2003, which led to him being signed to Sony BMG. He has released five top ten albu ...

Megan Washington Megan Alexanda Washington (born 7 January 1986) is an Australian musician and songwriter who has worked mononymously as Washington. Originally performing jazz music, her style shifted to indie pop and alternative rock. She has released three ...

) 3:53 ;Deluxe edition (Barcode: 602547174987): #

"As If He Knows" # "Changi Banjo" # " I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)" # "

The Last Post The "Last Post" is either an A or a B♭ bugle call, primarily within British infantry and Australian infantry regiments, or a D or an E♭ cavalry trumpet call in British cavalry and Royal Regiment of Artillery (Royal Horse Artillery and R ...

Charts

''Spirit of the Anzacs'' debuted at no. 2 in Australia behind

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

's ''

To Pimp a Butterfly ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' is the third studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15, 2015, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was recorded in studios throughout the Uni ...

'' before moving to no. 1 the next week. It is Kernaghan's first no. 1 album and his first to climb in the second week on the charts. The album sold 7,421 in its first week and 14,005 in its second week. The album spent four weeks at No. 1.

Year-end charts

Certifications

Arena tour

An 8-date national arena tour was intended to commence in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

on 21 August 2015, before travelling to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

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 ...

, Tamworth,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

throughout September 2015. However, in April 2015 the tour was abruptly canceled due to poor ticket sales. The arena tour would have consisted of an all-star cast of actors and singers, including Kernaghan,

and

Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to: Sports * Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City * Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Brig ...

, supported by an 11-piece band and vocal group, performing the ''Spirit of the Anzacs'' album from start to finish, as well as other classic Australian songs. Thompson would act as narrator and read letters from the

archives. It was to be directed by

Ignatius Jones Juan Ignacio Rafaelo Lorenzo Trápaga y Esteban (born 1957), known professionally as Ignatius Jones is a Filipino-born Australian events director, journalist, actor and previously fronted the shock rock band Jimmy and the Boys. From 1976 to 198 ...

(the creative director of

Vivid Sydney Vivid Sydney is an annual festival of light, music and ideas, held in Sydney, Australia. It includes outdoor immersive light installations and projections, performances by local and international musicians, and an ideas exchange forum featurin ...

and the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

), and presented by Chugg Entertainment and Stephen White Productions. Although the tour never took place, $3 from every ticket that ''was'' sold was donated to the Soldier On and Legacy charities.

References

{{Authority control Lee Kernaghan albums 2015 albums ANZAC