Graeme "Shirley" Strachan | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Graeme Ronald Strachan |
| Born | (1952-01-02)2 January 1952 Malvern, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 29 August 2001(2001-08-29) (aged 49) Mount Archer, Queensland, Australia |
| Genres | Rock and roll,progressive rock,pop,glam rock |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument(s) | Vocals,tambourine |
| Years active | 1971–2001 |
| Labels | Mushroom/Festival |
Graeme Ronald Strachan (pronounced "Strawn") (2 January 1952 – 29 August 2001), professionally billed and known as "Shirley"Strachan orShirl, was an Australian singer, songwriter, radio and television presenter, and carpenter. He was the lead singer of the rock groupSkyhooks (1974–1978, 1983, 1984, 1990, 1994). While still a member of Skyhooks, he had solo singles, which charted on theKent Music Report, with a cover recording ofBrenda Holloway's "Every Little Bit Hurts" (October 1976, No. 3) and a remake ofThe Miracles "Tracks of My Tears" (July 1977, top 20). After leaving Skyhooks in July 1978, he concentrated on his solo career. He was the host of children's TV programShirl's Neighbourhood (1979–83). From 1993, he appeared on home renovation TV programOur House as a carpenter and co-host. At theARIA Music Awards of 1993, Skyhooks were inducted into theARIA Hall of Fame. Strachan died in August 2001 in a self-piloted helicopter accident.
Strachan born inMalvern, Victoria, on 2 January 1952 and grew up inMount Waverley.[1] He was the older brother of three sisters, and he was the son of Joyce and Ronald Strachan, who was a carpenter and former World War II Navy sailor.[1] Strachan became an avid surfer, and his nickname "Shirley" was applied by fellow surfers due to his long, sunbleached and curly hair (referring toShirley Temple). He was educated atMount Waverley High School to the end of year 10, where he completed an apprenticeship as a carpenter.[2]
Strachan was a well-known supporter of theHawthorn Football Club in theAFL.[3]
Strachan met "Freddy" Strauks, a drummer, at a performance at Village Green. Strachan would later drive his friend to gigs.[1] Strauks and Greg Macainsh, on bass guitar, were members of Claptrap in 1970, and they asked Strachan to join on lead vocals in the following year.[4][5] The group were renamed Frame with Strachan; Strauks and Macainsh were joined by Pat O'Brien and Sintjio Oohms, both on guitars.[6] The group's debut performance was on 19 April 1971 at Eltham'sMontsalvat, where Strachan "stood facing the band, too shy to face the audience".[2]
In November 1972, Strachan left Frame and moved toPhillip Island to take up surfing and part-time carpentry.[2] He later recalled, "You'd get up in the morning and look out the window and say 'yeah'. Then you'd go down to Woolami and check it out. There'd be a few bars there, and you'd go surfing. Then you'd have lunch and perhaps a couple of hours' work, and then it's high tide, so you go surfing again."[1] While Strachan was surfing at Philip Island, Macainsh and Strauks formed a new band,Skyhooks, in March 1973 with Steve Hill on lead vocals (ex-Lillee), Peter Inglis on guitar (ex–Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band) andPeter Starkie on guitar and vocals (ex–Lipp & the Double Decker Brothers).[6] In March 1974, Strachan replaced Hill on lead vocals in Skyhooks alongside Macainsh, Strauks and Bob "Bongo" Starkie (ex–Mary Jane Union) andRed Symons (ex-Scumbag), both on guitars.[6]
Australian musicologistIan McFarlane described Strachan as "a natural frontman: young and gifted, loudmouthed and witty, blessed with a sweet yet powerful voice and androgynous good looks".[6]Ed Nimmervoll, a music journalist, opined that "Not only did he have a new identity, he took his singing role on with new maturity and attitude. [Macainsh] told him he'd need to work the stage, and 'Shirl' never looked back, roaming the stage like a maniac."[2] In December 1975, they toured nationally, which Strachan declared was "the biggest tour ever undertaken by an Australian group. Every concert will be performed in the open air".[7] The group followed with a tour of the United States with some performances as a support act toUriah Heep.[7]
Strachan started his solo singing career during his time with Skyhooks. In October 1976, he issued a cover version ofBrenda Holloway's 1964 hit "Every Little Bit Hurts" as his debut single, which peaked at No. 3 on theKent Music Report Singles Chart.[6][8] It was produced by Warren Morgan, engineered by Ross Cockle and recorded atArmstrong Studios onMushroom Records/Festival Records.[9] The B-side, "Cruisin' Out on You", was co-written by Strachan with Morgan.[9]
His follow-up single, "Tracks of My Tears", a cover ofSmokey Robinson and the Miracles' 1965 hit, reached No. 18 in July 1977.[6][8] It was produced byRic Formosa, engineered by Cockle, and recorded at Armstrongs.[10] The B-side, "Missing You", was co-written by Strachan andBob Spencer (Skyhooks' then-current guitarist).[10] According to Nimmervoll, "Skyhooks in the meantime had started to struggle, and not one to do something he wasn't enjoying any more, Shirl left. It didn't mean that much to him."[2] In July 1978 Strachan left Skyhooks, but his departure was not announced until the following January.[6] He was replaced on lead vocals by Tony Williams of Reuben Tice.[4][11] During 1978, he issued his third solo single, "Mr Summer", which did not chart.[2][8]
After Skyhooks, Strachan worked as a radio and television presenter. He became known to a new generation as the host of a magazine-style children's TV series,Shirl's Neighbourhood, from 1979 to 1983.[6][12] He issued his debut solo album,It's all Rock 'n' Roll to Me, in 1980.[2] At theLogie Awards of 1983,Shirl's Neighbourhood won Best Children's TV Series.[13][14] He organised and participated in several Skyhooks reformations during the 1980s and 1990s.[6]
In 1984, Strachan joined a rocksupergroup,the Party Boys, for a national tour and was recorded on lead vocals for their third live album,No Song Too Sacred, alongside founding membersGraham Bidstrup on drums,Kevin Borich on guitar andPaul Christie on bass guitar, and new guitarist, Robin Riley (ex-Rose Tattoo).[15] The album provided their cover version of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" as a single.[15]
At theARIA Music Awards of 1993 in March, Skyhooks were inducted into theARIA Hall of Fame.[16] Strachan relocated to Queensland in that year and started as a regular presenter on home makeover program,Our House, where he resurrected skills from his pre-Skyhooks carpentry trade.[6] He also presented a breakfast radio show, withGary Belcher and Dean Miller, on the radio stationTriple M Brisbane in the 1990s. Strachan left Triple M in 1997 following a pay dispute.[17] He died in August 2001 while solo-piloting a helicopter, aged 49.[1][2]
A biography of Strachan,Shirl: The Life of Legendary Larrikin Graeme 'Shirley' Strachan, written by Jeff Apter, appeared in 2012.[18] Apter had already written 15 celebrity biographies; forShirl, Apter had access to Skyhooks' band members, Strachan's family, and "music industry figures, people from Strachan's later career in TV and radio, and the surfing gang he assembled after relocating to Queensland in the 90s."[19] Alistair Jones ofThe Australian felt that Apter's sources "all contribute to a picture of a good bloke fondly remembered" with the biography's strength being the "input that keeps the journey of a larger-than-life character grounded in personal terms" while a "down-side" was that "in sympathetically honouring the trust of his sources,Shirl becomes something of a tear-jerker."[19]
In August 1975, Strachan married Sandra Davis at a registry office inLondon.[2][20] The pair had started dating when he was surfing and working onPhillip Island in 1972–73.[1] By October 1977, the couple had separated.[21] Strachan's second wife was Sue Scott.[1] The couple met in 1981 when he was a guest of the TV game showCatch Us If You Can, where Scott was a model and presenter.[22] In 1993, the Strachans moved to Queensland.[23]
Strachan was killed in ahelicopter crash on 29 August 2001, at the age of 49. He had been a fixed-wing pilot for many years and had been undergoing training for a helicopter pilot's licence, with a view to buying a helicopter and taking friends and family on surfing safaris. On a solo flight nearMount Archer, Queensland, in clear weather and inexplicably off the course planned by his instructor, Strachan encountered mountain turbulence which caused the rotor of hisBell 47G to sever the tailboom, crashing the helicopter onto the north-north-eastern slope of Mount Archer.[24] The day Strachan died was, coincidentally, the day an ABC documentary episode on rock and roll in Australia,Long Way to the Top, which referred to the Skyhooks, aired on TV.
In early September 2001, a beachside funeral was attended by Strachan's family and friends, including Skyhooks' guitarist, Red Symons, and radio colleagues, Gary Belcher and Dean Miller.[25] His ashes were scattered into the sea from a helicopter by his wife, Sue.[25]
Triple M Brisbane, Strachan's former employer, held a day-long on-air tribute to him on the day after his death. Old archived audio was played on air. An episode of theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation documentaryLong Way to the Top featuringSkyhooks was broadcast on the day of his death: it was dedicated to his memory. On 10 September,Channel Nine broadcast a tribute episode ofOur House, "Our House – Memories of Shirl", with content filmed in the weeks before his death, along with archival footage.[26] It was the most-watched program on that night, with 2.19 million viewers.[27]
In September 2001, remaining members of Skyhooks reunited for a memorial gig at thePalais Theatre,St Kilda.[28] Guest vocalists includedDaryl Braithwaite on "All My Friends Are Getting Married" andRoss Wilson on "Warm Wind in the City".[28]
TheNoosa Heads Surf Lifesaving Club has been holding a competitive surf swim commemorating Shirley Strachan since 2002[29] – the Annual Shirley Strachan Memorial Swim. It was originally organised Bruce and Sandy Warren. In November 2016, Bruce Warren died, and subsequent swims have been re-named the Shirley Strachan and Bruce Warren Memorial Swim.[30][31][32]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [33] | ||
| It's All Rock 'n Roll to Me (as Shirl) | 68 |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [33] | ||
| 1976 | "Every Little Bit Hurts" | 2 |
| 1977 | "Tracks of My Tears" | 20 |
| 1978 | "Mr Summer" | – |
| 1979 | "Nothing but the Best" | – |
| "Christmas in the Neighbourhood" | – |
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| "Rock Around the Clock" (released to commemorate the 21st Anniversary of the release of "Rock Around the Clock") (withGlenn Shorrock,Frankie J. Holden,John Paul Young,Daryl Braithwaite andRenée Geyer) | 1977 |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)| International | |
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