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In: the good times a supplement to The Canberra Times

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Thu 2 Apr 1987 - The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995)
Page 9 - Melanie Oxley flexes her powerful voice
Melanie Oxley flexes her powerful voice
A singer who sparkles
By POLLYANNA SUTTON
MELANIE Oxley faced a
major decision at the age
of 16 — to be a dancer
and not eat, or to eat and be
normal. She chose food, and by
natural progression turned to an
other passion from her childhood,
singing.
As lead singer and prolific song
writer for Sydney band Sparklers,
she has shown what a powerful
voice she has. There has been no
specific training, other than a few
musical numbers to complement
the tap- and modern-dance classes.
Although music was accessible in
the Oxley house — all her brothers
play guitar and both parents play
instruments and sing — if she
admitted to any training, it would
be singing to the records of Barbra
Streisand, who "has the most
amazing breath control".
"I started dancing when I was
three and I did a lot of work on
stage, classical, modern, tap, well
before the boys started playing
guitar," she said.
Sparklers' line-up is rich with
experience, including Oxley's
brother Peter, who along with
drummer Bil.Bilson were the main
motivation behind The Sun
nyboys' volatile rhythm section.
Sparklers' keyboard player Chris
Abrahams was part of the jazz
group The Benders, and guitarist
Colin Bloxsom is a former cohort
of the likes of the Go-Betweens
and John Kennedy's Love Gone
Wrong.
The band's rapid rise has been
haphazard rather than pre
meditated. The core was formed
for a Nuclear Disarmament Party
concert at The Chevron in Sydney.
Brother, sister and Bilson teamed
up, got some songs together and
were later joined by Abrahams and
Bloxsom. "Pete always wanted to
call a band Sparklers because it is
energetic and happy and I really
liked the word and the fire
cracker," Oxley said.
The first single, Overworking, hit
No 1 and stayed on the independ
Sparklers: a dynamic show, a line-up rich with experience.Help
Sparklers: a dynamic show, a line-up rich with experience.
ent charts for 2 1/2 months, making
the play lists in Melbourne and
Brisbane. The single went into its
third pressing. Then came the sign
ing with Mighty Boy Records,
headed by ex-Virgin Records' boss
Moira Bennett. The Sparklers were
the first band to be signed to the
infant label, and the rumour goes
that Bennett thought they were too
good to pass up. The current
single, So Often Dreaming, has
fared just as well.
Oxley can't say why the band
has drawn such attention from the
rock press after two singles.
"Someone must have come to see
us and known a certain amount
about the ex-bands... the show is
quite dynamic in its own way."
Oxley turned to singing during
her studies in Sydney. "I did my
bachelor of arts and in second year
at uni got some people together
and started a band [the Sweet
Nothings]. We only played about
12 gigs... I'm really glad I did my
degree because the whole time I
thought I would rather be singing,
so when I finished I really knew
what I wanted to do."
Her first foray into the pro
fessional circuit was doing some
back-up singing for the Johny Kan
nis Band; later she did some back
ing tracks for Ed Keupper's latest
album, Rooms Of The Magnifi
cent.
She is responsible for writing the
bulk of Sparklers’ originals. "The
first couple of songs I wrote when
I was 18, we don't play. I mean
they had really trite lyrics which
don't apply to me now. Now I
write about situations with people
around me, relationships, observa
tions about people."
Sparklers will head into the re
cording studio in May, plan to
have a single out by June and an
album by July. American labels
Capital and Atlantic have already
shown interest, and Oxley hopes
there will be a chance to head over
there in the future.
"The songs we do are good, the
arrangements might need chang
ing, but we feel strongly about our
music, and if you believe in it then
I think it will go really well. There
is no way I am going to write in
a specific way [for a commercial
market]."
Sparklers hope to play in Can
berra in late April or May.
Chain Intact with new links
THE MANY incarnations of
Chain have meant the en
durance of distinctive Aus
tralian blues and the name being ban
died about on the music scene since
the early '70s. In addition to singer
Matt Taylor and drummer Barry "Li
tle Goose" Harvey, the new line-up is
made up of guitarist John Meyer and
bass player Roy Daniels. Taylor said
the people in Chain had never been
as important as the music itself.
"The line-up change came with the
little fanfare ... whenever other mu
sicians have come into or left Chain.
It has nothing to do with a friendship
level — people in Chain put
enormous expectations on them
selves. If they feel they are being
diverted by other projects, they bow
out."
Chain had 13 line-ups in its heydey,
and five before Taylor joined the
ranks. The most impressive was the
Taylor, Phil Manning, Barry Harvey,
Barry Sullivan line-up which endured
less that a year.
Although predominantly a band of
the '70s, in 1983 the Taylor, Harvey
Manning, Sullivan line-up did a week
of reunion gigs. So electric was the
response that they chose to stay to
gether on a semi-permanent level.
During the next three years the band
re-established itself as a strong crowd
puller introducing fiery blues to a new
generation of fans.
"Chain has always played Aus
tralian blues, which is nothing like the
black blues we love, becausc we've
grown up in an entirely different at
mosphere," Taylor said. "We toured
with Albert Collins in 1986 who
couldn't work out what sort of music
we played. He finally acknowledged,
'yeah, it's the blues, but it's not the
blues I know.’ That is what Chain is
all about."
Joining Chain for their Canberra
gig at the Canberra Workers Club on
April 8 will be John Heussenstamm
and The Alligators. We have three
double passes to give away, to the
concert. See the coupon on page 10.
Simon tour
dates set
PAUL Simon's
Graceland con
cert tour will visit
Sydney, Brisbane and
Melbourne next month.
Joining Simon on the
tour will be the 10-mem
ber gospel-flavoured a
capella Zulu choir, Lady
smith Black Mambazo,
and many others featured
on the Graceland album..
The tour dates are: Syd
ncy, May 27, 28;
Brisbane, May 30; Mel
bourne, June 6, 7. Tickets
are on sale today through
Bass.
Article identifier
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118182736
Page identifier
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page13036549
APA citation
Melanie Oxley flexes her powerful voice (1987, April 2).The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 9 (the good times a supplement to The Canberra Times). Retrieved April 1, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118182736
MLA citation
"Melanie Oxley flexes her powerful voice"The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995) 2 April 1987: 9 (the good times a supplement to The Canberra Times). Web. 1 Apr 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118182736>.
Harvard/Australian citation
1987 'Melanie Oxley flexes her powerful voice',The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), 2 April, p. 9. (the good times a supplement to The Canberra Times), viewed 01 Apr 2025, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118182736
Wikipedia citation
{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118182736 |title=Melanie Oxley flexes her powerful voice |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=61, |issue=18,808 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=2 April 1987 |accessdate=1 April 2025 |page=9 (the good times a supplement to The Canberra Times) |via=National Library of Australia}}

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