Lisa Anne Edwards (born 25 September 1958) is an Australian solo and session singer and musician. In July 1992 she had a top 5 hit on the

ARIA Singles 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 ...

with her

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Godley and Creme Godley & Creme were an English rock duo formally established in Manchester in 1977 by Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. The pair began releasing music as a duo after their departure from the rock band 10cc. In 1979, they directed their first music vid ...

's " Cry". Edwards is primarily a backing vocalist and has worked for fellow Australian and international artists, including

John Farnham John Peter Farnham (born 1 July 1949) is a British-born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until the mid-1970s, billed as Johnny Farnham. He has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...

and

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

. Edwards also provided vocals on

Real Life Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the Character (arts), characters they portray. It has become a ...

's " Send Me an Angel" and

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

's "

Stronger Than Before ''Stronger Than Before'' is the twentieth studio album by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John. It was first released by ONJ Productions and Hallmark on 29 August 2005 in the United States, where physical copies of the album were sold ex ...

". As a solo artist, Edwards has issued two studio albums, ''Thru the Hoop'' (1993) and ''State of the Heart'' (2005).

Early and personal life

Lisa Anne Edwards was born in 1958 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. Note: User may have to click "Search again" and provide details at "Enter a title:" e.g. Stay with Me; or at "Performer:" Lisa Edwards Her father is a jazz pianist and her mother was a stage performer. Edwards made her stage debut aged seven with her father, who regularly took her with him. In secondary school, with three other students, she formed a quartet, Harmony, which went from talent programs to performing on the club circuit.Australia Day - Victoria - What's On - Ambassadors
For most of her career she has been based in Melbourne. Edwards' domestic partner is Michael Turner, a barrister, and the couple have a child.

Solo career

Lisa Edwards began her career as a solo artist and backing singer in the late 1970s, in South Australia and Sydney, supporting artists including

the Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk music, folk-influenced pop music, pop group originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the Unit ...

the Platters The Platters are an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The act ...

the Drifters The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and ...

and

the Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

. In September 1981 she issued her debut single, "Centre Spread", on Mushroom Records. It was the theme song for a film soundtrack of the same name. The song was written and co-produced by John C. Sharp, which was recorded and mixed at Pepper Studios in Adelaide. Her second single, "You Are My Melbourne", was a duet with Adrian Campbell in 1985.Lisa Edwards at the

Australian Rock Database The Australian Rock Database was a website with a searchable online database that listed details of Australian rock music artists, albums, bands, producers and record labels. It was established in 2000 by Swedish national Magnus Holmgren, who had ...

: * Lisa Edwards: * Turbo Luv Nuns (1987): * John Farnham Band (1988–2010): * Noel's Cowards (1988): According to George Wilson of ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' it was written by Indian-born Australian resident, Raj Marwah. It was provided to celebrate of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of Melbourne. Also in that year she provided vocals on Joe Lamont's album, ''Secrets You Keep''. In 1986 Edwards was lead vocalist in Short Circuit, a dance-disco group with Trevor Courtney on drums. Both Edwards and Courtney joined White Light Orchestra, a 36-member ensemble, which issued an album, ''Halley's Comet'', in April. Mike Daly of ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' described the track, "Moon and Stars", as an "uninspiring piece of technopop", which, written by "Bill Miller, is sung by dwards" Edwards and Lindsay Field provided vocals for the score of the comedy feature film, '' "Crocodile" Dundee'' (April 1986), with music composed by Peter Best. Edwards sang "Playing with Fire", music by Frank Strangio and lyrics by Eve Dembowski, for the feature film, '' Dead End Drive-In'' (August 1986). Turbo Luv Nuns was a group, in 1987, with Edwards on backing vocals, Ronnie Charles (ex-

The Groop The Groop were an Australian Folk music, folk, R&B and rock band formed in 1964 in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and had their greatest chart success with their second line-up of Max Ross on bass, Richard Wright on drums and vocals ...

) on lead vocals, Peter Coughlan on bass guitar, Mark Greig (ex-

Australian Crawl Australian Crawl (often called Aussie Crawl or The Crawl by fans) were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano/harmonica), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar), Paul Williams ( bass), Simon Binks (lead guitar) and David ...

) on lead guitar and Des McKenna on drums. They issued an album, ''They Don't Know''. She also provided vocals for Short Circuit's album, ''Waiting for the Big One'' (1988). In that year she joined with members of Schnell Fenster –

Phil Judd Philip Raymond Judd (born 20 March 1953) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter known for being one of the founders of the bands Split Enz and The Swingers. Split Enz In 1972, Judd and Tim Finn founded the arty folk band Split Enz. In its early d ...

on guitar, trumpet, keyboards and vocals;

Nigel Griggs Nigel Griggs (born 18 August 1949) is an English musician. He is perhaps best known for having played bass guitar in the band Split Enz. He is the brother of Paul Griggs from the 1970s vocal group Guys 'n' Dolls. Biography A professional m ...

on bass guitar;

Noel Crombie Geoffrey Noel Crombie (born 17 April 1953) is a New Zealand percussionist and former member of the band Split Enz. He fulfilled multiple roles including costume and hair designer, singer, album cover designer, and music video director. Prior ...

on drums and percussion; and

Michael den Elzen Michael den Elzen (born 1962) is a musician and music producer based in Melbourne, Australia. He has performed for over 30 years with many well-known Australian and New Zealand artists, principally as a guitarist, and has contributed music for sev ...

on guitars, guitar synth, fretless guitar and keyboards – to form Noel's Cowards with Vika Bull on vocals; Michael Harris on fiddle;

Wendy Matthews Wendy Joan Matthews (born 13 January 1960) is a Canadian-born Australian singer-songwriter who has been a member of Models (band), Models and Absent Friends (band), Absent Friends and is a solo artist. She released Top 20 hit singles in th ...

on lead vocals; and Louis McManus on mandolin. They provided six songs for the soundtrack of the feature film, '' Rikky and Pete'' (1988). In April 1992 Edwards issued a single, " Cry", which reached the top5 on the

. It is a cover version of

's single (March 1985). On the ARIA End of Year Singles Chart for 1992, it reached No.41. She released her debut solo album, ''Thru the Hoop'', in May 1993, with backing vocals from Farnham and Jack Jones (of John Farnham Band and

Southern Sons Southern Sons is an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria in 1989 by members of The State (band), The State along with lead vocalist and guitarist Irwin Thomas, who was then using the stage name Jack Jones. T ...

). Bevan Hannan of ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

'', rated the album as seven out of ten. Hannan praised the opening track, "Satisfy Me", as having a "funky feel

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

grabs you by the ears, the type of sound which you would swear was stripped from Kate Ceberano's ''Brave'' or ''Think About It''." He opined that the rest of the album "doesn't sink to wallowing depths, but the conservative nature of the other nine tracks only earns it a solid rating." Edwards wrote the track, "Stay with Me", which Hannan described as "first class". Subsequent singles, "So Dangerous' (1992)", "Until the Day" (June 1993) and "Lose Myself in You" (September), had less chart success, and Edwards returned to performing as a backing singer. From 1993 Edwards has contributed

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

s for the annual '' The Spirit of Christmas'' album series, which is produced and compiled by fellow John Farnham Band backing singer, Lindsay Field. Her tracks include "Do You Hear What I Hear?" in November 1993, "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (duet with Field) and "Amazing Grace" (quartet with Field, Farnham and

Venetta Fields Venetta Lee Fields (born 1941) is an American-born Australian singer and musical theater actress, and vocal coach. Fields was a backing vocalist for touring American and British rock and pop acts of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as working as a ...

) in November 1994, "Grown-Up Christmas List" (duet with Field) in November 1994 and compiled in November 1998 and "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (duet with Field) in November 2002. In 2001, Edwards, Debra Byrne and

Wendy Stapleton Wendy Anne-Marie Stapleton (born 8 July 1954) is an Australian pop/rock singer-songwriter, musical theatre performer and television actress and presenter Stapleton has performed as a backing singer, session musician and a solo artist; she front ...

toured with ''Girls, Girls, Girls'' a tribute show of hits by

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her singles "A ...

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...

Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...

and

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

. Note: Overview n-linehas limited preview available. After a month, Edwards returned to backing vocals for

on his The Last Time Tour; she was replaced by Nikki Nicholls, ''Girls, Girls, Girls'' continued touring into 2002. She released her second solo studio album, ''State of the Heart'', in August 2005, which included a cover version of Icehouse's single, "

Man of Colours ''Man of Colours'' is the fifth studio album by Australian rock/synthpop band Icehouse, released locally on 21 September 1987 on Regular Records / Chrysalis Records. Cover art The cover artwork, designed by Iva Davies and Robert Kretschmer, d ...

" (February 1988). ''State of the Heart'' reached No.19 on the ARIA Hitseekers Albums Chart. Georgie Bryant of MediaSearch website felt it was "quite interesting" how Edwards handles "famous Australian songs with erown interpretation." Edwards' solo performances are often based around tributes to her childhood idols:

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

and

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

. Edwards released her third studio album, ''I'm Still the Woman'' in 2022.

Backing vocalist for national and international performers

Aside from vocals Lisa Edwards plays

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

and

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

: initially she was recruited as a flautist for the John Farnham Band in 1988. She has been one of his backing vocalists for both studio sessions and touring from ''

Age of Reason The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a European intellectual and philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained through rationalism and empiric ...

'' (July 1988) to '' Jack'' (October 2010), inclusive. Aside from Farnham, Edwards has provided vocals for fellow Australian artists,

Noiseworks Noiseworks are an Australian hard rock band formed in Sydney in 1986 with bass guitarist Steve Balbi, guitarist Stuart Fraser, drummer Kevin Nicol, keyboardist Justin Stanley and lead vocalist Jon Stevens. They had four Australian Top 10 ...

, Real Life's " Send Me an Angel" (May 1983), Black Sorrows' '' Hold On To Me'' (September 1988), Ross Wilson,

Billy Thorpe William Richard Thorpe AM (29 March 1946 – 28 February 2007) was an English-born Australian singer-songwriter, and record producer. As lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", "Poison Iv ...

Brian Cadd Brian George Cadd AM (born 29 November 1946) is an Australian singer-songwriter, keyboardist, producer and record label founder, a staple of Australian entertainment for over 50 years. As well as working internationally throughout Europe and th ...

and

Kate Ceberano Catherine Yvette Ceberano ( or , born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the rock, soul, jazz and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as '' Jesus Christ Superstar''. Her single " Bedroom Eyes" re ...

. She was one of the backing vocalists on Kylie Minogue's

Enjoy Yourself Tour ''Enjoy Yourself'' is the second studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, released on 9 October 1989 in the United Kingdom by Pete Waterman Entertainment (PWE), and in Australia on 6 November by Mushroom Records. In the United ...

in 1990. As a result, she performed with Yoko Ono for the John Lennon tribute concert in Liverpool. She returned to Australia to support

and

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

on the Australian legs of their tours. She again worked with Minogue in 1998 on the singer's Intimate and Live Tour of Australia. Other international artists she has supported include

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His debut album ''Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz album), Let Love Rule'' (1989) was characterized by a blend of Rock music, rock ...

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

and Sting. Edwards continues to perform, both as a solo artist, a member of Farnham's band and as a backing singer. She was part of the "Tour of Duty" concert for the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

troops in appreciation of the peacekeeping effort in

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

. She is an

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

ambassador for the state of Victoria.

Discography

Studio 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 o ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - , rowspan="2" ,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, Paul Goldman for "Cry" by Lisa Edwards , Best Video , , ARIA Award previous winners. , - , Doug Brady for "Cry" & "So Dangerous" by Lisa Edwards , Engineer of the Year , , , -

References

External links

*
"Poster advertising performance by Lisa Edwards and the Body Motors at The Continental Café, Prahran, Victoria"
22 September 1993, held at the

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in th ...

. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Lisa Australian women singers Living people Musicians from Adelaide 1958 births