Delaney Davidson (born 15 December 1972) is a singer-songwriter from Lyttelton,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. He is known for his musical production, guitar work, and being a multi-instrumentalist. Besides his music, Davidson is also involved in

graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture, ...

visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile ar ...

, theatre, and film. He frequently performs solo with his Ghost Orchestra but has collaborated with various projects. Davidson's musical style is influenced by

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

, Noise music,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

, while being firmly rooted in the blues.

Early life and family

Born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, Davidson is the son of John William Davidson and Glyn Ellen Abbott. He grew up in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, was educated at the Christchurch

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...

School and played in several

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and blues bands, before being expelled from school and moving to

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 me ...

1993–1999: Early years

Early musical connections for Davidson were in Melbourne when he began working with

Stu Thomas Stu David Thomas is an Australian musician, born 1967 in Canberra, raised in Perth, and currently musically active in Melbourne. He is a multi-instrumentalist, performer, singer, composer, arranger, producer, bass player, guitarist, trumpet pl ...

Nique Needles Cornelius Delaney, formerly known as Nique Needles, is an Australian artist, musician and actor. He currently lives in France where he continues to produce and exhibit paintings, and perform with his group ''Darky Valetta''. Music In 1981 Needle ...

, in

Doghouse A doghouse, also known as a kennel, is an outbuilding to provide shelter for a dog from various weather conditions. Background Humans and domesticated dogs have been companions for more than 15,000 years, beginning with the wolf and hunter� ...

, and Brass Bed. He also got a taste for

macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natur ...

performance with

Ewan Cameron Ewan Cameron (31 July 1922, in Dumbarton – 21 March 1991) was a Scottish physician who worked with Linus Pauling on Vitamin C research. He received his medical degree from the University of Glasgow in 1944, and immediately joined the Britis ...

in Theatre of Hell and took part in Premeditated Depredation, a freak performance art piece. After six years in Melbourne, he started to turn his attention to country music and solo performance.

2000–2003: Dead Brothers

Moving to Switzerland in 2000, Davidson met the Voodoo Rhythm Records Family, run by Reverend Beatman, and joined the Dead Brothers. He toured with them for three years, recording WunderKammer and Flammend Herz, the soundtrack to the Tattoo Film of the same name.

2003–2009: Ghost Orchestra

Davidson also began to develop his solo show into the Ghost Orchestra, which he toured Europe and US with from 2005 until today. In 2009 Davidson toured the US with Holly Golightly, and as a duo with Reverend Beatman.

2009–2011: Between Europe and New Zealand

Straddling the globe, he continued to work in Europe and began to reconnect with his roots in New Zealand, becoming instrumental in the Lyttelton folk scene and recognised as a seminal influence on artists like Marlon Williams,

Tami Neilson Tamara Neilson, known professionally as Tami Neilson, is a Canadian-born New Zealand country & soul singer/songwriter. She is the winner of multiple awards, including the 2014 APRA Silver Scroll Awards and Best Country Song Award; she is also the ...

Aldous Harding Hannah Sian Topp (born 1990), known professionally as Aldous Harding, is a New Zealand folk singer-songwriter, based in Lyttelton, New Zealand. Biography Harding comes from a musical family in Lyttelton, New Zealand. Her mother is folk singer ...

The Eastern ''The Eastern'' or ''Sharghi'' is a 2018 documentary film directed by Masoud Taheri which deals with the life, works and thoughts of Toshihiko Izutsu. This film is the only documentary ever made about Izutsu. Production The making of this film la ...

and

Nadia Reid Nadia Reid (born 26 August 1991) is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Port Chalmers, New Zealand. She has been acclaimed for her intimate musical soundscape and unique voice, and has been described by ''The Guardian'' as "an understated, ...

2011–2014: Production

Delaney Davidson Grand Old Hayride Tour March 2013

2011 saw his album production work extend beyond his solo albums into his three collaboration albums with Marlon Williams and led to him producing

’s breakthrough album ''Dynamite!'', and follow-up release ''Don't Be Afraid''. His production work continues to grow with some of New Zealand’s long term established artists: Barry Saunders, Harry Lyon and

Jordan Luck Jordan William Hunter Luck (born 15 October 1961) is the former lead singer and songwriter of the New Zealand rock band The Exponents. He was born in Vanderhoof in the province of British Columbia, Canada. His family moved to Tokarahi (nea ...

. He also has worked live with Bruce Russell of

The Dead C The Dead C are a New Zealand based music and art trio made up of members Bruce Russell, Michael Morley and Robbie Yeats. Russell plays electric guitar, Morley sings and plays electric guitar or laptop, and Yeats plays drums. They have been ...

Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is known for being a member of Crowded House, Split Enz (which he co-fronted with brother Tim), and Fleetwood Mac. Finn rose to prominence in the late ...

, and toured New Zealand with

Garth Hudson Eric "Garth" Hudson (born August 2, 1937) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for rock group the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a ...

2014–2017: Co-writing

Davidson has worked extensively with co-writing attending Pat Macdonald's

Steel Bridge Songfest Steel Bridge Songfest ("Steel Bridge" for short) is an annual, four-day music festival held in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Founded in 2005 by musician Pat MacDonald the event began as part of a grass-roots campaign to restore a historic bridge. The f ...

, and has co-written with

Kim Richey Kimberly Richey (born December 1, 1956) is an American singer and songwriter. Career Kim Richey came onto the music scene in the 1990s and entered her first recording contract at the age of 37. Kim signed with Mercury Nashville. She spent the n ...

, Reverend Beatman,

Eric McFadden Eric McFadden (born December 1, 1965) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter from San Francisco. He spent his formative years in Albuquerque, New Mexico, receiving lessons from Stanton Hirsch. During his mid-teens, he moved to Syrac ...

, Marlon Williams,

Troy Kingi Troy Kingi (born 1984) is a New Zealand musician and actor from Northland, first receiving media attention when he appeared in the 2013 film '' Mt. Zion''. Kingi is a multi-instrumentalist, is known for his 10/10/10 project: the plan to release ...

, and

Nathaniel Rateliff Nathaniel David Rateliff (born October 7, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter based in Denver, Colorado, whose influences are described as folk, Americana and vintage rhythm & blues. Rateliff has performed with a backing band called th ...

Awards and career highlights

In 2010, Davidson won the Sad Song Competition in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

and was declared champion of the One Man Band competition in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 443,037 inhabitants, the urban area 1.315 mill ...

the following year. No Depression described the sound of Davidson's 2010 album ''Decapitation'' as "altogether dirty, lonesome, restless and wildly engrossing." Anthony Healey,

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...

's (APRA) Director of NZ Operations, said of the song 'You're a Loser" from Davidson's album ''Bad Luck Man'': "There is an honesty and integrity to all Delaney's songs and is evidenced in spades in 'You're a Loser'. This song is anything but a loser and we are immensely proud of the reputation Delaney has achieved both internationally and at home." The song won Best Song at the New Zealand Country Music Awards. Davidson's 2011 album ''Bad Luck Man'' featured the track 'Little Heart', which threw him into the spotlight as a finalist in the 2011

APRA Silver Scroll 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 S ...

Awards. Although he didn't win, he was thought of as the people's favourite. In 2013, Davidson collaborated with fellow New Zealand musician Marlon Williams (of the Unfaithful Ways) for the album ''Sad But True – The Secret History of Country Music Songwriting Volume 1''. It was received positive reviews in mainstream publications, with ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspaper ...

'' dubbing the collaboration "seamless" and a "heady concoction of truth-seeking". It was also praised for seamlessly harmonising the young "clean" voice of Williams with the "darker" vocals of Davidson.NZ Music Awards
The album later won Davidson and Williams won 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 tha ...

' Country Music Album of the Year.

RIANZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded M ...

managing director, Chris Caddick, congratulated Davidson and Williams on their win. "Well done to Delaney and Marlon on their richly deserved Tui for the album ''Sad But True''. Their take on a classic American art form is brilliantly executed and a real joy to listen to." Davidson followed up the first volume of ''Sad But True'' with two more instalments, the second self-released on The Grand Ole Hayride tour. The third volume, ''Juke-Box B-Sides'', reached number 12 on the

New Zealand Albums Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Musi ...

in February 2014. Davidson was also the winner of the APRA New Zealand Country Music Song of the Year three years in a row. In 2014, he co-wrote 'Whiskey & Kisses' with

. It was later released on Neilson's album ''Dynamite!'', which Davidson also produced. Davidson made his second appearance on the New Zealand Albums Chart in September 2015, with his album ''Lucky Guy'' peaking at number 24. In 2015, Davidson received the

New Zealand Arts Foundation 'The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists. The concept ...

Laureate award.

Film and television appearances

* The Road to Nod – Slowboat Films * Voodoo Rhythm Documentary * The Dead Brothers Documentary * Delaney Davidson on the Gravy * Reverend Beatman and Delaney Davidson Cheese On Toast * New Sound of Country Music Documentary * Devil In The Parlour Documentary

Discography

With the Dead Brothers: *2004: ''Flammend Herz'' (

Voodoo Rhythm Records Beat Zeller (born 1967), better known as Beat-Man or Reverend Beat-Man, is a Swiss musician, DJ and record company owner. He performs as a one-man band, as the leader of psychobilly band The Monsters, and with other bands, in a style described ...

) *2006: ''WunderKammer'' (

) Delaney Davidson: *2007: ''Rough Diamond'' (Stink Magnetic) *2008: ''Ghost Songs'' (Casbah Records) *2010: ''Self Decapitation'' (

Voodoo Rhythm Beat Zeller (born 1967), better known as Beat-Man or Reverend Beat-Man, is a Swiss musician, DJ and record company owner. He performs as a one-man band, as the leader of psychobilly band The Monsters, and with other bands, in a style describe ...

) *2011: ''The Harbour Union'', featuring Davidson, The Eastern, Lindon Puffin,

Al Park Al Park (born January 24, 1970) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives for the 26th district from 2001 to 2013. Early life and education Park was born in the Panama ...

, The Unfaithful Ways, Tiny Lies and

Runaround Sue "Runaround Sue" is a rock and roll song (in a modified doo-wop style), originally a US No. 1 Hot 100 hit (No. 4 on the Hot R&B chart) for the singer Dion during 1961, after he split with the Belmonts. It was written by Dion with Ernie Mares ...

*2011: ''Bad Luck Man'' (

) *2012: ''Sad But True – The Secret History of Country Music Songwriting Volume 1'' (with Marlon Williams) (Lyttelton Records) *2013: ''Sad But True Volume Two'' (As "The Grand Ole Hayride" with

, Marlon Williams and Dave Khan) (Self-released) *2014: ''Sad But True Volume 3 – Juke-Box B-Sides'' (with Marlon Williams) (Lyttelton Records) *2014: ''Swim Down Low'' (Outside Inside Records) *2015: ''Diamond Dozen'' (Squoodge Records) *2015: ''Lucky Guy'' (Southbound Music) *2016: ''Devil In The Parlour: 6 Live Tracks'' (Rough Diamond Inc) *2018: ''Shining Day'' (Glass Redux) Produced: *2014: Produced ''Dynamite!'' for

*2015: Produced ''Don't Be Afraid'' for

*2020: Co-produced ''

Chickaboom! ''Chickaboom!'' is the seventh studio album by Canadian-New Zealand country singer Tami Neilson, released on 14 February 2020, by Neilson Records and Outside Music. A country album inspired by rockabilly, ''Chickaboom!'' was nominated for ...

'' with

*2021: Co-produced ''Black Sea Golden Ladder'' with

References

External links

Delaney Davidson web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Delaney 1972 births APRA Award winners Living people New Zealand male singer-songwriters New Zealand singer-songwriters New Zealand male guitarists People from Lyttelton, New Zealand 21st-century New Zealand male singers 21st-century guitarists