Jeremy Saxon Oxley (born 15 November 1961) is an Australian songwriter, singer and guitarist. He is best known for his work with the 1980s pop-rock band

Sunnyboys Sunnyboys are an Australian power pop band formed in Sydney in 1979. Fronted by singer-songwriter, guitarist Jeremy Oxley, the band "breathed some freshness and vitality into the divergent Sydney scene". Their first two albums, '' Sunnyboy ...

Biography

1961-1978: Early Life

Jeremy Oxley grew up in the northern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

town of

Kingscliff Kingscliff is a coastal town just south of Tweed Heads in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, and is a beach community offering a variety of holiday accommodations. Together with the villages of Chinderah and Fingal, it i ...

after his parents, Eric and Jan, moved from Sydney. Jeremy was the second oldest of five children, the others being older brother Peter, sister

Melanie Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark". Jeremy was a natural surfer, and at the age of 14 was Queensland's schoolboy surfing champion, he was also a talented soccer player and a gifted musician. Jeremy played the guitar and formed a high-school rock band with his older brother, Peter, and a primary school friend, Bill Bilson, called Wooden Horse.

1979-1991: Sunnyboys, Chinless Elite and The Fishermen

In 1979, Jeremy's brother

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, met Bil Bilson and Richard Burgman in Sydney and formed a band, Shy Imposters, which broke up in early 1980. Jeremy joined and they formed a new band, Sunnyboys. The band's name came from a

Sunnyboy The Sunnyboy was a popular Australian brand of flavoured ice block, well known for its distinctive tetrahedral shape (a design called a tetra-pak), sold individually or in packs. The ice blocks were extremely popular all the way through to the ea ...

, an orange-flavoured water ice in a tetrahedron shaped 'tetra-pack'. According to Richard Burgman, the band chose the name because it represented ‘bright, happy, young, fun’. The band's first public performance was on 15 August 1980, supporting The Lipstick Killers and Me 262, and it quickly became popular in the Sydney band scene. The band were signed to

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival M ...

and between 1981 and 1984, released three top 40 studio albums. The band dissolved in 1984 following internal dissent, industry disappointments and Jeremy's health issues. It was later revealed that Oxley has

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wi ...

. Jeremy went on to form Chinless Elite with Luke Bendt (drums), Mark Fuccilli (saxophone) (Big 5,

Allniters The Allniters are a Sydney-based Australian ska pop band, founded in 1980. Original line-up was Ted Ayers on sax, Dave Bebb on drums, Stuart Crysell on guitar, Martin Fabok on guitar, Peter Hill-Travis on vocals, Graham Hood (The Johnnys) on ba ...

), Sean McElvogue (trumpet, saxophone) (Big 5), Marcus Phelan (Allniters, Hoi Polloi), John Schofield (bass)(

Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls Paul Maurice Kelly (born 13 January 1955) is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other ar ...

), Andrew Robertson (drums). The band exploring

cover songs 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 released ...

of soul legends; like Jimi Hendrix,

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown (music style), Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player ...

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blue ...

and Jimmy Cox/ Eric Clapton. The Chinless Elite released a self-titled 12" EP and a 7" single, "I Got To Get to California"/"I Heard it on the Grapevine", on the Big Time label in 1985. Oxley then formed The Fishermen in 1986, with Andrew Denison (vocals bass), Tony Gibson (guitar), Ian Patterson (drums), Melvin Stewart (vocals, bass). The band produced a 7" single, "Can't You Stop"/"City Opera" in November 1986 on the

Waterfront Records Waterfront Records was an independent record label based in Sydney that released recordings by Australian bands during the 1980s and 1990s. History Waterfront records was started in 1982 by Steven Stavrakis who at the time was an employee of ...

label. recorded with Andrew Denison & Ian Potterton. In 1987 Oxley attempted to revive the

name with a new line-up, as older brother Peter, Bilson and Burgman were all playing in other bands. The new line-up of Sunnyboys released a studio album ''

Wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

'' and three singles. The band retired early due to an accident damaging Oxley's hand. Recovering in early 1990s, Oxley re-formed the original Sunnyboys line-up for a re-union in 1991 and subsequent reformation tour and released a

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

album, ''

Play the Best ''Play the Best'' is the first greatest hits album by the Australian power pop group, Sunnyboys. It was released in July 1991 and peaked at number 75 on the ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, iss ...

'' in July 1991.

1992-2007: Solo

In 1992, Oxley began to tour under the name Jeremy Oxley Band and in 1992, released his debut EP ''A Little Bit of You in Me'' as Jeremy 'Ponytail' Oxley. Shortly thereafter, Oxley suffered a recurrence of a previous illness, which effectively halted his work in music.

1998-present: Reformation of Sunnyboys

In November 1998 The Sunnyboys reformed for the Mushroom 25 Concert at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...

to celebrate the 25th anniversary of

, organised by

Michael Gudinski Michael Solomon Gudinski AM (22 August 1952 – 2 March 2021) was an Australian record executive and promoter who was a leading figure in the Australian music industry. Born and raised in Melbourne to Jewish Russian immigrants, Gudinski forme ...

. Between 1998 and 2008, Oxley composed two unreleased albums, ''Sanctuary 9'', and ''Monastery''. In 2008, Jeremy found love and moved to Queensland. The couple have since married. In April 2012, the Sunnyboys original line-up played as part of the Dig It Up concert series and have continued to tour periodically since. In 2019, Sunnyboys celebrated 40 year since the release of their self-titled debut extended play with a '' 40'' album and tour.

Discography

Extended plays

References

External links

Sunnyboys website
Not running

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxley, Jeremy 1961 births Living people Australian guitarists Australian alternative rock musicians Australian songwriters Australian male singers People with schizophrenia Australian male guitarists