Wa Wa Nee was a 1980s Australian

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

band.

Career

Singer/songwriter Paul Gray and guitarist Steve Williams formed the band in 1982. They were joined by Geoff Lundren (bass), Elizabeth Lord (keyboards, backing vocals) and Chris Sweeney (drums) and signed with

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...

in 1985. Mark Gray, Paul's brother, and Phil Witchett joined the group soon after and their debut single "

Stimulation Stimulation is the encouragement of development or the cause of activity in general. For example, "The press provides stimulation of political discourse." An interesting or fun activity can be described as "stimulating", regardless of its physic ...

" was released in April 1986. The song peaked at number 2 in Australia. " I Could Make You Love Me" was released in August 1986 and peaked at number 5. In November 1986, Wa Wa Nee released their debut self-titled album which peaked at number 29 in Australia. Two more singles were released from the album, " Sugar Free" in December 1986 gave the band a third Australian Top 10 hit, and " One and One (Ain't I Good Enough)" in April 1987 which peaked inside the Top 20. "Sugar Free" was released in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in July 1987 and peaked at number 35 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song featured in the film, ''

Cassandra Cassandra or Kassandra (; , , sometimes referred to as Alexandra; ) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecy, prophecies but never to be believed. In modern usage her name is e ...

''. "Stimulation" was released as the follow-up single where it peaked at number 86. It was featured in the film '' Satisfaction''. In 1987, a remix album, titled '' Ulta Mixes'' was released. During the recording of the second studio album in 1988, keyboardist Phil Witchett died. In November 1988, " Can't Control Myself" was released as the lead single from the band's second studio album. The song peaked at number 31. Their second studio album, '' Blush'' was released in May 1989, and included two more hit singles, " So Good" and " I Want You". However, the album's commercial performance was disappointing, and the group disbanded later in 1989.

Later works

After the dissolution of Wa Wa Nee, bassist Mark Gray went on to work with Tania Bowra Band, with

James Reyne James Michael Nugent Reyne Order of Australia, OAM (born 19 May 1957) is an Australian musician. He achieved fame as the lead singer of Australian Crawl, and subsequently went on to a successful solo career. Biography Early years Reyne was born ...

and

Indecent Obsession Indecent Obsession (also known as Obsession) were an Australian pop rock band formed in early 1987 in Brisbane with founding mainstays Daryl Sims on drums and Michael Szumowski on keyboards. By 1988, the line-up also included Andrew Coyne on l ...

. After Wa Wa Nee, Steve Williams was asked by Paul Christie to join

The Party Boys The Party Boys was an Australian rock supergroup with a floating membership commencing in 1982. Created by Mondo Rock's bass guitarist, Paul Christie, with founding member Kevin Borich (ex– La De Da's, Kevin Borich Express) as a part-time ...

performing on the single ' Do Wah Diddy'. Williams toured in James Freud's band and with

Richard Clapton Richard Clapton (born 18 May 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist and producer. His solo top 20 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart are " Girls on the Avenue" (1975) and " I Am an Island" (1982). He reached the top& ...

. Williams moved to Europe and soon found a new passion, teaching music. After returning to Australia, he was sought after, performing with the likes of Swanee,

Ray Parker Jr Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed Ghostbusters (song), the theme song for the 1984 film ''Ghostbusters'' and also sounds from the anim ...

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 ...

Lee Kernaghan Lee Kernaghan OAM (born 15 April 1964) is an Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. Kernaghan has won four ARIA Awards and three APRA Awards, and has sold over two million albums, and as of 2021, has won 38 Golden Guitars ...

, and

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 ...

. Williams soon became a long time member of Australian

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

band Zep Boys and a mainstay in Choirboys with

Mark Gable Mark Dixon Kitchen (born 8 September 1950), known professionally as Mark Gable, is an Australian musician who serves as the frontman and a founding member of the rock band The Choirboys (band), The Choirboys. The band was formed in Sydney in 197 ...

. In 2006, he worked with the

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is a South Australian orchestra based in Adelaide, established in 1936. The orchestra's primary performance venue is the Adelaide Town Hall, but the ASO also performs in other venues. It provides the orchest ...

(ASO) and in 2008 accompanied the ASO and

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

Jon Lord John Douglas "Jon" Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English keyboardist and composer. In 1968, Lord co-founded the hard rock band Deep Purple. Lord performed on most of the band's most popular songs; he and drummer Ian Paice were the only ...

for an Australian tour. He has also been invited to perform for Australian touring musical productions of

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was written by Sharman and Richard O ...

, The Man from Snowy River, Singin In The Rain and Elvis The Musical. He currently tours with Matt Finish and is a member of Absolutely 80s featuring

Brian Mannix Brian Mannix (born 7 October 1961 in Melbourne) is an Australian rock music singer and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of 1980s band Uncanny X-Men. He was a regular on television quiz show '' Spicks and Specks''. Career 1981–1987: ...

(Uncanny X-Men),

Ally Fowler Alexandra Fowler (born 6 December 1961) is an Australian actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Angela Hamilton in ''Sons and Daughters (Australian TV series), Sons and Daughters'' (1982–1984), Zoe Davis in ''Neighbours'' (1986) an ...

(Chantoozies) and many others. In 2022, Williams was inducted into the South Australian Music Hall of Fame. Paul Gray worked with

Deni Hines Dohnyale Sharon "Deni" Hines (born 4 September 1970) is an Australian singer who has been releasing music since the early 1980s, with chart success in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Europe. She is the daughter of American-born Australian sing ...

, CDB,

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 ...

Tina Arena Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena (born 1 November 1967) is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, musical theatre actress and record producer. She is one of Australia's highest-selling artists and has sold over 10 million records worldwid ...

and Bardot as a

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

player,

musical director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

, songwriter and producer. He appeared in the

Countdown Spectacular The ''Countdown Spectacular'' is a series of concerts reviving the nostalgia of the Australian music television series '' Countdown''. Countdown Spectacular The first tour was staged from June to August 2006. It featured mainly Australian artists ...

2 concert series in Australia between late August and early September 2007 as a performer and musical director. He sang two songs: "Stimulation" and "Sugar Free". He also appeared with 80s Enuff and Idols of the 80s. He performed Wa Wa Nee hits on 28 March 2010, at a fundraiser for the children of Jenin, a devastated area of the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. All funds went directly to the building of a pre-school in the area. He performed at local music venues in Melbourne in 2010, with fellow 1980s hitmakers, Scott Carne (

Kids in the Kitchen Kids in the Kitchen are an Australian Pop music, pop and new wave music, new wave band which formed in 1983. They enjoyed chart success with four top-20 hits on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, "Change in Mood" (1983), "Bitter Des ...

) and Brian Mannix (Uncanny X-Men). Paul Gray supported

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female rock bands of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a sol ...

on some dates of her 2011 Australian Tour. Wa Wa Nee also supported

Rick Astley Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer, radio DJ and podcaster. He gained fame through his association with the production trio Stock Aitken Waterman, releasing the 1987 album ''Whenever You Need Somebody'', which sol ...

during his 2012 and 2014 tour of Australia. Paul Gray died of

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibody, antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone ...

on 24 April 2018, aged 54. The news was announced by his brother and fellow band member, Mark. In 2023, Steve Williams launched a new band celebrating the songs of Wa Wa Nee, ''Steve Williams Plays Wa Wa Nee''.

Discography

Studio albums

Remix and compilation 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="4" ,

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, "Stimulation" , Highest Selling Single , , - , themselves , Best New Talent , , - , Paul Gray – Wa Wa Nee
("Stimulation", "I Could Make You Love Me") , Best Songwriter , , - , Jim Tait for ''Wa Wa Nee'' by Wa Wa Nee , Engineer of the Year ,

Countdown Australian Music Awards

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine ''

TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...

''. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards. , - , rowspan="4" , 1986 , ''Wa Wa Nee'' , Best Debut Album , , - , "Stimulation" , Best Debut Single , , - , rowspan="2" , themselves , Best Debut Act , , - , Most Popular Australian Group ,

References

External links

* Wa Wa Neeat

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wa Wa Nee Australian new wave musical groups Australian pop music groups Australian funk musical groups Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1989 1982 establishments in Australia 1989 disestablishments in Australia