Biography
Wendy Matthews established herself as one of Australia’s premier solo vocalists after spending years providing backing vocals for leading local acts.
Having departed her native Montreal at seventeen to perform on the streets throughout the United States and Canada, she eventually settled in Los Angeles. In 1983 she supplied backing vocals during Glenn Shorrock’s solo Australian tour and chose to remain in the country, quickly becoming a sought-after session singer in Sydney whose voice appeared on numerous advertising jingles. In 1985 she contributed backing vocals to the Models’ album Out of Mind Out of Sight and joined the group on a semi-permanent basis while also recording with Jimmy Barnes, Tim Finn, Richard Clapton, and Icehouse.
In 1987 Matthews joined Kate Ceberano for the ABC-TV soundtrack to the series Stringer; the resulting album You’ve Always Got the Blues appeared the following year and reached number four on the national charts. She next lent her voice to the debut releases of the Rockmelons and Peter Blakeley before helping assemble Absent Friends, whose number-one single “I Don’t Wanna Be With Nobody But You” and album Here’s Looking Up Your Address both enjoyed strong success.
Following the band’s touring commitments, Matthews entered the studio for her first solo project, Émigré, which drew on contributions from Absent Friends members Sean Kelly, Roger Mason, Garry Gary Beers, James Valentine, and Mick King as well as Tim Finn and Peter Blakeley. The album earned her the ARIA Awards for Best Female Artist and Best Debut Single (“Token Angels”) in 1990, and readers of Rolling Stone voted her Best Female Singer that same year.
A national tour ensued, after which she issued the live mini-album The Way It Has to Be in October 1991 and supported the Neville Brothers. Later that year she recorded her second studio album, Lily, which was released in October 1992 while she opened for Simply Red; the record achieved double-platinum status with sales exceeding 140,000 copies. Matthews again received the ARIA for Best Female Artist plus Best Single (“The Day You Went Away”) in 1992 and claimed Best Female Artist for a third consecutive time at the 1993 ceremony.
Her next studio effort, The Witness Tree, appeared at the close of 1994. She maintained an active touring schedule at home and abroad before releasing her fifth album, Ghost, in 1997, followed by Beautiful View in 2001 and Café Naturale in 2004.
Having departed her native Montreal at seventeen to perform on the streets throughout the United States and Canada, she eventually settled in Los Angeles. In 1983 she supplied backing vocals during Glenn Shorrock’s solo Australian tour and chose to remain in the country, quickly becoming a sought-after session singer in Sydney whose voice appeared on numerous advertising jingles. In 1985 she contributed backing vocals to the Models’ album Out of Mind Out of Sight and joined the group on a semi-permanent basis while also recording with Jimmy Barnes, Tim Finn, Richard Clapton, and Icehouse.
In 1987 Matthews joined Kate Ceberano for the ABC-TV soundtrack to the series Stringer; the resulting album You’ve Always Got the Blues appeared the following year and reached number four on the national charts. She next lent her voice to the debut releases of the Rockmelons and Peter Blakeley before helping assemble Absent Friends, whose number-one single “I Don’t Wanna Be With Nobody But You” and album Here’s Looking Up Your Address both enjoyed strong success.
Following the band’s touring commitments, Matthews entered the studio for her first solo project, Émigré, which drew on contributions from Absent Friends members Sean Kelly, Roger Mason, Garry Gary Beers, James Valentine, and Mick King as well as Tim Finn and Peter Blakeley. The album earned her the ARIA Awards for Best Female Artist and Best Debut Single (“Token Angels”) in 1990, and readers of Rolling Stone voted her Best Female Singer that same year.
A national tour ensued, after which she issued the live mini-album The Way It Has to Be in October 1991 and supported the Neville Brothers. Later that year she recorded her second studio album, Lily, which was released in October 1992 while she opened for Simply Red; the record achieved double-platinum status with sales exceeding 140,000 copies. Matthews again received the ARIA for Best Female Artist plus Best Single (“The Day You Went Away”) in 1992 and claimed Best Female Artist for a third consecutive time at the 1993 ceremony.
Her next studio effort, The Witness Tree, appeared at the close of 1994. She maintained an active touring schedule at home and abroad before releasing her fifth album, Ghost, in 1997, followed by Beautiful View in 2001 and Café Naturale in 2004.
Albums
You've Always Got the Blues (Music from the ABC TV Series 'Stringer')
2020
She
2008
The Essential
2007
Cafe Naturale
2004
Beautiful View
2001
Day By Day
2000
Stepping Stones: The Best of Wendy Matthews
1999
Ghosts
1997
The Witness Tree
1994
Standing Strong
1994
VI
1993
Friday's Child
1993
Lily
1992
Emigre
1990
Live
