Swanee - 1984 - Days Gone By FLAC

01 Crazy Dreams 
02 Tough at the Top 
03 Temporary Heartache 
04 Tin Soldier 
05 If I Were a Carpenter
06 Mathew 
07 Motordown Tonight 
08 Ol' Rosie 
09 Sail Away 
10 Lady,What's Your Name 
11 Days Gone By 
12 Beware of the Animal  






 John Swan, more commonly known as Swanee, was born John Archibold Dixon Swan in 1952 in Glasgow, Scotland. He came to Australia with his family in 1961 and is the only one of his siblings to keep his natural fathers surname. He is the older brother of Jimmy Barnes and the uncle of David Campbell.

Swanee started his musical career as a drummer in the band Happiness before moving on to other bands such as Fraternity, Feather and Cold Chisel. He branched out on his own, under the name Swanee, in 1979, releasing the album “Into The Night”. His first commercial hit was in 1981 with his version of “If I Were A Carpenter” off the album “This Time Is Different” which featured two other hits, “Temporary Heartache” and “Lady What’s Your Name”

In 1987 he replaced angry Anderson as lead singer in Paul Christie’s “Party Boys” where he had another hit with “He’s Gonna Step on You Again” and then “Hold Your Head Up”. He left the band around 1989 to again pursue a solo career that still persists today.

Swanee - 1980 - Into The Night

Tough At The Top/Falling/Where Are You Now/Ol' Rosie/Mathew/Beware Of The Animal/We'll Find A Way/Linda/Darkness/The Old Rockers/Someday


John Swan was born John Archibold Dixon Swan in Glasgow, Scotland. He moved with his family to Australia when he was a child and settled in Elizabeth in South Australia. John left school at age 13 and joined a band as a drummer. He also sings, plays the The Harp, Banjo and Mandolin. John is a fan of Blue's music.

He joined the army where he gained the title of South Australian Amateur Boxing Champion. He is the older brother of rock singer Jimmy Barnes and the uncle of singer and stage performer David Campbell.

He has played in many bands including: Soul Union in 1965, Happiness in 1966, Pulse from1971-1972 with Steve Ball, Adrian Bills, Ben Bishop. Hard Time Killing Floor, Queen 1973, Don Walker, James Wright Band 1973, Cold Chisel 1974 and 1975, Mount Lofty Rangers 1974, Salvation Airforce 1975, Rick Morris, Steve Beleky, Fraternity 1974-1976, Jim Keays' Southern Cross 1975-1976, Feather 1976-1978, Swanee 1978-1985,1990, Roadworks 1986 and Party Boys 1987,1992,1998-1999.

In 1978 John released his first album Into The Night through WEA Records. His first chart success was a rendition of Tim Hardin's If I Were a Carpenter. Followed by the singles Lady What's Your Name and Temporary Heartache. Live in the Snow was recorded for Swanee fans.

John Swan has supported many nationals and international acts including: AC/DC, Joe Cocker, Tina Turner, Deep Purple, Bad Company, 10CC, Robin Trower and Johnny Winter, INXS, Jimmy Barnes, John Farnham, Renee Geyer, Midnight Oil, Marcia Hines, Tommy Emmanuel and many others.


                                                                                      Swanee with younger brother Jimmy Barnes


He was a guest artist with the Newcastle band: The Orphans: members included: Les Gully, Pam Gully, Jeff Dunn, Greg Dawson, Gordon and McLean. Other Members: Ray Arnott, Dennis Butler, Ian Crawford, Tony Heads, Peter Wholohan, Terry Lantrey, Jan Manning, Gil Mouat, Michael Punch, Phil Screen, Michael Stove, Steve Werren, Julie Wilson, Steve Wilson, Kevin Wyatt and Rob Coxon, Special Guests included: John Paul Young, Warren Morgan, John 'Swanee' Swan, Dennis Wilson, Jamie Redfern, Mick Tucker, Bob Spencer, Brett Johnson, Bruce Derkenne, Trevor Parkinson and John.
1986 John Swan featured in an ad for West End Draught, a South Australian beer. The brewer provided financial support to Swanee's tours and he in turn appeared in the company's TV commercials.

 John replaced Angry Anderson as the lead singer of The Party Boy's which was formed in 1983 by Paul Christie of Mondo Rock and they released a self titled album that went number one in 3 weeks. The single He's Gonna Step on You Again and two top 10 hits Hold Your Head Up and Gloria. Party Boys also had success with the Swan and Lancaster song Is This the Way to Say Goodbye.

John Swan in the Party Boys 4th from the left.



John Swan played at The Station Resort Jindabyne NSW Australia with Raiding Party. Members of Raiding Party included: James Davis-keyboard/piano, Brien McVernon-bass, Ian 'Candy' Sandercoe-vocal, Craig 'Rosie' Rosevear-drums and Paul Flaherty-guitar. Later Mark Tinson, Gary Wilson and Steve 'Mac' McLennan.


John has performed on Australia's East Coast as a guest on the Double Trouble Tour, featuring both Deep Purple and Status Quo. He was part of the Countdown Spectacular which toured Australia nationally in September and October of 2006.

He tours with his band Swanee, and has worked on a new album A Little Faith 2007 through Liberation Records. The project was recorded in Nashville and produced by guitarist Mark Moffatt. Musician credits players who have been session players for Garth Brooks, John Fogerty, Billy Joel, Dolly Parton and Shania Twain.

He has been a Session musician on the following releases: Ray Arnott LP Rude Dudes in 1979, Mickey Finn LP Mickey Finn in 1980, Kevin Borich MLP Shy Boys Shy Girls in 1981, Australia Too Single The Garden in 1985, Whispering Jox Single Santa Claus Is Back In Town in 1988, Oz Art For Ozone Single in 1989, The Kelly Gang cd Looking For The Sun in 2004 and Jimmy Barnes cd Double Happiness in 2005.




 

Swanee - 1985 - Bushido

Hasn't Anybody Told You/I'll Fall In Love Again/Turn Away/Surrender/You Oughta Know By Now/Here Comes The Night/Gone For Me/You've Got The Love/Snooze You Lose/One Chain


John Swan AKA Swanee. Firstly a bit of background to the John Swan story. John was born in Glasgow but emigrated to Australia with his family at age 8. His family settled in the tough migrant, working-class Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth, his family of course including younger brother James AKA Jimmy Barnes. Following a short stint in the army, Swan joined Adelaide based blues outfit Hard Time Killing Floor during 1971, as their drummer. But with a set of raucous rock vocal chords, John Swan was soon on a new tour of duty as the lead singer of Adelaide rock outfit Fraternity, replacing one Bon Scott in 1974 (Scott of course going on to front AC/DC). During 1975 younger brother Jimmy briefly took over vocal duties with Fraternity, with Swan relegated to drumming duties. But Fraternity was in its death throws by then, and soon John Swan left to become the drummer with Jim Keay’s Southern Cross, which was immediately followed by an 18 month stint with Feather.
 

Swanee in his feather days 2nd from the right.







The next chapter beyond Feather saw John Swan launch his own band called Swanee in November 1978. Initially playing Led Zeppelin and Bad Company style covers, Swanee quickly built up a strong live following around Sydney. Soon they were incorporating original rock songs like ‘The Road Keeps Moving Sideways’ and ‘Crazy Dreams’, the latter becoming Swanee’s debut single on the WEA label (OZ#68) in late ‘79. The line-up of the band changed markedly over the ensuing year but by late 1980 Swanee’s debut album ‘Into The Night’ (OZ#66) was in the can. The band didn’t yield any more hit singles but featured a solid mix of melodic rock numbers performed by a group of musicians well on top of their game. Guest players on the album included a young guitar ace by the name of Tommy Emmanuel.

The hard work and constant touring finally paid dividends in late 1981 when Swanee released the single ‘If I Were A Carpenter’. The cover of the Tim Hardin penned classic, which John Swan imbued with his own powerful vocal style, rocketed to #5 on the Australian charts and suddenly John Swan was as big on the charts as younger brother Jimmy Barnes’ outfit Cold Chisel (who Swan had once also performed vocals for). The follow up single ‘Samantha’ (OZ#90) missed the mark, but ‘Temporary Heartache’ returned Swanee to the top 20 a few months later (#18). ‘Temporary Heartache’ was featured on Swanee’s second album ‘This Time It’s Different’. A trimmed down line-up of the band recorded the album with contributions again from a string of top notch session players including Renee Geyer on backing vocals, guitarists Kirk Lorange and Tommy Emmanuel, and drummer Mark Kennedy. The album climbed steadily to a peak of #22, with the follow up single ‘Lady What’s Your Name’ scoring Swanee a #13 hit. The piano based love ballad was quite a departure from Swanee’s usual fare, but it did illustrate just how malleable John Swan’s vocals could be.

By the end of 1982 John Swan’s old Feather band mate Stuart Fraser had joined the Swanee line-up , along with ex-Sherbet guitarist Harvey James. In July 1983 they released the power ballad ‘Sail Away’, which though one of Swanee’s strongest songs, only managed to navigate to #52 on the charts. Yet another revamped band cast released the live set ‘Ready For Action - Live In The Snow’ (OZ#31) in late 1983. A couple of low key singles followed, the best of them ‘I’m Ready/Carrie Anne’ released in early 1984 (eventually crawling to #72 later in the year). Swanee concluded his tenure with WEA by releasing a ‘best of’ compilation in late 1984 titled ‘Days Gone By’ (OZ#52).

A new deal with RCA saw the release of the album ‘Bushido’ (OZ#73) in April 1985, but the singles ‘You Oughta Know Me By Now’ and ‘Turn Away’ indicated that the record buying public had largely turned away from Swanee’s music. ‘Bushido’ was essentially a solo album for John Swan, though still under the name Swanee, with another stellar roster of session players recruited for the project (among the backing vocalists on the album were Renee Geyer and future Noiseworks’ vocalist Jon Stevens).

In early 1987 John Swan joined the line-up of the ever popular Party Boys (see future post). His tenure with the Party Boys coincided with the cover band’s most commercially successful period, including their #1 cover of the John Kongas song ‘He’s Gonna Step On You Again’. He fronted the band on their support slot for AC/DC’s 1988 Australian tour - kind of a full circle journey given Swan’s original gig replacing Bon Scott in Fraternity. He revived his solo career with the 1989 single ‘Lucille’ for Mushroom (which I purchased on cassingle) and the 1990 single ‘Blood Is Thicker Than Water’ (which I bought on vinyl 45), both under the name Swanee. In 1997 Swanee released the album ‘Heart And Soul’ on the East West indie label, and toured once more, albeit briefly, with the party Boys in the late 90s. In 2005 he recorded the song ‘What Will They Say’ with brother Jimmy Barnes, from Barnes’ album ‘Double Happiness’, and most recently released the album ‘Have A Little Faith’ (2007).
 

One of the most gifted vocalists to grace the Australian music scene, John Swan has maintained an active involvement over the last decade in a number of capacities. He’s a regular of the music festival circuit, is involved with a number of charitable causes and lectures at the JMC Music Academy.