COLLINS Andy (Sugarcane)

All the way from Cape York in the hot and humid tropical far north of Australia, where the rainforest meets the reef and where there are only two seasons, wet and dry, comes Andy "Sugarcane" Collins. With fire and skill and passion and commitment, Sugarcane plays his acoustic guitars with a driving rhythmic swing and sings powerfully with the big heart of a bluesman. Inspired by the slashing delta blues of Charley Patton & Son House, the joyous ragtime guitar of Blind Blake and the powerful songster traditions of Leadbelly, his songs are filled with deep emotional content and like the best of the early bluesmen, Collins is an exceptional storyteller. He had been first drawn to the Irish based traditional music of his homeland, but the blues, when he found it, was stronger and darker and ultimately, held more fascination. His early years were divided between the city and life on a small dairy farm in the bush. When his father gave him his first guitar at the age of seven and Collins instinctively started sliding his pocket knife up and down the strings, his future life as a travelling bluesman was all but sealed.

He hit the road at eighteen and found himself way up north in Cairns, Queensland in the late 70s at the peak of the Barbary Coast days, where in the wild stretch of waterfront pubs, boozing and brawling were given equal opportunity. You either learnt how to fight or play well enough to please the fishermen, canecutters, miners, bikers and all manner of desperado who drifted around the north when Cairns was a sugarcane town and the end of the road on the east coast of Australia. Collins survived this baptism of fire and was soon in demand for his raw soulful interpretations of the old southern country bluesmen he so reveres. He put together the three piece Lake Street Sheiks and other small groups, but it was in the six piece Barron River Drifters that he tasted his first major success. Appearing all over the far north, Collins and his band were legendary for their unique bluesy sound, outstanding musicianship and dynamic, high powered performances.

Leaving the band behind, Collins hit the road again and in 1992 went to Europe where he started working on his songwriting and performing solo again under the name of Black Cat Tail. Returning to Australia he records and releases his impressive debut album of original material Barron Delta Blue which spawns the catchy hit song 'Pascoe River', gets two tracks on EMI compilation albums, receives tremendous radio airplay in Australia and around the world and is honoured with a song of the year and two album of the year awards. Described by Mike Daly of The Age as "one of 1999's best Australian releases" the album chronicles his life in the wild far north. In 2003 Collins followed the phenomenal success of his first CD with the outstanding double album Lake Street Serenade. At the Queensland Recording Association "Sunnie" Awards, the highest honours given for recording and songwriting in Queensland, songs on Lake Street Serenade receive a record 12 nominations, win three "Sunnie" awards, and Collins is acknowledged as a major talent when he's crowned the Queensland Songwriter of the Year 2004.

Whilst appearing at many of Australia's major music festivals, Sugarcane has always had his sights set on international success and in the summer of 2005 made his first solo tour of the USA. Sharing the stage with Coco Montoya and WC Clark at the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival, jamming with Pinetop Perkins in Illinois, appearing on the legendary King Biscuit Time Show with "Sunshine" Sonny Payne on Radio KFFA in Helena Arkansas and singing in the streets of Clarksdale Mississippi during the Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival, Sugarcane's powerful emotive voice, superb original compositions and hard driving acoustic guitar were the backbone and trademark of his dynamic live performances and herald the emergence of an exciting new talent on the national and international blues scene.

In March of 2006 Sugarcane Collins released his much anticipated third solo album WAY DOWN THE RIVER in the USA and backed it up with the very successful three month 'Got A Story To Tell' Tour which started in New Orleans and finished up in Los Angeles. Says Sugarcane "American audiences really responded to the power and passion of my voice, the variety and dexterity of my guitar styles and the honesty and intensity of my overall stage performance. The Australian accent didn't hurt either!"

WAY DOWN THE RIVER has an Australian /Rest of the World release scheduled for November 2006 in Cairns. With a fascination for the acoustic bluesmen of the 20s & 30s this astonishing new album resonates with a rich imagery plumbed from deep within the rhythms of life in the Mississippi Delta. With moody production and sparse arrangements Sugarcane conjures up the cotton fields and baptist churches, the smoke-choked juke joints and gutbuckets, the freight trains, prison cells, dirt roads and street corners of the south that gave birth to the blues.

The response to WAY DOWN THE RIVER from the Blues community in the USA has been absolutely sensational.

CDs include:
Way Down the River (2006)
Lake St Serenade (2003)

Reference: http://www.australianbluesmusic.com.au/Artists/AndySugarcaneCollins.aspx  Downloaded 11 May 2012

BROWNE Reginal Spencer

Reginald Spencer Browne CB (13 July 1856 – 9 November 1943) was a journalist, newspaper editor, and an Australian Army Brigadier General in World War I.

Early life and career

Reginald Spencer Browne (a.k.a. Browne, R. Spencer; Browne, Spencer; Spencer-Browne, Reginald) was born at Oaklands, Appin, New South Wales on 13 July 1856, the son of a pastoralist. His father, also born in Australia, was a superintending officer of yeomanry. Browne was educated at Appin, Corowa and in England. He became journalist, working for several newspapers including the Albury Banner and the Deniliquin Pastoral Times, before becoming sub editor of the Townsville Herald in 1877, editor of the Cooktown Herald in 1878 and editor of the Brisbane Observer in 1881. In 1882 Browne joined the Brisbane Courier, and stayed there nearly all of his working life, until 1936.

Browne joined the Queensland Mounted Infantry in 1887 and was commissioned a lieutenant. During the shearers strike of 1891, Browne took commanded a flying column which put down the strike; he took part in these actions even though he was sympathetic to the unions cause. Browne was promoted to captain in 1891 and then to major in 1896.

Browne volunteered for service in South Africa during the Second Boer War, and sailed in November 1899 with the 1st Queensland Contingent. For his services, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB), awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal with five clasps, and was mentioned in despatches. Browne returned to Australia in November 1900.

In 1903 Browne became commanding officer of the 13th Light Horse Regiment with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Then in 1906 he became the commander of the 5th Light Horse Brigade and was promoted to full colonel. He then transferred onto the list of Reserve of Officers in 1911.

World War I

Browne joined the First Australian Imperial Force on 16 March 1915 as commander of the 4th Light Horse Brigade. This brigade was sent to Egypt, but was dismounted and broke up on 26 August 1915. Browne's new unit, the 13th Light Horse Regiment, was assigned to the newly formed 2nd Division, with which it served at Anzac Cove.

On 28 August 1915, Browne was appointed officer commanding Australian Details Egypt, responsible for training reinforcements. In September Major General Legge sent for him to replace the commander of the 6th Infantry Brigade who had drowned following the torpedoing of the troop transport Southland. Browne took over the brigade on 8 September 1915 and served at Lone Pine and Quinn's Post, but at the age of 59 the rigours of the campaign combined with his age began to take its toll. Nonetheless he stayed until he was evacuated on 10 December 1915.

On his return to Egypt, Browne was transferred to the Training and General Base Depot at Tel el Kebir. He was promoted to temporary brigadier general on 16 March 1916 and appointed to command the Depot on 20 March 1916. During 1915 he had published The Heroic Serbians, for which he was awarded the Serbian Red Cross. When the Base moved to England, Browne went with it, taking command of the Training Depots in England on 14 June 1916. On 25 July 1916, his command was abolished and merged into AIF depots in the United Kingdom under Major General Newton James Moore. Browne took charge of the 2nd Command Depot at Weymouth, England; this unit was responsible for taking in men "unfit for service within six months" and therefore to be returned home.

On 12 October 1917, Browne was declared medically unfit and listed for return to Australia. He took a visit to France, and then left for Australia on 24 November 1917. On 10 February 1918, Browne was appointed to command the new Molonglo Concentration Camp near Canberra, where German internees were held. Browne was demobilized on 17 December 1918, and was formally retired on 20 October 1921 as an honorary major general.

Post-war

For two years (1921–1922) Browne was State president of the Queensland branch of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia. From 1925 to 1927, he contributed weekly articles to the Courier on his memories of people and events in 19th century Queensland. These were collected and published as A Journalist's Memories in 1927. The book is considered a reliable source of much information on the history and legends of Queensland.

Personal

In 1881 Browne moved to Brisbane and married Violet Edith Fanny Sutton of Maryborough on 13 October. She died soon afterwards. On 7 August 1889 he had married Catherine Fraser Munro (d.1942), a noted musician and amateur actress. He had been interested primarily in pastimes like polo, shooting and fishing, but henceforth shared wide cultural interests with his wife.

He died, childless, in Brisbane on 9 November 1943, and was cremated.

Publications

• Romances of goldfield and bush by R. Spencer Browne, London : Gordon and Gotch, 1890.
• The heroic Serbians : an appeal for help by Spencer Browne, Weymouth : Sherren, 1916, 1917, 1918.
• A Journalist's Memories by Spencer Browne, Brisbane : Read Press, 1927.
• The men of Queensland / Stanley Bruce Kennard: notes and recollections by Spencer Browne, Brisbane : H.J. Diddams, 1927.[7]
• The sheep industry by Spencer Browne, Brisbane, 1942.
• Brisbane Theatre of the Old Days by Reginald Spencer Browne, in In The Early Days by J.J. Knight, n.d.
• Foundation of the Brisbane Courier by Reginald Spencer Browne, n.d.

Manuscripts

• George Essex Evans: an appreciation by Spencer Browne, 1931. "Address delivered at Essex Evans Memorial, Toowoomba, 18 June 1931."
• Songs of the sixties by Spencer Browne, [1940-41?]. "A lecture delivered at...on...with musical accompaniments provided by Mrs Spencer Browne."

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Spencer_Browne  Downloaded 1 June 2012

BARBARY COASTERS

Nikki LOWMASS and Vance FAHEY - One of Cairns longest running musical partnerships, formed in 1988 and named after the infamous Barbary Coast waterfront of early Cairns. Their album 'Follow Your Dreams' was the first CD produced in Cairns, utilizing the best local session musicians and receiving critical acclaim throughout the State, they quickly became one of the busiest acts on the road in FNQ and remain so to this day! Nowadays Barbary Coasters are established as a highly professional unit, playing to a wide variety of audiences and venues. They have also established a large and loyal following of 'Parrotheads'( fans of the music of Jimmy Buffett, whose songs portray the Utopian tropical lifestyle of boats, bars and beaches) who now phlock to what have become sell-out events known as Parrothead Parties. Reference/s: http://www.entertainmentcairns.com/barbarycoasters Downloaded 9 May 2012

ANU Christine

ANU Christine For the uninitiated, Christine is arguably Australia’s most successful indigenous performer and one of Australia’s most popular recording artiste, backed by an award-winning repertoire spanning across music, theatre, dance, film, television and children’s entertainment. Her illustrious career over two decades boasts of platinum albums, sell-out musicals, Hollywood blockbusters, and high-profiled collaborations with showbiz and musical luminaries such as Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge), Paul Kelly and David Atkins. Five solo albums later, Christine pulls out all the stops with the formation of Stylin Up Entertainment, a collective focused on developing and producing new media brands that are proudly Australian. This spawned a new genre of children’s entertainment branded as Chrissy’s Island Family, adding another ARIA nomination to her many awards she has received over her career. BUSINESS WOMAN My Island Home may have propelled Christine Anu into the annals of Australian music history but nearly 15 years later, Christine is channelling her knowledge and experiences of the Australian entertainment industry into creating uniquely Australian entertainment brands through her company Stylin Up Entertainment, a collaboration between Christine and manager Jason Williamson. Stylin Up Entertainment brands include Chrissy’s Island Family, Ladies Of Jazz, and Women Of Soul. MOTIVATION Christine Anu is an exceptional public speaker who inspires from the heart and motivates people of all ages and from all walks of life. Christine shares stories from her humble beginnings in the Torres Strait Islands, on cultural hardship, family as well as the twists and turns of a career that spans across music, theatre, dance, film, television and children’s entertainment. Christine resonates with people and provides a real community focus while delivering key messages in all kinds of arenas and platforms—charity, community, cultural, education, entertainment and politics. STAGE AND SCREEN Away from the recording studio, Christine Anu has carved out a notable stage, TV and film career with a staple of widely-acclaimed appearances and production headliners includingThe Sapphires, Little Shop Of Horrors, Dating The Enemy, Matrix Reloaded, Moulin Rouge, Wildside, East West 101, The Alice, Play School, Rainbow End and RENT. Turning down a golden opportunity to reprise her Green Room award winning role as Mimi on Broadway to focus on her second album was a testament to Christine’s single-minded passion and dedication to her craft. TOURING Christine Anu has toured Australia many times in a variety of configurations — solo, duet, music and art festivals, musicals and concept tours. She has also taken her performances worldwide to places like Bahrain, New York, Los Angeles, Papa New Guinea, Germany, London and the Pacific Islands. Christine’s audience ranges from world leaders to royalty, from famous celebrities to the sick and the homeless, both in Australia and internationally. Reference/s:http://christineanu.com.au/biography/ Downloaded 10 May 2012