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Jon English
 

 

Jon English is one of few Australian performers who has successfully combined a career in music, television and stage. He began his career singing and playing guitar in a number of small bands during the late sixties and early seventies.

Things might have remained this way forever - as it does for many others - had he not taken his first career risk and auditioned for Harry M Miller's first production of "Jesus Christ Superstar". Something obviously went right as he was given the prestigious and demanding lead role of Judas. That first chance - taken "just to see what an audition was like" - was to set the tone for the rest of his career. "Jesus Christ Superstar" ran for five years and took him all over Australia andNew Zealand.

During this time Jon recorded four albums and had hits such as "Handbags and Gladrags", "Turn the Page" (his first number one) and "Hollywood Seven". At the sametime, he appeared in guest roles on popular television drama shows including "No. 96","Matlock Police", and the Homicide tele-movie, "Stopover".

He received a Penguin best actor award nomination for his role in "Stopover". This was to be the first of many awards.

Throughout the seventies Jon remained in the public eye as an actor and musician. He sang the role of Ned on the soundtrack of the rock opera "Ned Kelly". He starred in the play "Bacchoi", co-wrote a ballet called "Phases" and wrote a regular column for a major newspaper. He produced his old band's first album - "Four Moments by Sebastian Hardie", which became one ofAustralia's most successful albums of its style. The seventies culminated with Jon's third number one hit single, "Words are not Enough".

Jon toured with Bryan Ferry and Thin Lizzy and headlined his own shows. He won an ARIA award for best male vocal performance for "Turn the Page" and was voted RAM magazine's best male singer on three separate occasions. He took a break from the rock music scene for a while when he appeared as Jonathan Garrett in the television mini-series, "Against the Wind". The series has since been touted the most successful Australian mini-series ever. Its last episode scored rating of 49's - a rare achievement then, unheard of now.

Jon, in partnership with Mario Millo, wrote all the incidental music for Against the Wind. He also wrote the theme song, Six Ribbons, which became a number one hit in more than six countries. The album for the series sold more than a million copies worldwide. Jon became one of few performers to win a Logie for best actor and a TV Week/Countdown award for best male vocalist in the same year.

His best-of album, English History, made history by becoming the largest selling double album inAustralia. In the eighties Jon's career broadened overseas. He headlined with his band, The Foster Brothers, inEurope as well as at home. InNorway he won the award for best concert by a visiting artist over such acts as Bruce Springsteen.

He toured with the legendary American band,Chicago, and was invited toLos Angeles to perform withTower ofPower. Jon's first collaboration with producer David Mackay was in 1982 on his album Some People Have All the Fun. The title track became another hit single. This collaboration also saw the beginnings of a partnership that would eventually give birth to the highly successful opera,Paris. During this time Jon continued touring pubs and clubs constantly and won the Mo Award for Entertainer of the Year on three separate occasions.

Jon stopped touring briefly to appear as the Pirate King alongside Marina Prior, Simon Gallaher and June Bronhill in the Victorian State Opera's production of Pirates of Penzance. As Pirate King he won the Melbourne Critic's Green Room Award on two occasions during the season.

He also shared an AFI award with Renee Geyer for the theme for the movie Street Hero.

In the late eighties Jon took the role of the mad monk Rasputin in the show of the sam ename. This production, although controversial at the time, served to fire Jon's ambition to write his own show,Paris, based on the Trojan wars.

He left Rasputin and travelled toEngland to again work with David Mackay determined to complete what would become a virtual magnum opus.

For the next three years Jon focused on this ambition. The only break he took was to play the role of Cameron Daddo's father in theSydney production ofBigRiver. Afterthis, he finally recorded the finished production ofParis.

Paris is the largest selling box set CD inAustralia and the largest selling original Australian musical. It won an ARIA award for the best cast album and features artists such as The London Symphony Orchestra, Barry Humphries, Doc Neeson, John Waters, Demis Roussos, Francis Rossi, Phillip Quast, Terry Donovan, John Parr and Harry Nilsson.

Jon planned a break after theParis recording- those plans were short lived. He took on the lead role of Bobby Rivers in the television sitcom All Together Now.

The show, about a faded seventies rock star who discovers parenthood late in life, lasted for 3 years and over a hundred episodes. Jon wrote the theme song and was musical director for the series. All Together Now has been sold in over thirty countries, and is currently in reruns inAustralia.

Jon worked alongside Simon Gallaher again in 1994 when Simon produced an updated version of Pirates of Penzance.

With Jon again as the Pirate King, the show played to sell-out crowds aroundAustralia and grossed over ten million dollars at the box office. The ABC produced video of Pirateshas sold double platinum and the live album won the ARIA award for best cast album. This ARIA brought Jon's personal tally to four.

The success of Pirates of Penzance led to plans to follow up with another two Gilbert &Sullivan classics - The Mikado and HMS Pinafore. With Jon again cast in the lead roles, both shows opened to critical and public acclaim touring extensively throughout New Zealand and Australia until Pinafore finally closed the phenomenally successful 'trilogy' in Perth on October 5th, 1997.

Just a short breath later and Jon embarked on a new tour of his own show Turn the Page which ran from 1997 right through to June '98.

Still not content to take a break, in August of '98 Jon started rehearsing for a new production of the hilarious theatre farce "Noises Off".

He spent the rest of 1997 touringAustralia, to much acclaim for his comic ability in the famous Michael Frayn comedy. But not even the sublimeSydney summer can keep Jon from working.

After Noises Off Jon took Turn The Page back to the road for another six months before re-establishing his partnership with EssGee productions to undertake the strenuous and pivotal role of Prologus in the great Broadway musical A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.

This incredible tour played to rave reviews for Jon and lasted until July in 1999 finishing a grinding round of Australian andNew Zealand major venues.

Currently, Jon has started work on another tour of Turn The Page this time with new material and different staging. He's also finishing off a beloved project, Buskers and Angels, which toured Sept thru Oct 2000 to great reviews. 2001 saw Jon touring "In Concert" once again around the country. The "Buskers & Angels" and "English History 2"are available here.

Talented, versatile, intelligent, driven by his love for his work and music, Jon is one ofAustralia's most successful recording and performing artists, a prolific songwriter, experienced screen composer and a popular actor with wide community recognition and critical acclaim.

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