Grace Knight
Birth nameGrace Ethel Knight
Born (1955-12-23) 23 December 1955
Manchester, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1976–present
Labels
Websitegraceknight.com.au

Grace Ethel Knight (born 23 December 1955) is an English-born Australian vocalist and songwriter. During the 1980s she was a mainstay of pop group Eurogliders which formed in Perth, Western Australia.[1][2] Knight later became a solo jazz singer and musician based in Sydney.[3] In 1984, Eurogliders released an Australian top ten album, This Island,[4] which spawned their No. 2 hit single, "Heaven (Must Be There)".[4] "Heaven" also peaked at No. 21 on the United States' Billboard Mainstream Rock charts and appeared on the Hot 100.[5][6] The song, written by Eurogliders' guitarist, Bernie Lynch,[7] and vocals by Knight, was their only hit in United States.[8] Knight and Lynch married in 1985 but separated soon after.[1][3] Another Australian top ten album, Absolutely,[4] followed for Eurogliders in 1985, which provided three further local top ten singles, "We Will Together", "The City of Soul" and "Can't Wait to See You".[4]

Since Eurogliders disbanded in 1989, Knight has had a successful career as a jazz singer.[1][3] Knight made a cameo appearance in the 1990 TV series Come In Spinner[9] and sang on its soundtrack, Come in Spinner,[9] recorded with jazz artist Vince Jones,[3] which peaked at No. 4 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) albums charts.[10] This launched a new career for Knight, with her first solo album, Stormy Weather,[3] which peaked at No. 16 in 1991.[10] Other solo albums followed,[3] Gracious in 1993, Live in 1996 and Zeitgeist in 2000. Eurogliders briefly reformed with Lynch and Knight in 2005 to release two additional albums by 2007. Knight returned to her solo career and released Willow in 2008.

Life and career

Grace Knight was born in 1955 in Manchester, England.[11][12] She performed as a cabaret singer in folk clubs from 1976.[13] She competed in a semi-final of a national talent quest as a duo and consequently travelled to Dubai to perform, where she met Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.[14] In 1977, she obtained a gig on a cruise ship to Perth, Western Australia,[13] her set included covering Harry Nilsson's A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night and performed twice a night for six weeks.[14]

Eurogliders (1980–1989)

Knight relocated to Perth, Western Australia, in 1977 where she performed in a number of local bands.[14] She met guitarist and singer Bernie Lynch who fronted a new wave band, Rip Torn and the Stockings, in the late 1970s.[1] They became domestic partners and together formed the band Living Single in 1980 with Crispin Akerman on guitar, Don Meharry on bass guitar, Guy Slingerland on drums and Amanda Vincent on keyboards.[2][15] By 1981, drummer John Bennetts replaced Slingerland and the band changed their name to Eurogliders; domestically, Knight and Lynch had separated.[1][2][15] Eurogliders' second album, This Island, was released in May 1984 and peaked at No. 4 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart.[4] The single "Heaven (Must Be There)", written by Lynch and[7] also released in May, reached No. 2 on the Australian singles charts,[4] No. 65 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 21 on its Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[5][6] The album peaked at No. 140 on the Billboard 200 chart.[16][17]

At the height of the band's success, Knight and Lynch reconciled their relationship and were married in 1985 but the union was short-lived. Despite their marital separation, they stayed together in the band for another four years. In Australia, "Heaven" was followed by three more top 10 hits.[4] Between 1984 and 1986, Eurogliders toured Australia, the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Japan and New Zealand.[15] Further albums followed, but late in 1989, the Eurogliders had a 'hiatus' due to Grace's new found Jazz success.[1][15]

Solo career: 1990–present

After Eurogliders disbanded in 1989, Knight sang backing vocals in the Tania Bowra Band,[3] and made a cameo appearance as Lola, a 1940s night club singer,[14] in the 1990 Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV series Come In Spinner. She also sang on its soundtrack album, Vince Jones & Grace Knight: Come in Spinner,[9] produced by Martin Armiger, recorded with jazz musician Vince Jones with arrangements by William Motzing and Derek Williams. The album earned platinum sales[18] and peaked at No. 4 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) albums charts.[10] It included jazz standards with half the tracks having lead vocals by Jones, including a single, "I've Got You Under My Skin".[3] Two singles with lead vocals by Knight were also released, "The Man I Love" and "Sophisticated Lady",[3] and this started a new career for Knight as a jazz singer. Her first solo album, Stormy Weather, produced by Larry Muhoberac, was released in October 1991 and peaked at No. 16.[10] Her debut solo single, "Fever", was released in September 1991 but did not peak into the top 50 singles charts.[10] At the 1992 ARIA Music Awards, Stormy Weather was nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album and Peter Cobbin was nominated for Engineer of the Year for his work on four of its tracks.[19][20]

Knight's second solo album, Gracious, appeared in November 1993.[3] It contained "big, brassy and busy arrangements of standards" and included work by 43 session musicians.[3] This album also did not peak into the ARIA top 50,[10] but was nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album in 1994.[19] Other solo albums followed, with Live in 1996 and Zeitgeist in 2000.

In November 2002, women of Marin County, California, spelled out the words "No War" with their nude bodies[21] protesting against the proposed invasion of Iraq by a coalition which included Australian troops.[21] This inspired Knight to organise a similar protest in a paddock outside her hometown of Federal near Byron Bay on 8 February 2003.[22][23] Knight justified the protest:

These women came here today because they feel they are being lied to by our Government, and they feel their dissent is not being heard [...] We want to let John Howard know that we are not happy, and if it takes lying naked in a paddock to get the message across so be it.[24]

— Grace Knight, 9 February 2003

Knight indicated that she had been writing lyrics for a forthcoming album with Lynch, when her frustration at the Howard Government's plans to invade Iraq interrupted her concentration.[24] Knight rallied female friends via chain e-mails. Needing 67 women for the wording of "No War", ultimately 750 showed up.[24]

Eurogliders reformed in October 2005 with Knight and Bernie Lynch using session musicians and released their fifth studio album. Simply called Eurogliders, the album did not peak into the ARIA top 50 charts.[25] Eurogliders started touring again in April 2006 and performed on the Countdown Spectacular during June to August, which was a nostalgic tour of Australian bands from the 1970s and 1980s, as featured on the pop television show Countdown with its host Ian "Molly" Meldrum. The Eurogliders' sixth album, Blue Kiss, was recorded during the same sessions as the previous and was released in 2007 but also had no top 50 charting.[25]

In 2008, Knight returned to her solo career and released Willow, which was nominated for Best Jazz Album at the 2008 ARIA Music Awards.[19][26] On 17 July 2009, Knight performed at the Press Gallery Mid-Winter Ball attended by federal politicians, including Australian prime minister, Kevin Rudd, and Canberra journalists.[27] Patrons of the function paid up to $20,000 each and raised $250,000 for various charities.

Personal life

Knight's 1977 gig on a cruise ship from London was to visit her sister, who was living in Perth, Western Australia. Her sister introduced Knight to future bandmate, domestic partner and husband, Bernie Lynch. Knight separated from Lynch in 1986 and has been married two further times. She has a son (Jackie), born in 1987.

Bibliography

  • Knight, Grace (2010). Pink Suit for a Blue Day. Chatswood, NSW: New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-92165-594-4. Retrieved 25 September 2013.

Discography

Albums

Name Album details Peak chart positions Certification
AUS
[28]
Come in Spinner
(with Vince Jones)
  • Released: March 1990
  • Label: ABC Music (838984-2)
  • Format: CD, LP, Cassette
 4
Stormy Weather
  • Released: September 1991
  • Label: Columbia (469029-2)
  • Format: CD
 16
Gracious
  • Released: November 1993
  • Label: Quality Dino Entertainment (DIN286D)
  • Format: CD
 90
Grace Knight Live
  • Released: February 1996
  • Label: ABC Jazz (483582-2)
  • Format: 2×CD
  • Live album, recorded in September 1995
 —
Zeitgeist: The Spirit of the Time —
Willow
  • Released: April 2008
  • Label: ABC Jazz (4766306)
  • Format: CD, digital download
 —
Keep Cool Fool
  • Released: April 2012
  • Label: ABC Jazz (2799478)
  • Format: CD, digital download
 —
Fragile
  • Released: January 2016
  • Label: Grace Knight (GKM003)
  • Format: CD, digital download
 —
Grace
  • Released: March 2018
  • Label: Grace Knight (GKM004)
  • Format: CD, digital download
 —

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
AUS
[25][29]
1990 "The Man I Love" — Come in Spinner
"Sophisticated Lady" 141
1991 "Fever" 64 Stormy Weather
"Stormy Weather" —
"Drinking Again" —
1993 "Ability to Swing" — Gracious
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Knight has been nominated for seven awards.[30]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1991 Grace Knight ARIA Award for Best Female Artist Nominated
Come in Spinner (with Vince Jones) ARIA Award for Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album Nominated
Come in Spinner (with Vince Jones) ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album Won
1992 Stormy Weather ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album Nominated
Peter Cobbin for Grace Knight's "Crazy", "Fever", "Stormy Weather" & "That Ole Devil Called Love" ARIA Award for Engineer of the Year Nominated
1994 Gracious Best Adult Contemporary Album Nominated
2008 Willow ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album Nominated
2016 Keep Cool Fool ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album Nominated

Countdown Australian Music Awards

Countdown 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. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.[31][32]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1984 Grace Knight Most Popular Female Performer Nominated
1986 Grace Knight Most Popular Female Performer Nominated

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Eurogliders'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Holmgren, Magnus; Warnqvist, Stefan; Francois, Ron; Meharry, Don. "Eurogliders". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgrem). Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Grace Knight'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
  5. 1 2 "Artist Single Chart History: Eurogliders". Billboard. Neilson Business Media. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
  6. 1 2 "Eurogliders > Charts & Awards – Billboard Singles". allmusic. Macrovision. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
  7. 1 2 ""Heaven Must Be There" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 26 June 2009.
  8. ↑ Sutton, Michael. "Eurogliders > Biography". allmusic. Macrovision. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  9. 1 2 3 Come In Spinner. ABC Records Discogs
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Discography Grace Knight". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
  11. ↑ Knight, Grace (2010). Pink Suit for a Blue Day. Chatswood, NSW: New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-92165-594-4. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  12. ↑ Arnold, John; John Hay; Kerry Kilner; Terence O'Neill (2007). The Bibliography of Australian Literature. Vol. 3. Kew, Vic: Australian Scholarly Publishing. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-7022-3598-6. Retrieved 5 July 2009. NOTE: On-line version has limited access
  13. 1 2 "Grace Knight bio". Grace Knight. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Knight, Grace. "Innerview". yoni.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "eurogliders". Australian Jazz Agency. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
  16. ↑ "Artist Album Chart History: Eurogliders". Billboard. Neilson Business Media. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
  17. ↑ "Eurogliders > Charts & Awards – Billboard Albums". allmusic. Macrovision. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
  18. ↑ Grace Knight - Two Classic Albums. Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  19. 1 2 3 "ARIA Awards 2008: History: Winners by Artist search result for Grace Knight". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  20. ↑ "ARIA Awards - History: Winners by Year 1992: 6th Annual ARIA Awards". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  21. 1 2 Garofoli, Joe (12 January 2003). "A Cheeky Protest: Bay Area Anti-War Activists Go Nude in Surge of Creative Vigils". San Francisco Chronicle. CommonDreams.org. Archived from the original on 24 July 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  22. ↑ Kingston, Margo (4 February 2003). "Disrobe to disarm". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  23. ↑ "All Nudes is Good News". The Northern Rivers Echo. TAOW P/L. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
  24. 1 2 3 Browne, Rachel (9 February 2003). "Anti-war feelings laid bare in a stark message to Howard". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  25. 1 2 3 "Discography Eurogliders". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 19 June 2009. NOTE: Information supplied by ARIA shows that Eurogliders has no Top 50 charting albums or singles since they started their charts in mid-1988.
  26. ↑ "2008: 22nd Annual ARIA Awards". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 13 August 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  27. ↑ "Now, dinner with Oz PM for 20,000 dollars". Thaindian News. Indians in Thailand. 17 June 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  28. 1 2 3 Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  29. ↑ "Week commencing 28 May 1990". BubblingDownUnder. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  30. ↑ "ARIA Awards Search Results – Grace Knight". ARIA Awards. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  31. ↑ "Countdown to the Awards" (Portable document format (PDF)). Countdown Magazine. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). March 1987. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  32. ↑ "Final episode of Countdown". 1970scountdown. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
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