The exalted trio were all appointed as
Officers of the General Division of the Order of Australia, and were among the
958 people from various industries and communities announced to the Australia
Day honors roll, published each year on Jan. 26. Barnes, frontman with
legendary rockers Cold
Chisel, was recognized for “distinguished service to the performing arts
as a musician, singer and songwriter, and through support for not-for-profit
organizations, particularly to children with a disability”.
Born in Glasgow and raised in the northern
suburbs of Adelaide in the ‘60s, Barnes is an Aussie icon, the country’s
“working class man,” and a singer with a voice so fierce and distinctive, few
would dare emulate. Barnes’ 2016 solo album Soul Searchin’ (Liberation
Music).gave the rocker his 15th career No.1 Down Under (including 11 solo
and four Cold Chisel LPs). Only Beatles JohnLennon (17,
including three solo), George Harrison (16, including two
solo) and Paul McCartney (16, including two solo) have had
more No. 1s in Australia.
Barnes said he was “humbled” by the
accolade. “Well, as you might have heard, I just got a letter from the
government,” he wrote. “The letter said that I was one of the people getting an
Australia Day honor. I just wanted to say thank you to whoever decides these
things of course, but more importantly, those who have worked so hard and
sweated with me at all the shows that I have done over the last forty odd
years.”
Cold Chisel’s career was celebrated with induction into the ARIA Hall of
Fame in 1993, while Barnes was recognized as a solo artist with induction in
2005. Barnes also can add “best-selling author” to his blog thanks his
warmly-received 2016 memoir, Nick Cave, currently touring Australia in
support of his new album Skeleton
Tree, was honored for “distinguished service to the performing arts as a
musician, songwriter, author and actor, both nationally and internationally,
and as a major contributor to Australian music culture and heritage”.
Cave, like Barnes, has
left his wild-man days behind him. But his reputation as an alternative-rock
heavyweight and a master of the darker-edged stuff is very much intact. Cave
forged his reputation leading The Birthday Party, The Boys Next
Door, Grinderman and The Bad Seeds, his
long term act with whom he’s currently touring Australia.Cave’s new Australian Music Prize-nominated album Skeleton
Key was written and recorded in the wake of his teenage son Arthur's death
in 2015. The LP opened at No. 1 in Australia, No. 2 in the U.K. and No. 27 in
the U.S. for Cave’s highest chart entry on the Billboard 200. A
celebrated author and writer for the screen Cave was inducted into the ARIA
Hall of Fame in 2007.
Kelly, revered as one of Australia’s greatest songwriters and noted as a
tireless spokesperson on indigenous issues, was feted for “distinguished
service to the performing arts and to the promotion of the national identity
through contributions as a singer, songwriter and musician.”The prolific
singer, songwriter and author (his autobiography How to Make Gravy was
published in 2010) was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1997, and during
the 2011 APRA Awards Kelly was honored with the Ted Albert Award For
Outstanding Services To Australian Music, one of the highest accolades in the
Australian music biz.
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