Mick Thomas
Mick Thomas | |
---|---|
Yallourn, Victoria, Australia | |
Genres | Folk rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 1975–present |
Labels | Croxton, Liberation |
Website | mickthomas |
Michael James Thomas (born 7 February 1960) is an Australian singer-songwriter, producer, guitarist and hotelier. Thomas was the frontman of folk rock group Weddings Parties Anything (1984–1998), and leader of Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing. He has also released material as a solo artist.
Biography
Michael James Thomas was born in
He served in the Pacific with the Navy during the war. He was in Japan shortly after the nuclear blast on Hiroshima. He was one of those blokes who never left Australia again. He had a normal life after the war but I'm sure his dreams were full of those things.
— Mick Thomas, [5]
The family moved with Brian's work, from
Weddings Parties Anything (1984–1998)
In late 1984 Mick Thomas (lead vocals, lead guitar and bass guitar) formed the first version of
The band released further studio albums, Roaring Days (April 1988), The Big Don't Argue (October 1989), Difficult Loves (July 1992), King Tide (October 1993), Donkey Serenade (1995) and River'esque (September 1996) – with most of the material written by Thomas – before disbanding in December 1998.[6][8] Thomas later explained his reasons for the split "[w]e weren't going anywhere, commercially or artistically ... Some nights you don't want to play 'Father's Day' or 'A Tale They Won't Believe'. People want them. I had to apologise for playing something new".[1] The group had toured both nationally and internationally – they became popular in Canada and parts of United States.[6][8] Fellow Australian musician, Paul Kelly, described touring with Thomas' group "[w]e did a lot of shows with The Weddos ... and had all-night singalongs with them ... and at afternoon barbecues in lead singer Mick's big backyard down by the river ... We liked a drink and weren't shy about it, but The Weddos made us look like ladies at a tea party".[13] He noted that Thomas' musical influences were The Pogues, Fairport Convention (and guitarist Richard Thompson), Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson.[13]
Two of their singles, "Father's Day" (May 1992) and "Monday's Experts" (September 1993), appeared in the top 50 on the ARIA Singles Chart;[14] both are written by Thomas.[15][16] During their career they won four ARIA Music Awards – 'Best New Talent' (1988), 'Best Indigenous Release' (1989, 1990) and 'Song of the Year' for "Father's Day" (1993).[17] According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, the band "united two great Australian music traditions: post-punk pub rock and folk/bush balladry".[8]
Solo and the Sure Thing
Mick Thomas wrote a play, Over in the West (1996), a country rock opera, which was performed at the
Following the demise of Weddings Parties Anything, Thomas embarked on a solo music career. In 1998 he issued his debut solo album, Under Starter's Orders: Live at the Continental, which was recorded during various solo performances from 1997 to 1998, while still a member of that group.
By mid-1999 he formed The Sure Thing as his backing band, with Darren Hanlon on guitar, mandolin and harmonica; and Rosie Westbrooke on double bass.[7][8] About this time he started the now defunct label, Croxton Records, with his friend Nick Corr, a radio DJ and music journalist.[20] By the end of that year Michael Barclay (ex-Weddings Parties Anything) joined The Sure Thing on drums.[7][8] Mick Thomas and The Sure Thing's debut album, Dead Set Certainty: 12 Songs That Wouldn't Go Away, appeared in October 1999 on Suitcase Records / Croxton Records.[7][8] Badgley compared the release to his earlier work with Weddings Parties Anything, he found it was "not as melodic, and more of a rawer sound ... but not altogether different".[21]
On 12 March 2001 the group's second album, Dust on My Shoes, appeared; it was co-produced by Thomas with Jerry Boys.[7][22] Badgley declared this to be Thomas' "best album so far ... he is truly a gifted and sensitive storyteller/writer ... [providing] a collection of short stories outlining the vulnerability and failings of the human race".[22] Their next album, The Horse's Prayer, was issued on 3 March 2003 as a 2× CD.[7] Thomas promoted the release with a national tour from February to May that year.
Another play, The Tank (2004), was co-written with his older brother Steve.
In 2011 he reunited with former Weddings Parties Anything bandmate, Wallace, to form Roving Commission. In February 2012 Thomas issued a solo album, Last of the Tourists, which had been recorded in Portland, Oregon with Darren Hanlon producing.[24]
Personal life
Thomas is a part-owner of the Merri Creek Tavern in
Discography
Albums
Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
AUS [26] | ||
Under Starter's Orders: Live at the Continental |
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Dead Set Certainty (as Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing) |
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— |
Dust On My Shoes (as Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing) |
|
— |
Something to Fight for (as Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing) |
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— |
The Horses Prayer (as Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing) |
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— |
The Tank (with Steve Thomas) |
|
— |
Anythings, Sure Things, Other Things |
|
— |
Other Things, Sure Things, Extra Things |
|
— |
Paddock Buddy (as Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing) |
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— |
Spin Spin Spin (as Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing) |
|
52 |
A Head Full of Road Kill (with Michael Barclay) |
|
— |
Last of the Tourists |
|
— |
Christmas Day at Spencers (as Mick Thomas and the Roving Commission) |
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— |
These Are the Songs (A Mick Thomas Retrospective) |
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— |
Coldwater DFU (as Mick Thomas and the Roving Commission) |
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— |
Oh I Do Love To See Beside The B-Sides (as Mick Thomas and the Roving Commission) |
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— |
See You on the Other Side: A Postcard from April 2020 (as Mick Thomas and the Roving Commission) |
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See You on the Other Side (as Mick Thomas and the Roving Commission) |
|
— |
Cities Calling Me (as Mick Thomas and the Roving Commission) |
|
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Where Only Memory Can Find You (as Mick Thomas' Roving Commission) |
|
33 [27] |
See also
Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
ARIA Music Awards of 2000 | Under Starters Orders | Best Blues & Roots Album | Nominated |
Music Victoria Awards
The Music Victoria Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Music Victoria Awards of 2019 | Coldwater DFU (as Mick Thomas' Roving Commission) | Best Country Album | Nominated | [28][29] |
External links
- Official website
- Mick Thomas collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
- Images:
- Poster advertising performance by Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing at The Continental Café, Prahran, Victoria, 9 July 1999, held at State Library of Victoria
- Poster advertising performance by Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing at The Continental Café, Prahran, Victoria, 4 December 1999, held at State Library of Victoria
- Poster advertising performance by Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing at The Continental Café, Prahran, Victoria, 9 July 1999, held at
References
- General
- ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the originalon 5 April 2004. Retrieved 31 July 2013. Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
- Specific
- ^ a b c d e Starkie, Andrew (6 June 2013). "Mick Thomas: Interview". Time Out Melbourne. Time Out Group Ltd. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- ^ a b Weber, K. E. (14 September 2011). "The Tank Interview with Craig Ryan". Theatre People. Archived from the original on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ "Digital Copy of Item with Barcode 4510604". National Archives of Australia. 4 February 2004. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ "Handbook of the Swinburne Technical College * 1964" (PDF). Swinburne University of Technology: 177. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
Thomas, Brian Darvall ... Electrical Engineering (1955), Mechanical Engineering (1955)
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: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help). Note: this PDF contains 198 pages. - ^ a b c d Johnston, Chris (18 December 2006). "Mick Thomas and the Sure Thing". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Nimmervoll, Ed. "Weddings Parties Anything". Howlspace. White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Holmgren, Magnus. "Michael Thomas". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database. (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 10 March 2004. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s McFarlane, 'Weddings, Parties, Anything' entry. Archived from the original on 23 August 2004. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ a b Holmgren, Magnus; Clarke, Gordon; Love, Jim. "Weddings Parties Anything". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database. (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
- Australasian Performing Right Association(APRA). Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- Australasian Performing Right Association(APRA). Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) created their own chartsin mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-926428-22-2.
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discography Weddings Parties Anything". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- Australasian Performing Right Association(APRA). Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- Australasian Performing Right Association(APRA). Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ "26th ARIA Awards: Search Results 'Weddings Parties Anything'". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- ^ "26th ARIA Awards: Search Results 'Mick Thomas'". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- ^ Mulcaster, Glenn (21 May 2002). "No more pure-play Internet please". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- ^ Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- SBS on Demand (Special Broadcasting Service). Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- Government of Victoria. Archived from the originalon 23 May 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ a b Dawson, Dave (3 June 2012). "Mick Thomas Feature". Dave's Diary. Nu Country. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 278.
- ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- ^ "Previous Nominess". Music Victoria. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Previous Winners". Music Victoria. Retrieved 13 August 2020.