| Sharon O' Neill |
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Page 1 of 3  Self-taught guitarist
Sharon O'Neill started putting chords to her poetry whilst in her teens
in her native New Zealand. Born and raised in Nelson on New Zealand's
South Island she began performing around the area with her acoustic
guitar in the late 1960's. Her first recordings were with fellow Nelson
locals Robin Winch and Nancy Richman as Suitewater. They recorded the
single "Suzanne"/"Chords Of Fame" for the Ode label and under the
recording name Sharon And Nancy also recorded "Life Upon Life", a song
selected for the 1970 New Zealand Mobil Song Quest and released on the
album showcasing the finalists.
Sharon O'Neill's first recording under her own name was also on the Ode label and featured two covers, Elton John's "Love Song" and Neil Young's "Birds". Next she made her move to the larger scene of Christchurch in New Zealand and joined the band Chapta. She appeared on the New Faces show with another of her own song's "Nothing Makes It Easy" then formed the covers band Jessika. Sharon's solo career was stagnant and she moved through a number of soft rock bands in New Zealand with varying degrees of success. The most successful of these bands was Shiner, which featured Sharon's later husband Brent Thomas. At his urging she returned to composing and performing her own material and reinvigorated her solo career. Her first major breakthrough was the New Zealand national tour support for fellow Kiwi Mark Williams followed by a number of supports for visiting artists. Finishing third in the televised New Zealand talent contest "The Entertainers" with an early song of hers, "Luck's On The Table", scored her a CBS deal and the release of her debut album "This Heart, This Song". The single was the song she had performed on The Entertainers show and it peaked at Number 27 on the New Zealand chart. The second single, "Don't Say No To Tomorrow", reached Number 6. The work that was making Sharon O'Neill Australia's most popular female performer included her second album, the self-titled release of 1980. The singles lifted from the album and the album itself enjoyed great chart success in New Zealand and charted well in Australia. There was also a duet with another fellow Kiwi Jon Stevens called "Don't Let Love Go".
Courtesy of Sharon O'Neill - http://www.sharononeill.com.au
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