User:Qwoa/Dianne Swann

Dianne Swann
Born	Dianne Mary Swann Kamo, New Zealand

Dianne Mary Swann is a New Zealand singer known for her music career that has lasted over three decades and includes involvement in the successful bands Everything that Flies, When the Cat's Away, The Julie Dolphin, and The Bads.

Early life

Swann was born and raised in Kamo, a small township near Whangarei, New Zealand. She attended the township's Kamo High School. Aspiring to be a musician to be a young age, she wrote her first song around the age of fourteen. Her early inspirations included the New Zealand musicians Dave McArtney and Shona Laing as well as international artists including Neil Young, Dusty Springfield, and The Cure.

Musical career

Becoming the front-woman of the band Everything that Flies in the mid-1980s was the beginning of Swann's music career. Quickly successful, the band's first (and only) EP, 1985's Bleeding Hearts, sold out, Dianne was nominated for Most Promising Female Vocalist at the 1985 New Zealand Music Awards, and the music video for their song "As The Sun Goes Down" won the Best Music Video award the following year. Despite their potential, the band disbanded around this time.

At the ceremony for the 1985 awards, Swann met with three other award finalists: Margaret Urlich, Annie Crummer, and Debbie Harwood. Along with singer Kim Willoughby, they formed a girl group named When the Cat's Away. Although they initially planned to simply have fun performing together, the band garnered heavy popularity across New Zealand, especially with their 1988 cover of the song Melting Pot, which stayed on the country's charts for 15 weeks. In 1989, Swann released a solo single, "Something Good," before leaving the band in 1990 and then moving to London in 1991. This, along with the other band members wishing to pursue solo careers, resulted in the band's hiatus. Although the others later reunited and toured together, Dianne was not involved.

In London, she formed the band The Julie Dolphin with Brett Adams, Nick Yeatman, and Geoff Hayden. After the release of the Roses EP in 1992 and their debut album Lit in 1993, the band gained popularity. This lead to them opening for numerous well-known bands, including Radiohead and Green Day. The connection with Radiohead lead to Dianne contributing vocals to their track "How Can You Be Sure?," the B-side of "Fake Plastic Trees" that was also included on the Japanese release of The Bends. After switching to the Almo Sound label, The Julie Dolphin was renamed Boom Boom Mancini. Almo Sounds was closed down before the band was able to release the album they had recorded under the label, Mess Up Your Life, resulting in Swann moving back to New Zealand with Adams.

Since returning to her home country, Swann has released four albums with Adams under the name The Bads: 2005's Earth From Space, 2009's So Alive, 2013's Travel Light, and 2017's Losing Heroes. She is also currently working on a solo album, though its completion has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand and resulting lockdown. Two singles from the album have been released; the first, "Show Your Heart," was released in May 2020. The second, "These Are The Days," was released later that year on 18 November.

Personal life

Swann has been in a relationship with Brett Adams since their time together in The Julie Dolphin/Boom Boom Mancini.

Discography

With Everything that Flies

• Bleeding Hearts EP (1985)

With When the Cat's Away

• When the Cat's Away (1987)

With The Julie Dolphin

• Roses EP (1992)
• Lit (1993)

With The Bads

• Earth From Space (2005)
• So Alive (2009)
• Travel Light (2013)
• Losing Heroes (2017)