{{Use Australian English|date=October 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Kerrie Biddell | image = | image_size = | landscape = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank --> | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Kerrie Agnes Biddell | birth_date = {{birth date|1947|2|8|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Kings Cross, New South Wales]] | death_date = {{death date and age|2014|9|5|1947|2|8|df=y}} | death_place = | genre = [[Jazz]] | occupation = {{hlist|[[Studio recording|Session]]|singer|pianist|music vocal teacher}} | years_active = 1967–2001 | associated_acts = {{flatlist| *[[Dusty Springfield]] {{small|(1967)}} *[[The Affair (band)|The Affair]] {{small|(1968–1970)}} }} | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> }}
'''Kerrie Agnes Biddell''' (8 February 1947{{spaced ndash}}5 September 2014) was an Australian jazz and [[Studio recording|session]] singer, as well as a vocal teacher.
==Life and career== Born in [[Kings Cross, New South Wales]], the only child of Irish-Catholic parents Kathleen, a jazz pianist and Dan, a solicitors clerk who also played piano. Biddell was sent to [[St Vincent's College, Potts Point|St Vincent's Convent]] in [[Potts Point, New South Wales|Potts Point]] at the age of six, soon after her father left her mother.<ref name="SMH">{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/comment/obituaries/kerrie-biddell-first-lady-of-australian-jazz-20140909-10eaff.html |title=Kerrie Biddell, first lady of Australian jazz |last=O'Grady |first=Anthony |date=9 September 2014 |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |accessdate=9 September 2014}}</ref> In 1962, Biddell suffered a collapsed lung and [[rheumatoid arthritis]], the latter of which affected her piano playing. She decided to become a singer, and, in 1967, sang for [[Dusty Springfield]] on backing vocals.<ref name="TAU">{{cite web |date=5 September 2014 |title=Australian jazz star Kerrie Biddell dies |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/australian-jazz-star-kerrie-biddell-dies/news-story/da8a29f4a9a9987bea51f7cd64372743 |work=[[The Australian]] |accessdate=9 September 2014}}</ref> Impressed, Springfield suggested she become a lead singer.<ref name="SMH" />
===1960s=== Biddell joined the local band The Echoes, and in 1968, [[The Affair (band)|The Affair]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=McFarlane|first=Ian|authorlink=Ian McFarlane|title=[[Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop]]|chapter=Encyclopedia entry for 'The Affair'|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040803081222/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=16|chapter-url=http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=16|accessdate=9 September 2014|year=1999|publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]]|location=[[St Leonards, New South Wales|St Leonards, NSW]]|archivedate=3 August 2004|isbn=1-86508-072-1|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.milesago.com/Artists/affair.htm|title=The Affair|last=Kimball|first=Duncan|publisher=Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions|year=2002|accessdate=9 September 2014}}</ref> Affair guitarist Jim Kelly called Biddell "a world-class vocalist".<ref name="SMH" /> With her voice, the group could do various musical styles, such as [[Aretha Franklin]]-type soul, [[Sly Stone]] funk, and [[Jimmy Webb]] compositions.<ref name="SMH" /> In 1969, the national competition [[Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds]] added a vocal-group category to its main pop/rock category. Kelly stated that The Affair was not a vocal group, but Biddell "rehearsed us till we were".<ref name="SMH" /> The group won the category, with its prize being a trip to London, where the group relocated in mid-1970, only to disband months later. Before disbanding, they recorded Sly and the Family Stone's "[[Sing a Simple Song]]", which would become one of Biddell's signature songs.<ref name="SMH" />
===1970s-2001=== Biddell returned to Australia in 1970, where she toured with the [[Daly-Wilson Big Band]], which performed [[swing music]], in between her stint with Wilson, she also did tours with [[Dudley Moore]], [[Cilla Black]] and [[Buddy Rich]]<ref name="SMH" /><ref name="TAU" /> In 1972, she married David Glyde, a former alto saxophonist for [[Sounds Incorporated]], who opened for [[The Beatles]] on tour. Glyde had contacts in Canada, and he and Biddell moved there. Her career as a session singer began soon after. She and her husband toured in the United States, including clubs in [[Las Vegas Strip|Las Vegas]]. She was offered a three-year six-figure USD contract with the [[Bally's Las Vegas|MGM Grand Hotel and Casino]], and, despite being desperate to be a star, she discovered she did not care for the business side of Vegas. "I started to see that the amount they wanted to take away from me was too much," she stated, and moved back to Australia in 1972, enrolling in the [[Sydney Conservatorium of Music]].<ref name="SMH" />
She and Glyde divorced in 1977. She sang on hundreds of jingles, television shows and film scores, including the theme from series ''[[Sons and Daughters (Australian TV series)|Sons and Daughters]]''<ref name="TAU" />
Biddell formed the group Compared to What which featured young Australian jazz talent including pianist [[Mark Isaacs]],<ref name="SMH" /> who was to write an obituary for her in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=The unequalled Kerrie Biddell : Feature Article : Australian Music Centre |url=https://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/article/the-unequalled-kerrie-biddell |website=www.australianmusiccentre.com.au |access-date=31 August 2023}}</ref>
In 1983, she joined the faculty of the Jazz Diploma course at the Conservatorium, where she periodically taught into her later years.<ref name="SMH" /><ref name="TAU" /> In 1992, she wrote a one-woman show, ''Legends'', which later included [[June Bronhill]], [[Lorrae Desmond]], [[Toni Lamond]], and [[Jeanne Little]].<ref name="SMH" /> In 2001, due to poor health, she retired from performing, but continued her teaching career.
==Death== On 4 September 2014, Biddell died from a stroke. She was 67.<ref name="SMH" /><ref name="TAU" />
==Discography== ===Studio albums=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" |+ List of albums, with selected chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:20em;" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;" | Album details ! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart<br />positions |- ! scope="col" style="text-align:center;" | <small>[[Kent Music Report|AUS]]<br /><ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|authorlink=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=34}}</ref></small> |- ! scope="row" | ''The Exciting Daly-Wilson Big Band'' <br /> ([[Daly-Wilson Big Band]] featuring Kerrie Biddell) | * Released: 1972 * Format: [[LP album|LP]] * Label: Festival Records | align="center" | - |- ! scope="row" | ''Kerrie Biddell'' | * Released: March 1973 * Format: LP * Label: Bootleg (BLA 030) | align="center" | 11 |- ! scope="row" | ''Only the Beginning'' | * Released: June 1975 * Format: LP * Label: EMI (EMA 314) | align="center" | 66 |- ! scope="row" | ''Compared to What'' <br /> (Compared to What featuring Kerrie Biddell) | * Released: 1979 * Format: LP * Label: EMI Studios 301 (SS301) | align="center" | - |- ! scope="row" | ''There Will Never Be Another You'' <br /> (with The Julian Lee Trio and Les Crosby) | * Released: 1992 * Format: CD, Cassette * Label: North Supply (PJLCD0012) | align="center" | - |- ! scope="row" | ''The Singer'' | * Released: 1999 * Format: CD * Label: ORIGiN (OR 015) | align="center" | - |}
==Awards== ===Mo Awards=== The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the [[Mo Awards]]), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Kerrie Biddell won three awards in that time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.moawards.com.au/awardwinners|title=MO Award Winners|website=Mo Awards|access-date=16 March 2022|archive-date=7 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307064432/https://www.moawards.com.au/awardwinners|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{awards table}} (wins only) |- | 1989 | Kerrie Biddell | Jazz Vocal Performer of the Year | {{won}} |- | 1993 | Kerrie Biddell | Jazz Vocal Performer of the Year | {{won}} |- | 1995 | Kerrie Biddell | Jazz Vocal Performer of the Year | {{won}} |- {{end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{AllMusic|id=kerrie-biddell-mn0000067125}} * {{Discogs artist}} * [http://sydney.edu.au/music/staff-profiles/kerrie.biddell.php Profile] at the [[University of Sydney]] * http://www.talking-shellac.com/subpages/kerrie-biddell.htm (Kerrie Biddell Tribute page)
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biddell, Kerrie}} [[Category:1947 births]] [[Category:2014 deaths]] [[Category:Australian jazz singers]] [[Category:Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni]] [[Category:Academic staff of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music]] [[Category:20th-century Australian women singers]] [[Category:21st-century Australian women singers]] [[Category:Australian music educators]] [[Category:Australian women music educators]] [[Category:Australian pianists]] [[Category:Australian women pianists]] [[Category:The Affair (band) members]] [[Category:Daly-Wilson Big Band members]]