Penny Flanagan Explained

Penny Flanagan should not be confused with Peggy Flanagan.

Penny Flanagan
Background:solo_singer
Origin:Sydney, Australia
Genre:Adult contemporary, folk, pop rock
Occupation:Singer-songwriter, musician, author
Years Active:1989–present

Penny Flanagan is an Australian singer-songwriter and author.

Career

Music

Penny Flanagan's musical career began in 1989 as one half of the folk-pop duo Club Hoy. The duo released the 1991 album Thursday's Fortune before Flanagan went solo.

The first single from her debut album, Bravado, was "Lap It Up" which hit No. 52 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 1994. The album was produced by Martin Armiger and featured Paul Hester from Crowded House on drums.

She also received significant radio and MTV play for her cover of Prince's "When You Were Mine" from her EP Seven Flights Up which was released on her own independent label, Penny Dreadful Records.

In 1997, she contributed an offbeat cover of Kylie Minogue's "Better the Devil You Know" to the soundtrack of the Australian film Dust Off The Wings and released a music video for the song that aired on MTV and Rage.

Her next release, Light Sleeper, was praised by Australian Rolling Stone Australia magazine as "a mature and intelligent release from a genuine talent, deserving of wider success."[1] The album was produced by Tim Powles of the Church and featured a duet with Steve Kilbey on the track "Into the Sun". After the release of Light Sleeper she retreated from performing to focus on raising her three children.

Writing

In 1994 Flanagan published Changing The Sky, a children's book. [2]

She published the adult novels Sing to Me (1998)[3] and Surviving Hal (2018).[4]

Personal life

Her father, John Flanagan, is an Australian author best known for the Ranger's Apprentice novel series.[5] She is the sister of actress and comedian Kitty Flanagan and since 2010 has toured with Kitty as part of her stand-up comedy shows. She writes original music for and performs songs in Kitty's show. [6] She also has a brother, who is a chef and runs a coffee shop in the snowfields of Japan.

Discography

Albums

Title! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"
Album detailsPeak chart
positions
AUS
[7]
Bravado
(credited as Penny Flanagan and the New Moon)
117
Light Sleeper
  • Released: February 1999
  • Label: Penny Dreadful Records (PD002)
190

Extended plays

List of EPs, with selected details! Title! Details
Seven Flights Up
  • Released: 1996
  • Label: Penny Dreadful Records (Stunt 023)

Charting singles

Title! rowspan="2"
YearChart positionsAlbum
AUS
"Lap it Up"1994152Bravado
"The Sky"1995152

Notes and References

  1. http://cdbaby.com/cd/pennyflanagan CD Baby: Penny Flanagan: Light Sleeper
  2. Book: Changing the sky. Flanagan, Penny. 1994. Hodder & Stoughton. 0340599391. Sydney. 38341981.
  3. Book: Flanagan, Penny. Sing to me. 1998. Penguin. 0140274693. Ringwood, Vic.. 38833731.
  4. Book: Surviving Hal. Flanagan, Penny. 9781925780369. Glebe NSW. 1083522583. November 2018.
  5. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac;jsessionid=4651853C044E70153C34E95595962511?sy=afr&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=1month&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=brs&cls=18880&clsPage=1&docID=ILL120626H47VE35G509 Showbiz a family affair for Flanagan | Illawarra Mercury 26 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2013
  6. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac;jsessionid=86B468368FC92B5BCE0C62DD8447BE63?sy=afr&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=1month&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=brs&cls=1055&clsPage=1&docID=NCH120419IQ76H39ABPK Purrfect sister act | Newcastle Herald 19 April 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2013
  7. Web site: Penny Flanagan chart history, received from ARIA in May 2024. ARIA. Imgur.com. 5 July 2024. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.