Troy Newman (singer) explained

Troy Newman
Birth Name:Troy Adrian Newman
Birth Date:1964
Death Date:March 1997
Death Place:Sydney
Origin:Perth, Australia
Genre:Rock
Years Active:1986–97
Label:Warner, EastWest, Curb, Edel
Associated Acts:The Exdreamists, Boys

Troy Newman was an Australian singer-songwriter and musician who was a member of Perth pop, rock band Boys from 1987 to 1988 and also had a solo career, releasing two albums, Gypsy Moon (1991) and It's Like This (1995) before he died in March 1997.

Biography

Troy Adrian Newman was born in Perth, Western Australia.[1] [2] He began writing songs while attending Hollywood Senior High School and, in his earlier years, fronted The Exdreamists. At age seventeen he joined popular local Perth band Boys as a vocalist, when they reformed in 1987 with Camillo Del Roio and Lino Del Roio on guitar, Eddie Parise on bass guitar, drummer Frank Celenza and Tony Celiberti as keyboardist.[3] [4] [5] A year later the band changed their name to Boyschool but split soon after,[4] with Parise and Celenza moving to form Bamboo Curtain, before joining Baby Animals.[4] [5]

Following the break-up of Boys, Newman moved from Perth to Sydney, where he signed a deal with Warner Music. In September 1989 Newman appeared in the controversial stage musical, Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom alongside Daniel Abineri, Wendy Stapleton, Gary Olsen, Steve Bastoni and Nadine Garner – he took over the lead role from Russell Crowe.[6] [7] The musical spawned a cast album on WEA Records and a Top 40 single, "Enemy the Sun", (November 1989) performed by Newman.

The label flew Newman to Los Angeles where he recorded his debut solo album, Gypsy Moon, with session musicians, Craig Fall, Luis Conte, Bob Glaub, Jerry Goodman, Russ Kunkel, C. J. Vanston and Waddy Wachtel, and guest appearances from Rick Vito and Billy Burnette.[8] The album was produced by Greg Ladanyi (Jackson Browne, Toto, Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley), except "Raining" by Richard Clapton[9] and "Drive My Car" by Ladanyi and Kunkel.[10] It was released 14 May 1991 in Australia by Warner and also in the United States through Atlantic imprint EastWest Records.[4] The album spent five weeks in the Australian album charts, peaking at No. 42.[11] The first single released, "Love Gets Rough", reached No. 22 on the Australian Singles charts[11] and charted at No. 92 on the Billboard Top 100.[12] [13] Other singles from the album, "God Only Knows" (Australia No. 85[11]) and "Whisper" (Australia No. 73[11]), released later that year, fared less-well on the charts. His song, "Raining", was used on television series, Heartbreak High (Season 1, 1994, episode 10).[14]

Warner Music offered Troy a second album deal, but stipulated he had to return to Australia to record the album with a different Producer (which he declined). A battle ensued and East/West & Warner Music dropped him from the label just as he was gaining momentum. Warner Music placed the cost of producing the Gypsy Moon album onto any future recording contracts and labels which, in turn, made it virtually impossible for Newman to get a second record deal.

After a lengthy legal battle and change of Management, Newman issued It's Like This on 18 July 1995 on the Curb Records/Edel Records labels.[15] Newman had recorded the album in Los Angeles again, with Wachtel, Glaub, Kunkel, Conte and Vanston.[16] It was produced by Ladanyi and Wachtel but failed to emulate the success of his debut album and didn't chart. Linda Ronstadt later covered Newman & Wachtel's track "I go to pieces" on her "We Ran" album. Newman's track "Don't Make Me Ask" also appeared in the film "Two If by Sea" (also known in the United Kingdom as Stolen Hearts), a 1996 American romantic comedy film directed by Bill Bennett, and starring Sandra Bullock and Denis Leary.

In August 1996, Ladanyi & Newman teamed up again - This time at 301 Studios, Sydney Australia to record a 10 track demo entitled "Velvet Hammer." Lineup: Troy Newman: Vocals/Guitar, (Former Baby Animals Bass Guitarist) Eddie Parise, (Former Baby Animals Drummer) Frank Celenza & Current Baby Animals Guitarist Dave Leslie. After recording Ladanyi returned to Los Angeles to remaster the demos personally. Being devastated after Newman's death, Ladanyi shelved the project.

Troy Newman died in Sydney in March 1997.[4] [17] As his body was found with a toxic combination of prescription drugs, there was speculation that he committed suicide[18] however the autopsy was inconclusive. Newman had also contracted Hepatitis A which may have contributed to his death.[16]

Troy Newman left a legacy of published and unpublished songs - many of which have never been heard.

Newman's last album finally surfaced in 2018 called Postcards from L.A containing 10 tracks.

Discography

Studio albums

Title! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"
Album detailsPeak chart
positions
AUS
[19]
Gypsy Moon
  • Released: 14 May 1991
  • Label: Warner (9031-73778-2)
  • Format: CD, cassette
42
It's Like This
  • Released: 18 July 1995
  • Label: Mega Pop (MP7502D)
  • Format: CD, cassette
Postcards from L.A
  • Released: August 2018[20]
  • Format: Digital

Singles

Title! scope="col" rowspan="2"
YearPeak chart
positions
Album
AUS
"Enemy the Sun"1989
"Love Gets Rough"199122Gypsy Moon
"God Only Knows"85
"Whisper"199273
"The Missing Years"1995It's Like This
"World Gone Crazy"
"Don't Make Me Ask"1996

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.! |-|1992| "Love Gets Rough"| Breakthrough Artist - Single| |[21] |-

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) . "It Takes Time" at APRA search engine . 26 April 2011 .
  2. Web site: Venus from a Subway . Blue-X, know, now, no . faqs.org . 26 April 2011.
  3. Spencer et al, (2007) Boys entry. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  4. Web site: Where are they now? – The Boys . Newsletter No. 271 . Bmusic.com.au . 16 December 2007 . 18 January 2010 . unfit . https://web.archive.org/web/20090922035449/http://www.bmusic.com.au/links/whatsnew/newsletters/archives/newsno271.html . 22 September 2009 .
  5. Encyclopedia: McFarlane . Ian . Ian McFarlane . . The Boys . 18 April 2011 . 1999 . . . 1-86508-072-1 . unfit . https://web.archive.org/web/20040828074347/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=136 . 28 August 2004 . Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
  6. Web site: Newspaper reviews – Bad Boy Johnny & the Prophets of Doom. Prophet Productions Pty Ltd . 14 April 2011.
  7. Web site: Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom . Theatre Shows . . 26 April 2011 .
  8. Web site: Newman, Troy – 1991 Gypsy Moon. GloryDazeMusic . Jones. Nick. 15 August 2009. 15 April 2011.
  9. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20131022063011/http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/c/claptonrichard.html . Richard Clapton. Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren) . Holmgren . Magnus . Peer . Meyer . Gary . Bouchard . 22 October 2013 . 3 March 2014 .
  10. Gypsy Moon . Troy Newman . 1991 . CD . . 91670-2 . United States .
  11. Australian (ARIA) chart peaks:
    • Top 50 peaks: Web site: Discography – Troy Newman. Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien . 11 April 2011.
    • Top 100 peaks to December 2010: Book: Ryan, Gavin. Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. 2011. Moonlight Publishing. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia. PDF. 202.
  12. Web site: [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=troy newman|chart=all}} Troy Newman – Chart History]. Rovi Corporation. Billboard.com. 11 April 2011.
  13. Web site: Troy Newman – Charts & Awards. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. 11 April 2011.
  14. Web site: Heartbreak High: music credits – Series One . Australian Television Information Archive . T. Zuk . 26 April 2011 .
  15. Web site: Troy Newman – It's Like This. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. 14 April 2011.
  16. Web site: Newman, Troy – 1995 It's Like This. GloryDazeMusic. Jones. Nick. 15 August 2009. 15 April 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111005222837/http://www.glorydazemusic.com/articles.php?article_id=1509. 5 October 2011. dmy-all.
  17. http://www.last.fm/music/Troy+Newman Troy Newman at Last.FM
  18. Web site: Matt Finish Resurrected . Hotsource Pty Ltd . 7 December 2006 . Curley . Wendy . 14 April 2011 . https://archive.today/20121230105106/http://www.hotsource.com.au/news/383/John_Prior_from_Matt_Finish# . 30 December 2012 . dead . dmy-all .
  19. Peaks in Australia:
    • Gypsy Moon and "Love Gets Rough": Web site: Discography Troy Newman. australian-charts.com. 2 September 2022.
    • "God Only Knows" and "Whisper": 202.
  20. Web site: Postcards from LA. Apple Music. 5 September 2022.
  21. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235813/http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-year.php?year=1992 . Winners by Year 1992 . Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) . 26 September 2007 . 4 December 2013 .