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The Chantoozies are an Australian pop group, formed in 1986. The group featured four female vocalists: Eve von Bibra, Angie La Bozzetta, Ally Fowler and Tottie Goldsmith, and four male musicians: Brett Goldsmith (bass guitars, keyboards, programming), Scott Griffiths (keyboards, programming), Frank McCoy (guitars, vocals) and David Reyne (drums, backing vocals). Their name is an intentional mispronunciation of the French word for a female singer, "chanteuse".

Chantoozies' first single, "Witch Queen", was released on Mushroom Records in January 1987 and peaked at number 4 on the Australian singles chart. The group went on to sell 300,000 records, achieving Gold and Platinum status throughout the '80s and '90s in Australia.

In early 2014, the Chantoozies released their first single in 23 years, called "Baby It's You". It was produced by Pseudo Echo frontman Brian Canham. The video co-starred Australian actors Hugh Jackman, Anthony LaPaglia and Eric Bana.

History

Pre Chantoozies

• David Reyne had been drummer for Clutch Cargo (included his brother James Reyne), which became Australian Crawl in late 1978. David Reyne had left before they recorded any material, and continued his acting education. He was also drummer for Cats Under Pressure with Simon Hussey (guitars, keyboards) and Mark Grieg (guitars) in 1984. Reyne also acted on the 1980s television series, Sweet and Sour and Possession.
• Frank McCoy had played in a number of bands, including The Stockings (with Bernie Lynch and Boris Falovic), rockabilly outfits The Crackajacs and El Prezzos, country bands the Chaff Bandits, Crummy Cowboys and Hang em High (with Ed Bates, Quentin Frayne and Andrew Forrer). Also the Bitch Magnets with Brett Goldsmith and the Reyne brothers and The Real McCoys.
• Brett Goldsmith had been in Wayback 5 during 1986, which included Kate Ceberano as a vocalist.
• Ally Fowler and Eve von Bibra were actors in a 1980s television soap opera, Sons and Daughters; Fowler also appeared on Neighbours, All Saints and Big Sky.
• Tottie Goldsmith acted in the television soap operas/dramas The Henderson Kids, The Young Doctors, Starting Out, Neighbours and Prisoner.
• Angelica ('Angie') Arnott (née La Bozzetta) appeared on the television series Special Squad.

1986–1992: Chantoozies to Gild the Lily

Chantoozies formed as a good-time covers band to play at Tottie Goldsmith's 24th birthday party. The band's debut club gig attracted 600 people, which was encouragement enough for the musicians to continue and the group signed a record deal with Mushroom Records. In January 1987, the group released their debut single: a cover of Redbone's "Witch Queen", which peaked at number 4 on the national singles chart. The second single was a cover of John Kongos' "He's Gonna Step On You Again" and was released in June 1987, vying with The Party Boys' hard rock version of the same song for a place on the charts simultaneously. The Chantoozies' version peaked at number No. 36. Chantoozies' third single, "Wanna Be Up", written by Brett Goldsmith and von Bibra, was released in May 1988 and peaked at number 6 on the national singles chart in July 1988. "Kiss'n' Tell", was released in September 1988 and peaked at No. 25 in November. By that time, Greg Millikan had replaced Griffiths on keyboards. Chantoozies toured with James Reyne and Daryl Braithwaite, supporting their self-titled, top ten debut studio album released in August 1988.

In 1989, Griffiths and Tottie Goldsmith left the band. Griffiths was replaced by Greg Millikan. That November, the group released "Come Back to Me". In October 1990, the group released "Walk On", and their version of The Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back" was included on the soundtrack of the 1990 film The Crossing.

In February 1991, The Chantoozies released a cover of Stephen Stills' "Love the One You're With" as the second single from their second studio album. The song peaked at number 21 on the singles chart. In April, The Chantoozies released their sophomore album, Gild the Lily. A cover of Jackson 5's "I'll Be There" was released later in 1991, before the group disbanded.

Post Chantoozies

• Eve von Bibra returned to acting with roles on mid-1990s TV with Time Trax and The Damnation of Harvey McHugh; and more recently as Jackie in the 2006 film Kenny. She has also worked on TV shows as an artist co-ordinator for RocKwiz (2007–2012) and assisting production for Angry Boys (2011) and Outland (2012). In November 2008 on RocKwiz, von Bibra appeared as a guest contestant and performed her solo rendition of "Love the One You're With" and a duet with Jed Kurzel (The Mess Hall) for a cover of Bee Gees hit "To Love Somebody".
• Angelica La Bozzetta was the first actress to play Natalie Nash in Home and Away, and also appeared on 1990s episodes of Blue Heelers and Big Sky; and more recently in 2003 film The Rage in Placid Lake.
• Ally Fowler also returned to TV with 1990s Cody and Big Sky; and since 2005 as a regular on All Saints.
• Brett Goldsmith continued as a singer-songwriter and performer; also as a hospitality venue developer and more recently as a fashion photographer.
• Tottie Goldsmith left Chantoozies in 1989, before the recording of their second album, and undertook a solo singing career. She then returned to TV as host of Sex/Life in the mid-1990s; acting during the 2000s included Stingers, Blue Heelers and Life. As of January 2022, Goldsmith appears on I'm a Celebrity Australia.
• David Reyne left early in 1990 and continued with his acting on television on Bony (1990), The Flying Doctors (1988–1994), and then as a presenter on Getaway (1992–2006) and 9am with David and Kim (2006–2009).
• Scott Griffiths supplied keyboards and synthesisers for Sir Piers' 2003 release "Don't You Love Me".
• Frank McCoy continued playing around Melbourne and fronted The Real McCoys (Tony Thornton, drums, Mark Ferrie, bass, Justin Brady, harp and Mark Frayne, guitar), most remembered for their late-night gig at Inflation Nightclub where a host of local and international musicians regularly sat in with the band. He formed a duo, Cheese and Greens, a guitaroke outfit with BBQ Bob Wilson.

In 1998, Fowler, von Bibra and LaBozzetta performed "Wanna Be Up" as the Chantoozies at the Mushroom 25 concert, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Mushroom Records.

All four female lead vocalists briefly re-formed Chantoozies for the June to August 2006 Countdown Spectacular Tour, where they performed "Wanna Be Up".

2012–present: Reformation

In 2012 the Chantoozies traveled to Adelaide to perform alongside Leo Sayer, Mondo Rock, Uncanny X-Men and Pseudo Echo at the Adelaide Clipsal 500. They played alongside Rick Astley on his Australian Tour and also performed at the 2012 Carols by Candlelight at the Myer Music Bowl as part of the ‘Legends of Rock’. On 25 April 2014, The Chantoozies released their first new recording in 23 years, a cover of the Promises hit "Baby It's You". In May 2015 the group became a trio after the departure of LaBozzetta (now Angela Arnott) due to family reasons. On 17 July 2019 they performed on the second day of the Big Red Bash at Birdsville, Queensland.

Tottie Goldsmith left the Chantoozies for the second time in February 2020, reducing the group to a duo of Fowler and von Bibra. Later that year, they released Compilation, a compilation of most of the singles from their albums (excluding "Come Back"), album track "Slightest Notion", the non-album track "I'll Be There" and most of their post-reformation non-album singles (sans "Black and Blue"), as well as a new song entitled "No Fool for You", which would be released as a single on its own the following year. This was followed up with "Every Night" in early 2023.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

1. ^ McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'The Chantoozies'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Archived from the original on 19 April 2004. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
2. Sarah (aka Princess.vinyl). "Discogs entry on Chantoozies". discogs. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
3. "Rate Your Music entry on Chantoozies". rateyourmusic.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
4. "About". The Chantoozies. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
5. ^ McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Australian Crawl'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
6. "Cats Under Pressure". Australian Rock Database. Magnus Holmgren. Archived from the original on 24 October 2003. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
7. ^ "Internet Movie Database entry on David Reyne". IMDb. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
8. "Rebecca Barnard". Australian Rock Database. Magnus Holmgren. Archived from the original on 31 March 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
9. ^ "Internet Movie Database entry on Alexandra Fowler". IMDb. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
10. ^ "Internet Movie Database entry on Eve von Bibra". IMDb. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
11. ^ "Internet Movie Database entry on Tottie Goldsmith". IMDb. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
12. ^ "Internet Movie Database entry on Angelica La Bozzetta". IMDb. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
13. ^ "Australasian Performing Right Association". APRA. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
14. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
15. ^ Australian chart peaks:
    • Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to 12 June 1988: Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). Sydney: Australian Chart Book. p. 59. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988.
    • Top 50 (ARIA) peaks from 13 June 1988: "australian-charts.com > The Chantoozies in Australian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
    • "Come Back to Me" (ARIA) peak: "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 17 June 2014". Imgur.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
    • Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 54.
    • "I'll Be There" (ARIA) peak: "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 5 June 2015". Imgur.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
16. "The Crossing Press kit" (PDF). Beyond Films. 1990. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 September 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
17. "Australian Rock Database". Magnus Holmgren. Archived from the original on 21 February 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
18. "Brett Goldsmith 2006 exhibition". unleashingart.com. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
19. Scott (aka dansauk), Dan. "Discogs entry on "Don't You Love Me"". discogs. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
20. Kruger, Debbie. "Countdown Spectacular". debbiekruger.com. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
21. "The Chantoozies Official Website". Archived from the original on 8 May 2014.
22. "Baby It's You iTunes single". iTunes. 25 April 2014.
23. Moran, Jonathon (15 May 2015). "Chantoozies trimmed to a trio as Angie La Bozzetta hangs up stilettos". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
24. "Platterlog : LP & Tape – New Releases > 22 August 1988". Platterlog, via Imgur.com. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
25. The ARIA Report. Vol. 64. ARIA. 14 April 1991. p. 18.
26. "Baby It's You". iTunes Australia. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
27. "Black and Blue". iTunes Australia. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
28. "Take Me in Your Arms". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
29. "No Fool for You". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
30. "The Chantoozies Have A New Song Called 'Every Night'". noise11. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.

External links

• Chantoozies official website
• Discogs entry on Chantoozies
• Pop music in Australia

• Australian pop music groups
• Musical groups established in 1986
• 1986 establishments in Australia
• Mushroom Records artists