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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. 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. A year later the band changed their name to Boyschool but split soon after, with Parise and Celenza moving to form Bamboo Curtain, before joining Baby Animals.

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. 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. The album was produced by Greg Ladanyi (Jackson Browne, Toto, Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley), except "Raining" by Richard Clapton and "Drive My Car" by Ladanyi and Kunkel. It was released 14 May 1991 in Australia by Warner and also in the United States through Atlantic imprint EastWest Records. The album spent five weeks in the Australian album charts, peaking at No. 42. The first single released, "Love Gets Rough", reached No. 22 on the Australian Singles charts and charted at No. 92 on the Billboard Top 100. Other singles from the album, "God Only Knows" (Australia No. 85) and "Whisper" (Australia No. 73), 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).

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. Newman had recorded the album in Los Angeles again, with Wachtel, Glaub, Kunkel, Conte and Vanston. 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. As his body was found with a toxic combination of prescription drugs, there was speculation that he committed suicide however the autopsy was inconclusive. Newman had also contracted Hepatitis A which may have contributed to his death.

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

Singles

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.

References

1. ""It Takes Time" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 26 April 2011.
2. "Venus from a Subway". Blue-X, know, now, no. faqs.org. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
3. Spencer et al, (2007) Boys entry. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
4. ^ "Where are they now? – The Boys". Newsletter No. 271. Bmusic.com.au. 16 December 2007. Archived from the original on 22 September 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
5. ^ McFarlane, Ian (1999). "The Boys". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 28 August 2004. Retrieved 18 April 2011. Note: Archived copy has limited functionality.
6. "Newspaper reviews – Bad Boy Johnny & the Prophets of Doom". Prophet Productions Pty Ltd. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
7. "Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom". Theatre Shows. Wendy Stapleton. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
8. Jones, Nick (15 August 2009). "Newman, Troy – 1991 Gypsy Moon". GloryDazeMusic. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
9. Holmgren, Magnus; Meyer, Peer; Bouchard, Gary. "Richard Clapton". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
10. Gypsy Moon (CD). Troy Newman. United States: EastWest Records. 1991. 91670-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. ^ Australian (ARIA) chart peaks:
    • Top 50 peaks: "Discography – Troy Newman". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
    • Top 100 peaks to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 202.
12. "Troy Newman – Chart History". Billboard.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
13. "Troy Newman – Charts & Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
14. "Heartbreak High: music credits – Series One". Australian Television Information Archive. T. Zuk. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
15. "Troy Newman – It's Like This". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
16. ^ Jones, Nick (15 August 2009). "Newman, Troy – 1995 It's Like This". GloryDazeMusic. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
17. Troy Newman at Last.FM
18. Curley, Wendy (7 December 2006). "Matt Finish Resurrected". Hotsource Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
19. ^ Peaks in Australia:
    • Gypsy Moon and "Love Gets Rough": "Discography Troy Newman". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
    • "God Only Knows" and "Whisper": Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 202.
20. "Postcards from LA". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
21. "Winners by Year 1992". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2013.

• 1997 deaths
• Australian pop singers
• Drug-related deaths in Australia
• Musicians from Western Australia
• 1970 births
• 20th-century Australian male singers