Flying Emus are an Australiancountry/bluegrass band that formed in 1984 and released four studio albums, including, This Town, which won an ARIA Award for Best Country Album in 1988. They disbanded in 1990. At the Country Music Awards of Australia in January 2013, John Kane (guitar, mandolin), announced they had reformed with other founders: his younger sister Genni Kane on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Kerin on violin and mandolin and Ian Simpson on banjo, joined by new member Michael Vidale on bass guitar.
History
1984–1991
In 1984 the Flying Emus were formed in Sydney with Genni Kane and her older brother John Kane,[1] Mike Kerin, and Ian Simpson, as a country, bluegrass group. In 1985 the band released their debut studio album, Look Out Below, which won Instrumental of the Year at the 1986 CMAA Country Music Awards. At the same ceremony they won Vocal Group of the Year for their song "Diamond Creek".[2] At the 1987 CMAA awards, the band took Instrumental of the Year again, for the track "Emu Strut".[3] In October 1986 they supported Steeleye Span in a show at the Canberra Theatre, where local correspondent Robert Hefner of The Canberra Times praised the vocals of Genni Kane, violin work by Kerin and banjo by Simpson.[4]
In 1987 the band released This Town and in September of that year they supported Suzanne Vega at the Sydney Town Hall.[5]Tharunka's Jim Dwyer felt the venue did not suit their intimate style.[5] At the 1988 CMAA awards the group won Instrumental of the Year for the third consecutive year with the track "Jackaroo", and secured another Vocal Group of the Year for "Auctioneer". They won Best Country Album for This Town at the ARIA Music Awards of 1988.[6]
In 1989 the band released Postcards from Paradise, which was nominated for an ARIA Award for Best Country Album in 1990. Also in that year they released their final studio album, Thank You and Goodnight, before breaking up.[7] At the 1991 CMAA awards they won Instrumental of the Year for the fourth time with the track "Dixie Breakdown".[3][8]
2013–present: Reformation and The Collection
In January 2013 at the Country Music Awards of Australia, band member John Kane announced the group were reforming.[7] In December 2013 the Flying Emus announced a reunion tour for January 2014 with the four original members (John and Genni Kane, Simpson and Kerin) joined by Michael Vidale on bass. A compilation album, Flying Emus: The Collection, was released through Warner Music on 10 January 2014, with tracks from the band's four albums spanning from 1984 to 1990.[7]4ZZZ said, "Pretty good at whatever they chose to do: country, pop, trad-folk, the Flying Emus were at their best, I think, when doing bluegrass. Bluegrass bands are renowned for their crazy soloing, but even amongst them The Flying Emus have the skills to make you do a double-take."[9]
Members
Genni Kane (Genevieve Wilby)[10] – lead vocals, guitar
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Flying Emus have won one awards from five nominations.
The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.[12] Flying Emus have won six awards.[8]
^"A Fair Dinkum Winner at Country Awards". The Canberra Times. Vol. 60, no. 18, 380. 27 January 1986. p. 6. Retrieved 17 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia. Note: source does not specify album or song.
^"Music: Musically Steeleye Were Brilliant". The Canberra Times. Vol. 61, no. 18, 641. 15 October 1986. p. 24. Retrieved 17 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
