Bernard Fanning

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Bernard Fanning (born on August 15, 1969) is an Australian musician and singer-songwriter.

He was the lead vocalist of the Queensland alternative rock band Powderfinger from its inception in 1989 to its dissolution in 2010. Fanning was born and raised in Toowong, Brisbane, and was taught the piano by his mother at an early age.

While attending St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace, he began writing music at the age of 15.

After graduating from St. Joseph's Fanning, he went on to the University of Queensland, where he briefly worked in journalism.

After meeting Ian Haug in an economics class, he decided against pursuing a music career.

Fanning performed alongside Haug, John Collins, and Steven Bishop, who had just joined Powderfinger, as the lead singer.

The band formed five studio albums in fifteen years after Bishop left and guitarist Darren Middleton joined, and Australia's mainstream success has grown.

Fanning started his solo music career with the studio album Tea & Sympathy during Powderfinger's hiatus in 2005.

Powderfinger returned in 2007 and released two more albums before disbanding in late 2010. Although Powderfinger's style is primarily focused on alternative rock, Fanning's solo album can be described as a mash-up of blues and acoustic folk.

When performing solo and also with Powderfinger, he plays guitar, piano, keys, and harmonica.

Fanning has devoted a significant portion of his time to philanthropic causes despite often speaking out against Australian political figures.

He is a supporter of Aboriginal rights in Australia.

Early life

Fanning was born in Brisbane on August 15, 1969. In an Irish Catholic family in Toowong, he was raised with two brothers and a sister. The death of one of Fanning's brothers from cancer will inspire Vulture Street's "Since You've Been Gone." Fanning's mother began teaching him piano as a child, but his siblings were not interested in music.

Fanning began writing his own songs at the age of 15. Fanning has characterized these early works as "terrible," but he admits to enjoying writing and organizing them. Fanning, a student at St Joseph's, went to the University of Queensland to study journalism; however, he had a keen interest in studying music and left university at the age of 19.

Personal life

Fanning has worked on various philanthropic positions as a result of his autonomy and with Powderfinger. The band appeared at the 2005 WaveAid festival to raise funds for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, as well as the Across the Great Divide tour in 2007 to promote Reconciliation Australia's efforts. Fanning has worked with charities such as A Just Australia and Youngcare Australia, and he donates his time to youth detention centers in Brisbane, which provide songwriting workshops. Fanning once referred to fellow Australian musician Ben Lee as "the saviour of Australian music" in an uncharacteristic outburst, after Lee referred to him as "the saviour of Australian music." Fanning apologised for the remark later in the day.

In Brisbane, Fanning married Andrea Moreno in February 2007. Moreno is from Spain, where the two met when Fanning was writing and recording Tea & Sympathy in Europe. Fanning had a twelve-year marriage with his previous girlfriend. It was this break-up (along with his older brother's death in the past) that influenced a lot of the lyrical content and sombre atmospheric atmosphere of Tea & Sympathy. Fanning has learned how to speak Spanish through Moreno. Fanning and Moreno performed together, although Powderfinger was on lockout and Fanning was touring as a solo artist.

Fanning is a supporter of cricket and National Rugby League (NRL) club the Brisbane Broncos.

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Music career

Fanning first met Powderfinger guitarist Ian Haug in a University of Queensland economics class in 1989. Haug had recently formed Powderfinger with high school friends John Collins and Steven Bishop, who would become the band's foundational bass guitarist and drummer, respectively. Haug was the lead guitarist and lead singer. On discovering Fanning's singing abilities, Haug replaced himself with Fanning as lead singer and frontman. Haug stated that, "It was a big thing to convince the others that we needed a singer. They were like, 'You're OK,' and I was like, 'No I'm not. We can do better than that.'"

In 1992, current guitarist Darren Middleton was invited to join Powderfinger by Fanning and Haug, after they were impressed by his work in Brisbane band Pirate. Middleton accepted the offer and became the fifth member, joining Jon Coghill who had replaced Bishop as drummer. The line-up of Fanning, Middleton, Haug, Collins, and Coghill then remained unchanged.

Throughout the late 1990s, Powderfinger rose to prominence throughout Australia, receiving several accolades and achieving highly successful record and concert ticket sales. As the most vocal and prominent member of the band, the popularity of the group elevated Fanning as a powerful individual in the Australian music industry. In 2003, Fanning was called upon by film-maker Gregor Jordan to perform the folk song "Moreton Bay" (named after the bay in the Brisbane area) and his own original composition "Shelter for My Soul" in his film Ned Kelly. Fanning then enlisted Jordan to film Powderfinger's first live DVD, These Days: Live in Concert.

On 31 October 2005, Fanning released his debut solo album entitled Tea & Sympathy. It debuted at number one on the Australian ARIA Albums chart, and spent 58 weeks in the top 50. It peaked at number 11 during its 18-week stay on the New Zealand albums chart.

Tea & Sympathy included songs Fanning had written in his time with Powderfinger, as well as new material written after the band went on hiatus. Most of the writing was done in what Fanning described as a "creative burst" between March and May 2005. Much of the inspiration for the work on the album came from Fanning's reaction to the death of his brother in 2002, and to the ending of a 12-year relationship with his girlfriend, Philippa Sison. Most of the album was recorded at Real World Studios with Tchad Blake in June 2005, except for "Not Finished Just Yet", "Believe", "Wash Me Clean", and "Hope & Validation", which were recorded at Fanning's Brisbane home. Fanning was supported by musicians Jerry Marotta, Keith Duffy, and John Bedggood, who also formed part of his live band. The album was developed in a relaxed manner, with Fanning stating, "We had a ball putting the songs together."

Three singles were released from the album. The most successful of these was the lead single, "Wish You Well", followed shortly by "Songbird". These releases were only sold as digital download singles. The album's third single, "Watch Over Me", was the only one to be released as a CD single and achieved minor success on the Australian singles chart. It entered the chart on 9 July 2006 at number 16 spending eight weeks in the top 50. On 26 January 2006, "Wish You Well" was voted number one for the 2005 Triple J Hottest 100. Following "Watch Over Me", Fanning digitally released a fourth single "Weekend of Mystery". It was not officially on the album but was included on the album available from the iTunes Store. Fanning took home the award for Best Video at the 2006 ARIA Awards for "Wish You Well".

On 2 December 2005, Fanning announced a nationwide Which Way Home Concert Tour, named after the song on the album of the same name. Fanning played seven shows between 25 February and 10 March 2006, in each of Australia's major capital cities. He was supported by Perth band The Panics and Brisbane singer Andrew Morris. He followed this with the Yesterday's Gone tour, announced on 11 August 2006, which concluded with Powderfinger re-uniting and returning to the recording studio. Fanning later said that while he enjoyed making Tea & Sympathy, "Powderfinger is my real job".

Throughout 2006, Fanning had hinted Powderfinger would end their hiatus and release a sixth studio album. Recorded in Los Angeles, Dream Days at the Hotel Existence was released on 2 June 2007. The title of the album came from a chapter of Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster, a book that Fanning had read during recording. The album debuted at number one on the Australian ARIA Albums chart.

Powderfinger toured Australia and New Zealand with Silverchair on their Across the Great Divide tour in 2007. The tour's aim was to promote the efforts of Reconciliation Australia to reduce the 17-year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians. Fanning said of the tour, "The idea is to show both bands are behind the idea of reconciliation."

After the disbanding of Powderfinger, Fanning moved to Madrid for 18 months with his family, where he began writing for his next solo album before moving to Brisbane in 2013. Departures was released in June 2013, with the recording work done in Los Angeles, between leaving Spain and returning to Australia.

Fanning released his third studio album Civil Dusk on 5 August 2016. It was preceded by the single "Wasting Time". Civil Dusk is released as part one of a series of two albums, the second being Brutal Dawn.

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