Andy Qunta

Anderson Amos Temba "Andy" Qunta (born 9 January 1951) is an English singer, songwriter, composer and musician. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Qunta is best known as the keyboardist of the Australian rock band Icehouse from between 1982 and 1988. As a popular musician, he has been influenced by artists including the Who, Cliff Richard, Jimi Hendrix, Genesis, Manfred Mann, Yes, Todd Rundgren and Queen. In a nine months period over 1986–1987 two co-written songs by Qunta ("You're The Voice" by John Farnham and "Crazy" by Icehouse) reached the Australian top 5 singles chart.

Early years Anderson Qunta was born on 9 January 1951, in Warrington, England. His father was South African and his mother English. Beginning at the age of six, he studied classical piano and violin, but later developed an interest in popular music and picked up guitar, bass guitar, harmonica, and drums.

Music career In 1970, Andy and his brother Tony formed the band Factory in Hastings, England. Andy played 12-string guitar, Tony played lead guitar and electric violin, Laurie Cooksey played drums, Jaffa Peckham played bass guitar until 1974 being replaced with Steve Kinch. All members contributed to vocals, and the band played to consistently good critical reviews. The original members of Factory re-formed in 2014, and their debut studio album Back in the Time Machine was released in April 2016. The band was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame on 16 August 2006.

Along with the success of "Crazy", in 1987 Qunta co-wrote "You're the Voice" which was released by John Farnham as the first single from his studio album Whispering Jack (1986). The song reached the number-one chart position. This gave Qunta the confidence to write and record his 1989 solo album Legend in a Loungeroom. Afterward he left Icehouse, and relocated to Los Angeles, California. He currently lives near Los Angeles, California, with his current wife, photographer Teresa Qunta (née Jones) whom he married in 2005.

Discography

Qunta has a long list of credits, and in 1989 released a solo studio album.

Studio album Legend in a Loungeroom (1989)