Diana Anaid

Diana Anaid (born 8 April 1976) is the performance name of Diana Gosper, an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter. From 1997 to 2003 she used the moniker, Diana ah Naid. Anaid has issued five studio albums, Diana ah Naid (8 April 1997, her 21st birthday), I Don't Think I'm Pregnant (September 1999), Beautiful Obscene (20 April 2004) Diana Anaid and My Queen (2017). 2007 also saw the release of Diana Anaid's first live album "Live At Bush Theatre" which was recorded in her home town of Nimbin, NSW.

Her self produced debut single, "I Go Off" (June 1997), peaked at No. 35 on the ARIA Singles Chart and soon became a fan favourite, having been given high rotation on TripleJ Radio. Another single, "Last Thing" (2004), reached the Top 40 Tracks on Billboards component chart. Anaid was invited—after her first single was released—to perform live and solo on acoustic guitar to open the 1998 ARIA Awards ceremony, a rare honour for an emerging artist. in Newcastle, Her mother died when Anaid was one year old. With her father and two older brothers, she "lived the archetypal hippie commune life, travelling around the northern part of the state". Anaid later recalled "my dad was travelling around the country trying to escape from his inner demons... It was a gypsy lifestyle and it was quite poor." The 'H' was added for numerological effect, as it "represents the number '8' which signifies 'power' and 'forcefulness' and 'infinity'." She sent a copy to Triple J's radio presenter, Richard Kingsmill, who played its lead track, "I Go Off".

"I Go Off" was issued as a single in June 1997, which peaked at No. 35 on the ARIA Singles Chart. McFarlane felt it "highlighted ah Naid's confident and passionate delivery over sparse yet adept guitar work." It was included on the various artists compilation CD for that year, the Triple J Hottest 100, Volume 5. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1998 she was nominated for Best New Talent and Breakthrough Artist – Single for "I Go Off".

Early in 1998 Anaid supported concerts by Cake, Wendy Matthews and The Whitlams. McFarlane opined that it "was a convincing follow-up." Her backing band were Natt Prang on guitar, Doug E. Styles on drums and Jed Venus on bass guitar. and was used on the related various artists album, Triple J Hottest 100 Volume 7 (2000). At the ARIA Music Awards of 2000 I Don't Think I'm Pregnant was nominated for Best Independent Release and Best Female Artist. Fellow singer-songwriter, Ella Hooper (of Killing Heidi) declared I Don't Think I'm Pregnant as her favourite album of the year, "She's cool, and she rocks!"

2000–10: Third and fourth albums During 2000 Anaid toured Australia with Monique Brumby and Deborah Conway. Anaid and Brumby became friends; Anaid recalled, "although we haven't seen much of each other, we get along so well that when we do hang out we get along like a house on fire."

In 2003 Anaid modified her performance name, dropping the 'H', so that it is a complete palindrome: Diana Anaid. For the album her backing musicians include Hutt on bass guitar, Nathan Correy on electric guitar, and Florian Reinhert on drums. During this time, Anaid took another hiatus from the music industry – her father died from cancer – and she was raising her adolescent son. It was recorded in Nimbin in July 2006, with Anaid performing alone on guitar and vocals. Glen Humprhies of Illawarra Mercury felt her lyrics provide "a real portrayal of love and life – warts and all – whether it's about the harsh reality of break-ups ('Perfect Family') or waking up after a one-night stand to have the guy confess he has a girlfriend ('Piece of Me')."

On 25 September 2009 her next single, "Cynical on Waking", was released ahead of her fourth studio album, Diana Anaid, which appeared in February 2010. She undertook a tour of the east coast of Australia during October 2009. During August to September in the following year Anaid co-headlined a national tour with Brumby, each promoted their respective fourth albums. The pair co-wrote and performed a duet on a track, "Love Is a Weapon", which provided the name for their tour.

2011 to present In January 2011, Diana Anaid was nominated in the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards for her song "Charity" in the Sing Out for Social Action Song category. It was recorded by Anaid on lead vocals and acoustic guitar; Correy on electric and bass guitars; and Dean Belcastro on drums and keyboards.

In February 2017 Anaid announced that she had recorded her fifth album, titled My Queen. Its first single, "Can't Apologise", was released in July 2017 with an accompanying music video, directed by Nick Egan. "Can't Apologise" saw radio support across the country as Diana toured nationally and through New Zealand with Adam and The Ants and her own headline shows. Early accolades for My Queen include "Diana’s a rock ‘n’ roll firecracker... a totally passionate one-off'"- Michael Smith – Rhythms "My Queen' has all the heartache, wit, poetry and honesty of her most well-known work." – MJ O'Neill-TheMusic and producer Steve James has the following praise for Diana's My Queen album "My Queen stands up as one of the best records I’ve recorded. I’ve got a short list of 10 of the hundreds of records I have worked on, including The Screaming Jets, Monty Python’s – The Rutles, Toyah Wilcox, Weta, The Rumjacks and now My Queen has been added to that list. " Following on from "Can't Apologise" second single "Better Girl" was released early in 2018 to more rave reviews "...wistful and edgy, rebellious and arty, relentlessly creative..with an amazing voice." 100% Rock "The spirit is honest, heartfelt and pleads with listeners to, well, listen...'" MusicLove "..the alternative rock/pop on display is world class." OverDrive. Touring nationally in support of "Better Girl" Diana was described as "..the Australian equivalent of Alanis Morissette" and "one of a kind" with the video clip being described as "incredibly powerful" (MGM) and "life changing". 2018 also saw the release of third single from My Queen, the "timeless classic" Leaving Town, along with its "highly effective" (theMusic.com.au) music video. Diana says about the video "The whole concept of the animation really drew me in when I connected it to the song," adds Anaid. "There were some powerful correlations, beginning with the opening moments, where the girl dives into her inner wisdom, and through to the end where she is a wise, integral, connected old woman.

"Leaving Town also relates to finding ones inner strength and connecting to something deeper, walking your own path and making a positive difference. The whole animation seems to throb and sway naturally with the beat of the song."

Discography Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions AUS Diana ah Naid Released: September 1997 Label: Diana ah Naid (BE121) / ORiGiN (OR 038) Format: CD 104I Don't Think I'm Pregnant Released: August 1999 Label: ORiGiN (OR 048) Format: CD 94 Beautiful Obscene Released: June 2004 Label: ORiGiN (OR 070) Format: CD, digital - Diana Anaid Released: April 2010 Label: Forola, MGM (FORCD0003) Format: CD, digital - My Queen Released: 2017 Label: Forola, MGM (FORCD0004) Format: CD, digital -

Live albums Title Album details Peak chart positions AUS Top 10 iTunes Pop Singles (2004) + List of singles, with Australian chart positions Title Year Peak chart positions AlbumAUS "I Go Off" 1997 36Diana ah Naid "See Through" — "Leaving the Country" 1998 — "Oh No" — "Perfect Family" 1999 120 I Don't Think I'm Pregnant "Paper Hat" — "Don't Believe in Love" 2000 79 "Love Song for a Girl" 2001 108"Last Thing" 2004 138 Beautiful Obscene"Cheatin' on Me" 2007 — "Cynical on Waking" 2009 — Diana Anaid"Can't Apologise" 2017 — My Queen "Better Girl" 2018 — "Leaving Town" —

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.

Best New Talent

Breakthrough Artist – Single 1999 "Oh No (Curbside Lullaby)" Best Independent Release

Best Female Artist

Best Independent Release