Sharon O'Neill

Sharon Lea O'Neill (born 23 November 1952) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and pianist, who had an Australasian hit single in 1983 with "Maxine" which reached No. 16 on both the Australian Kent Music Report and Recording Industry Association of New Zealand charts.

Career 1960s–1977: Career beginnings Sharon O'Neill is a self taught musician who learned to play guitar by ear and started composing at an early age, by putting chords to her poetry. She began playing the acoustic guitar around Nelson in the 1960s.

O'Neill began recording with Robin Winch and Nancy Richman under the name Suitewater. An entry into the 1970 Mobil Song Quest, saw Sharon & Nancy make the finals with a song called "Life Upon Life" written by O'Neill. Another of her songs, "Nothing Makes It Easy", got her to the finals of the New Faces television talent show in 1972 In 1972, O'Neill released "Love Song" a Lesley Duncan cover on Ode Records. Between 1972 and 1977 O'Neill joined New Zealand band Chapta, a covers band called Jessica, and a rock-pop band called Shiner. In 1977, encouraged by Shiner guitarist and future husband Brent Thomas, O'Neill began concentrating on song writing. O'Neill provided the soundtrack to Roger Donaldson's 1982 movie Smash Palace. It was a five-track extended play and won Best Film Soundtrack/Cast Recording/Compilation at the 1983 New Zealand Music Awards.

O'Neill's fourth studio album Foreign Affairs was released in May 1983. It contained the tracks "Losing You" (AUS #26) and "Maxine" (AUS #16), In a 2016 interview, O'Neill said: "I was living in a hotel in Kings Cross when I got the inspiration to write 'Maxine'. She was always out there working at 3am when we'd get home bleary-eyed from a gig."

1984–1999: Polydor Records and compilations A legal battle with her then-record company CBS caused a delay in her career.

In October 1987, O'Neill returned with her fifth studio album Danced in the Fire on Polygram, and toured Australia and New Zealand on The Let It Be Tour (The Beatles tribute show) in November–December 2007.

In 2014, Sony New Zealand released a new greatest hits collection titled Words: The Very Best of Sharon O'Neill. The album peaked at number 6 on the New Zealand albums chart.

In 2018, O'Neill performed a duet with Ben Ransom titled "Young Years", the song she co-wrote for the group Dragon.

O'Neill's partner of 40 years, Alan Mansfield, died in Sydney of complications related to his cancer treatment, on 16 October 2024.

Discography

Studio albums This Heart This Song (1979) Sharon O'Neill / Words (1980) Maybe (1981) Foreign Affairs (1983) Danced in the Fire (1987) Edge of Winter (1990)

Awards and nominations 1978 Sharon O'Neill New Zealand Music Awards - Top Female Vocalist 1979 Sharon O'Neill New Zealand Music Awards - Top Female Vocalist 1979 "Face In a Rainbow" APRA Awards (New Zealand) - Silver Scroll Awards

Sharon O'Neill New Zealand Music Awards - Top Female Vocalist Sharon O'Neill New Zealand Music Awards - Album of the Year 1981 Sharon O'Neill

1982 Sharon O'Neill

Sharon O'Neill Smash Palace New Zealand Music Awards - Best Film Soundtrack/Cast Recording/Compilation

Sharon O'Neill Australian Countdown Awards - Best Female Performance in a Video Sharon O'Neill Australian Countdown Awards - Most Popular Female Performer Sharon O'Neill Australian Countdown Awards - Best Songwriter 1985 "Power" Australian Countdown Awards - Best Female Performance in a Video 1988 Sharon O'Neill ARIA Music Awards - Best Female Artist 1989 "We're Only Human" ARIA Music Awards - Best Female Artist