News October 18, 2017

Daryl Braithwaite is being inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame

The timing couldn’t have been better, really. Just as Daryl Braithwaite enjoys another streak of popularity in a hugely impressive career, the Australian music icon will be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame at the 2017 ARIA Awards.

“I feel very honoured to be inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame, in an industry that I started out in because I was so passionate about it,” Braithwaite says.

“I loved music, and being associated with my band members at the time. It’s been a great journey and life through music, and all its associated with, especially with the public that I get to perform to.

“I am just completely thrilled to be accepted.”

With a 45-year career across his impressive solo career and time with local legends Sherbet, one of our finest singers has two multi-platinum albums to his name in 1988’s Edge and 1990 follow-up Rise.

“Edge came out of the dream of hoping for success or even acceptance,” Daryl says of his first platinum breakthrough, “We had all these songs that just all felt right. After ‘As the Days Go By’, it all went from there”.

Of course, when Rise followed two years later, it featured Daryl’s now-legendary version of ‘The Horses’, which has since gone down in folklore.

“It’s a strange, exciting, situation with that song,” he admits, “trying to fathom why it is so endearing to people. I’ve spoken to Rickie Lee Jones about it, and, like myself, she doesn’t know. But it continues on.”

The 68-year-old hasn’t had to rest on past glories, however, and has found relevance with younger generations too. From Daft Punk’s sample of Sherbet’s ‘We Ride Tonight’ to his recent collabs with Client Liaison and appearances on festival lineups like the upcoming Falls, there’s something about Daryl that’s earnt him an enduring popularity that plenty of other artists of his era don’t enjoy.

“It was about 3000 people and they were mainly in their ’20s…” he says of a recent appearance at Perth’s Beer Fest, in front of a crowd of younger fans. “It was quite staggering and it’s strange because I’ve been doing it for 40-odd years and it’s still as enjoyable now, if not more, than when I started out.

“I can’t figure it out,” he adds. “All I know is that I love it. I love performing, I love the people, doesn’t matter what age. But when you do see young guys wanting to shake hands and then they sing ‘The Horses’ and it goes ballistic and you think, ‘My God, what an effect music has on people’.”

Daryl Braithwaite will be now have his place officially cemented in Australian music history when the 2017 ARIA Awards with Apple Music will take place at The Star Event Centre, Sydney on Tuesday, 28th November 2017.

He’ll also be touring with now-fellow ARIA Hall Of Famer John Farnham on the 2018 Red Hot Summer Tour, and playing a run of his own headline shows, from November to March – dates below.