Handlin, Coppel, Dainty & more: 15 music industry names in Queen’s Birthday Honours List

Denis Handlin, chairman and CEO of Australia and New Zealand, and president, Asia, of Sony Music Entertainment; Michael Coppel, Chairman of Live Nation Australia and New Zealand; and Paul Dainty, President and CEO of TEG Dainty, were among 15 names from the music field who were lauded in yesterday’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Handlin, who was made Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2005, is now also now an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO).

One of the longest serving Sony executives in the world, Handlin was lauded for his nurturing of new talent,including future stars such as Delta Goodrem (pictured above, with Handlin) and Jessica Mauboy.

As longtime Chair of ARIA, he was also at the forefront of the music industry’s battle against piracy and parallel imports, and championed initiatives to increase the profile of Australian artists.

Handlin was also recognised for his intense charity work, founding the Sony Foundation which since 1998 has raised and donated $27 million to youth-related causes as well as the Youth Off The Streets scholarship program and the Ricky Stuart Foundation.

Coppel and Dainty both were made Members of the Order of Australia (AM).

Both have been behind the biggest tours in Australia. Coppel, who became the head of the ANZ operations of Live Nation after it bought its Michael Coppel Presents, has been responsible for some of the biggest Australian tours of all time, including Dire Straits, Adele, U2, Metallica, P!nk, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.

Dainty, ranked by the global live industry magazine Pollstar as the13^th biggest promoter in the world, has been responsible for the Australian sales of 50 million tickets to acts including ABBA, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, U2, Guns ‘N’ Roses and Britney Spears.

Receiving the AM accolade yesterday were: WOMADelaide Director Ian Scobie for his service to performing arts through the production, management and promotion of festivals, theatre and performance; and Melbourne’s Greg Hocking as a conductor, director and theatre manager, and to the development of the Melbourne comedy industry.

A newly named recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) was Robbie Porter, onetime ‘60s pop singer under the name Rob E.G, who went on to produce records for Daddy Cool, Air Supply, Tommy Emmanuel and The Nauts. He also co-founded labels Sparmac and Wizard which signed Marcia Hines, Hush and Rick Springfield.

Others who now get to affix OAM after their names are:

• Melbourne trombonist Harlie Bruce Axford who founded a jazz chorale ensemble which toured for 14 years and set up the Harlie Axford Foundation in 2014 to bring the community together through music.
• Bush balladeer Peter James Coad who emerged in the late ‘709s with his two brothers in remote South Australia and was inducted into the Tamworth Hands of Fame in 2007.
• Queensland country music performer Desrëe-Ilona Crawford who started out in the family band, yodelling and playing guitar in her early teens. She signed a solo deal with Sunshine/Festival and was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the SA Country Music Festival.
• John Damien Shortis and Moya Simpson who began in the 1990s the entertainment duo Shortis and Simpson. They were singer-songwriters, political satirists and cabaret performers.
• Nevill Louis Sherburn who was well known around Melbourne’s jazz circles for his playing and enthusiasm. He died in October 2015.
• Others were country music performer Lorraine Joy Pfitzner, and musicians Glenn Bernard Ramage and Alfred Corfield Reichardt.