Iva Davies is the frontman for Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n electro

Electro (music)

Electro is a genre of electronic dance music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 drum machines, Moog keytar synthesizers and funk sampling...

/new wave

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

/rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band

Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

 Icehouse

Icehouse (band)

Icehouse is an Australian rock band, formed as Flowers in 1977 in Sydney. Initially known in Australia for their pub rock style, they later achieved mainstream success playing new wave and synthpop style music and attained Top Ten singles chart success in both Europe and the U.S...

.

Biography

Davies has worked with such notable musicians as David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

, Brian Eno

Brian Eno

Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...

, Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel

Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...

, Bryan Ferry

Bryan Ferry

Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...

 and Roxy Music

Roxy Music

Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...

, Yukihiro Takahashi

Yukihiro Takahashi

Yukihiro Takahashi is a Japanese musician, who is best known as the drummer and lead vocalist of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, and as the former drummer of the Sadistic Mika Band.-Biography:...

, John Oates

John Oates

John William Oates is an American rock, R&B and soul guitarist, musician, songwriter and producer best known as half of the rock and soul duo Hall & Oates ....

, Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...

, Simple Minds

Simple Minds

Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...

, Peter Tosh

Peter Tosh

Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh , was a Jamaican reggae musician who was a core member of the band The Wailers , and who afterward had a successful solo career as well as being a promoter of Rastafari.Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica, an illegitimate child to a mother too young...

, Robert Palmer, XTC

XTC

XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...

, The Psychedelic Furs, and many more.

1970s

Davies first performed as a 16-year-old musician with the "Lucy Fields Jug Band" led by Lindsay Campbell around 1971. Three floors down in the YMCA Basement in Sydney was a regular folk and acoustic music venue which featured artists such as Bob Hudson, Mike Mclelland, Al Ward, Pat and Geoff Drummond, Al Head, Marion Henderson, Margaret Roadknight and Graeme Lownde. Davies is famous for his vocal style, which was influenced by David Bowie, Bryan Ferry and Marc Bolan,

Davies played oboe with the Sydney Youth Orchestra and was a member of the Epping Boys High School Band where he played also played Euphonium. The Lucy Fields Jug Band secured a recording contract with M7 records but the company was soon to change hands and the band's album was never released.

In late 1977, Iva Davies, a former oboe

Oboe

The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...

 and composition student at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music joined with bass guitar

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

 player Keith Welsh to form a band called Flowers. In 1979 Davies re-established an old acquaintance with Cameron Allan, the director of Sydney-based independent label Regular Records, to whom Flowers signed in early 1980.

1980s

In 1985 Davies and fellow Icehouse member Bob Kretschmer worked on the ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 Boxes with the Sydney Dance Company

Sydney Dance Company

The Sydney Dance Company is one of Australia's most successful and well-known contemporary dance companies. The company was founded in 1969 as the dance-in-education group Ballet in a Nutshell by Suzanne Musitz , later changing its name to Athletes and Dancers, and Dance Company ...

. In addition to scoring the ballet, they also co-wrote the script with Graeme Murphy

Graeme Murphy

Graeme Murphy is an Australian dance choreographer. Together with his fellow dancer Janet Vernon, he has guided Sydney Dance Company to become one of Australia's most successful and well-known dance companies....

. Boxes opened at the Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...

 in December, and Davies performed in an acting/singing/dancing role to sold-out crowds for three weeks straight.

1985 also saw Davies win an APRA

Australasian Performing Right Association

The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...

 Music Award for "Most Performed Australasian Music For Film" for Razorback

Razorback (film)

Razorback is a 1984 Australian film, based on Peter Brennan's novel, written by Everett De Roche, and directed by Russell Mulcahy who would later make the first two of the Highlander trilogy...

.

In 1988, Davies and co-collaborator John Oates

John Oates

John William Oates is an American rock, R&B and soul guitarist, musician, songwriter and producer best known as half of the rock and soul duo Hall & Oates ....

 won an APRA Music Award for the Icehouse song Electric Blue

Electric Blue (song)

"Electric Blue" is a 1987 hit single by the Australian rock / synthpop band Icehouse and was co-written by Iva Davies of Icehouse and John Oates of the U.S. band Hall & Oates. The single reached number one on the Australian singles chart on 16 November 1987, number seven on the American Billboard...

(from the Man Of Colours album) in the "Most Performed Australasian Popular Work" category.

On 25 January 1988, Icehouse performs "Electric Blue" at the Royal Command, New South Wales Bicentennial Concert in front of the Prince

Charles, Prince of Wales

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...

 and Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...

 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre

Sydney Entertainment Centre

The Sydney Entertainment Centre is a multi-purpose venue, located in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia. It opened in May 1983, to replace Sydney Stadium, which had been demolished to make way for a new railway. The centre is currently owned by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, which administers...

. Davies performance was notable for his stage-fright and, due to his being greatly affected by nerves, singing off-key and out of tune.

1990s

The Sydney Dance Company worked on creating a ballet which became Berlin. As well as recording the score to the ballet, Davies performed these songs live with Icehouse at each show. He was an intrinsic part of the ballet, in a role similar to the one in he played in Boxes. Iva was successful in creating a translation from the dancers to the audience. Berlin was an instant success and ran for two seasons. Boxes and Berlin are two of the most successful shows that the Sydney Dance Company has had to date.

2000s

In 2003, Davies travelled to Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 to record the soundtrack to the Peter Weir

Peter Weir

Peter Lindsay Weir, AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office...

 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...

with Christopher Gordon and Richard Tognetti

Richard Tognetti

Richard Leo Tognetti, AO is an Australian violinist, composer and conductor. He is currently Artistic Director and Leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Artistic Director of the Maribor Festival in Maribor, Slovenia....

. Together, they won the 2004 APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award in the "Best Soundtrack Album" category. In 2005 Davies scored the mini-series The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant

The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant

The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant is a 2005 film loosely based on the life of Mary Bryant, a Cornish girl convicted of petty theft and is transported to the Australian Penal Colony on the First Fleet with other prisoners bound for Botany Bay. It is written by Peter Berry and directed by Peter...

. On 6 November 2006, he won the 2006 APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award in the "Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie" category. From 15 June 2008, Davies was a judge on Seven Network

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

 TV series Battle of the Choirs

Battle of the Choirs

Battle of the Choirs is an Australian reality talent competition that premiered on the Seven Network on 15 June 2008. The show is hosted by David Koch, with the judging panel consisting of Jonathon Welch, Iva Davies, Charli Delaney and George Torbay....

; his band Icehouse performed "Great Southern Land

Great Southern Land

"Great Southern Land" is a single released by Australian rock band Icehouse. It was released in August 1982, before the album Primitive Man. Peaking at number five on the Australian Singles Chart, it was later featured in the 1988 Yahoo Serious film Young Einstein, and remains their most popular...

" on the grand final show won by University of Newcastle

University of Newcastle, Australia

The University of Newcastle is an Australian public university that was established in 1965. The University's main and largest campus is located in Callaghan, a suburb of Newcastle in New South Wales...

 Chamber Choir.

Awards

1982	Countdown Award - "Most Popular Male Performer"
1985	APRA Music Award - "Most Performed Australasian Music For Film" for Razorback
1988	APRA Music Award - "Most Performed Australasian Popular Work" for Electric Blue
1991	16th Annual "Mo Awards" (Australian Variety Artist Association) Nomination for "Best Male Performer"
2004	APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award - "Best Soundtrack Album" for Master And Commander
2006	APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award - "Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie" for Mary Bryant

Achievements

1985	Boxes ballet with the Sydney Dance Company at the Sydney Opera House voted "Event of the year" by Rolling Stone Rolling Stone Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J... magazine
1995	Berlin with Max Lambert and the Sydney Dance Company opens at the Sydney Opera House and continues its success into 1996 with international and Australian seasons.
1999	The Ghost of Time performed with Richard Tognetti, and the Sydney Symphony on New Year's Eve at the Sydney Opera House as part of Australia's contribution to the international Millennium Celebrations, which was telecast to a viewing audience of 2.5 billion people.
2000	Circles in the Sky commissioned as the theme song for the Olympic Live sites during the celebration of the Sydney Olympic Games.

Personal life

Iva married Tonia Kelly in 1990. They have two children: Brynn (born 1993) and Evan (1996).

Iva and Tonia Davies subsequently divorced in February 2010.

External links

• Spellbound - Icehouse News, interviews, discography, photo gallery
• Flowers - Icehouse The new official Iva Davies website as of 26 April 2011