Winner of the Australian National Songwriting Contest - FULL STORY
John Harley Weston has just been officially notified that he is the winner of the prestigious 2005 Australian National Songwriting Contest - rock category. (Encompasses rock/metal/indie).
The song is 'Last Days Of Summer' and is featured on John's independent album 'Hope Harbour'. ( listen to soundbyte ) ( buy now )
The same track also appears on a compilation album 'Our Backyard' distributed to over 300 radio stations Australia-wide in March 2005 by Beau FM radio station in conjunction with AMRAP and CBF.
The Australian National Songwriting Contest is run by the Australian Songwriters Association. Celebrating it's 25th year the Gala Awards Night is to be held in Sydney on 2/6. It will be a momentous occasion involving the movers and shakers of the Australian music industry including celebrities, artist managers, publishers, radio pluggers, ARIA and APRA representatives. Tyrone Noonan and Nick Stewart from the band 'George' will be performing on the night and of course the winners from all categories will each be performing their winning song.
Weston co-wrote 'Last Days Of Summer' with U.S. based drummer/guitarist Tony Beard (Go West, Paul McCartney, Hall and Oates, Jeff Beck) during John's flying visit to New York in 1992. In a basement garage in up state New York they got together and gave birth to a buster of a summer rock anthem. 'Lyrically it's essence is about living in the moment. Summer doesn't last forever. It's a snapshot of my youth', Weston recalls.
'Last Days Of Summer' has an instantly recognisable and modern grab you by the scruff of the neck roots/rock electric guitar intro and according to Rave Magazine (Aust) John Harley Weston's vocals are reminiscent of 'Paul Rodgers on Free's All Right Now'.
This is a huge result for Weston who has been tramping the stomping grounds of songwriter and performer like a man possessed for many, many years. Originally from Glasgow, Scotland, John has lived in Australia for 8 years. He has had releases via Phonogram and Festival Records.
As well as receiving cash, music related prizes and great exposure via the Australian Songwriters Association, the winners in each category join an elite group of Australian songwriters who get to use the tag 'award winning songwriter'.
So what does John Harley Weston have to say about this accolade from his peers?
In his broad Scottish brogue he says, 'If I'd known it was going to be this hard being a songwriter I'd have been an astronaut. Mind you, with both jobs you've got your head in the clouds for a large majority of the time and you also get to view the universe from a different perspective so I suppose they're not that dissimilar. The only difference is that the rocket to stardom is a bit slower than the rocket to the moon. Right now, I'm enjoying this ride through musical orbit and I won't be touching down for quite some time'.
The President (Kieran Burgess) and Vice President (Denny Burgess) of the Aust Songwriters Assoc called John personally today to reiterate that this is a very prestigious award. The judging by industry experts is brutally tough. Over weeks, numbers are whittled down from hundreds (even thousands) to a final 10 in each category. At the final judging stage the panel that are brought in are ruthless famous Aussie Songwriters - who remain anonymous - for fear of their lives. They've obviously heard that those Glasgow lads don't like to lose.
