Richard Pleasance
Encyclopedia
Richard Arnold Pleasance is an Australian rock music
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...

ian and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

. He was a founding member of Boom Crash Opera
Boom Crash Opera
Boom Crash Opera are a pop-rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1985. Initially based around the songwriting partnership of Richard Pleasance and Peter Farnan Boom Crash Opera also includes Dale Ryder , Peter 'Maz' Maslen , Greg O'Connor and Ian Tilley Boom Crash Opera are a pop-rock band...

 on guitar, bass guitar, vocals and as a songwriter in 1985; they released three albums before Pleasance left in 1992. Their hit Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...

 (ARIA) singles, "Great Wall" (No. 5, 1986) and "Onion Skin" (No. 11, 1989) were co-written by Pleasance, who also co-produced their second album, These Here Are Crazy Times
These Here Are Crazy Times
These Here Are Crazy Times is the second album released by Australian rock group Boom Crash Opera, released in 1989.-Track listing :#"Onion Skin" – 3:28#"Where There's A Will" – 3:59#"The Best Thing" – 4:13#"Piece Of The Pie" – 4:54#"Forever" – 3:56...

 (No. 10, 1989). His debut solo release, Galleon received four nominations at the ARIA Music Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...

 for 1992
ARIA Music Awards of 1992
The Sixth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 6 March 1992 at the World Congress Centre in Melbourne. Hosts were international guest, Julian Lennon and local Richard Wilkins, they were assisted by presenters, Spinal Tap, Rod Stewart and Mick Jones to distribute 24...

. Pleasance composed the theme music for Australian television series, SeaChange
SeaChange
SeaChange was a popular Australian television show that ran for 39 episodes from 1998 to 2001 on the ABC. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howard, Tom Long and Kerry Armstrong...

 (1998–2001) and for 2006 feature film Kenny
Kenny (2006 film)
Kenny is a 2006 Australian mockumentary film starring Shane Jacobson as Kenny Smyth, a Melbourne plumber who works for corporate bathroom rental company Splashdown....

. Pleasance is married to Michelle and, as from May 2009, he was living in Hepburn Springs, Victoria
Hepburn Springs, Victoria
Hepburn Springs is a resort town located in the middle of the largest concentration of mineral springs in Australia. It is in Victoria, 48 km northeast of Ballarat. At the 2006 census, Hepburn Springs had a population of 601 and Hepburn had a population of 375. Total population of...

 where he has a recording studio.

Early years

Richard Pleasance was the founding guitarist for Melbourne-based band Government Drums in 1980 with Steve Bell, Michael Davis, Barbara Hogarth and Willie Zygier. After they disbanded in 1982, Pleasance joined Serious Young Insects in 1983 when founding bass guitarist, Michael Vallance left. Alongside Pleasance were Peter Farnan on guitar and vocals and Mark White on drums but the group soon disbanded. Pleasance then formed Bang in 1983 which included Karen Ansel
Karen Ansel
Karen Ansel is a film and TV computer graphics specialist in the United States.Previously a musician, she was an influential member of the Australian band The Reels...

, Carol Hitchcock
Carol Hitchcock
Carol Hitchcock is an Australian singer and actor.Hitchcock was a recording artist for Mushroom Records in Australia in the late 1980s. She was well known for her very severe look; a bald head, nose ring and many ear piercings...

, Laurie McRae, Tim Rosewarne, Nick Seymour
Nick Seymour
Nick Seymour is a musician, painter, and record producer. He is best known for being the bass guitarist in the Australasian rock group Crowded House and brother to Mark Seymour of another successful group; Hunters and Collectors.- Biography :Born in Benalla, Victoria, Australia, Seymour studied...

, Wren Walters, Oleh Witer and Sherine Abeyratne, and disbanded in 1984.

Boom Crash Opera

Pleasance teamed up again with Farnan in 1985 to form rock music group Boom Crash Opera
Boom Crash Opera
Boom Crash Opera are a pop-rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1985. Initially based around the songwriting partnership of Richard Pleasance and Peter Farnan Boom Crash Opera also includes Dale Ryder , Peter 'Maz' Maslen , Greg O'Connor and Ian Tilley Boom Crash Opera are a pop-rock band...

 with Dale Ryder on lead vocals, Peter Maslen on drums and Greg O'Connor on keyboards. The band signed to Warner Records
Warner Music Australasia
Warner Music Australasia is the Australian division of the Warner Music Group. The company's operations also include distribution to New Zealand.-History:In 1969, Warner Bros...

 Australia and in 1986 released their debut single "Great Wall" co-written by Ryder, Pleasance and O'Connor. The single reached No. 5 on the Australian Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...

 Singles Chart. Their self titled debut album, Boom Crash Opera was released in 1987, and featured follow up singles "Hands Up in the Air", "City Flat" and "Her Charity"—all co-written by Pleasance.

In 1989 they released "Onion Skin
Onion Skin (song)
"Onion Skin" is a top-ten song by Australian band, Boom Crash Opera. The song is from the band's most successful album, These Here Are Crazy Times!, released in 1989. The song reached the top 10 nationally in Australia and #8 on Billboards Modern Rock chart.In the song, the singer tells how he has...

" which peaked at No. 11 on the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...

 (ARIA) Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

 in June. It was released ahead of their Top 10 album, These Here Are Crazy Times
These Here Are Crazy Times
These Here Are Crazy Times is the second album released by Australian rock group Boom Crash Opera, released in 1989.-Track listing :#"Onion Skin" – 3:28#"Where There's A Will" – 3:59#"The Best Thing" – 4:13#"Piece Of The Pie" – 4:54#"Forever" – 3:56...

 which was produced by Pete Smith and Pleasance, and mixed by Nick Launay
Nick Launay
Nick Launay is an English record producer and recording engineer. He is currently one of the most sought after producers in the world due to his current success with recent albums by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds...

. The album spent 40 weeks in the ARIA Albums Chart and achieved double platinum sales. "Onion Skin" was followed by Top 30 singles "Get Out of the House" and "Dancing in the Storm".

Boom Crash Opera released Look! Listen!! in 1990, it featured remixed versions of songs from their first two albums plus two new songs and peaked into the Top 50. Soon after its release, Pleasance was diagnosed with tinnitus
Tinnitus
Tinnitus |ringing]]") is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound.Tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom that can result from a wide range of underlying causes: abnormally loud sounds in the ear canal for even the briefest period , ear...

 and while he took time off he was replaced on bass guitar by Mick Vallance. During his break from the band, Pleasance released his debut solo album, Galleon in 1991.

In 1991 the band released an Extended Play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 (EP), Dreams on Fire, with both Pleasance and Vallance on bass guitar. The EP reached Top 50 on the ARIA Singles Chart and featured the track "Holy Water". In 1992 they 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...

 and began work on the follow-up to These Here Are Crazy Times. Soon after they began writing and recording Pleasance made his decision to leave the band. He was temporarily replaced by Dorian West and then Ian Tilley.

In 2002 Robert Doyle
Robert Doyle
Robert Keith Bennett Doyle is an Australian politician and the 103rd Lord Mayor of Melbourne, elected on 30 November 2008...

 the Opposition Leader of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 used the Boom Crash Opera track "Dancing in the Storm" as his theme song at the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 State election campaign launch in November. The band wasn't asked their permission, and would have refused according to Pleasance. The campaign failed, and Steve Bracks
Steve Bracks
Stephen Philip Bracks AC is a former Australian politician and the 44th Premier of Victoria. He first won the electoral district of Williamstown in 1994 for the Australian Labor Party, and was party leader and Premier from 1999 to 2007....

 of the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 won the election.

Boom Crash Opera recorded an acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...

 album entitled Dancing in the Storm in February 2009 with Pleasance guesting on bass, guitar, mandolin, sitar and Oud; he also produced the recording as part of the Liberation Blue series which was released in May.

Solo years

Pleasance had solo success outside Boom Crash Opera, his 1991 album Galleon featured the singles "Sarah I Miss You" and "Don't Cry". The album's personnel included Paul Hester
Paul Hester
Paul Newell Hester was an Australian musician and television personality; he was the drummer for the related bands Split Enz and Crowded House.-The early years:...

 and Deborah Conway
Deborah Conway
Deborah Ann Conway, is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and had a career as a model and actor. She was a founding member of the 1980s rock band Do-Ré-Mi with their surprise top 5 hit "Man Overboard"....

. Galleon was critically acclaimed and went on to earn four nominations at the ARIA Music Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...

 for 1992
ARIA Music Awards of 1992
The Sixth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 6 March 1992 at the World Congress Centre in Melbourne. Hosts were international guest, Julian Lennon and local Richard Wilkins, they were assisted by presenters, Spinal Tap, Rod Stewart and Mick Jones to distribute 24...

. Pleasance then toured the album, as a support act for 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...

.

Also in 1991 Pleasance co-produced and performed on the highly successful debut album for Conway, String of Pearls and co-wrote, "King of Jordan", with Conway. Pleasance has also produced, arranged, played and written with other acts, Archie Roach
Archie Roach
Archie Roach is an Australian musician. A singer, songwriter and guitarist, he survived a turbulent upbringing to develop into a powerful voice for Indigenous Australians, a storyteller in the tradition of his ancestors, and a nationally popular and respected artist.- Biography :In his own words,...

, Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...

, Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.Two of Vega's songs reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner"...

, James Reyne
James Reyne
James Reyne is an Australian rock musician and singer/songwriter both as a member of the iconic 1980s band Australian Crawl and solo work.. He is a successful singer/ songwriter and prolific artist...

, Jon Stevens
Jon Stevens
Jon Stevens is a New Zealand-born singer of Maori descent, now an Australian citizen. Stevens is the brother of New Zealand Idol judge Frankie Stevens....

, Nick Barker
Nick Barker
Nicholas "Nick" Paul Barker is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who formed a Melbourne-based rock, power pop band Nick Barker & the Reptiles in March 1988. Their cover version of Cockney Rebel's "Make Me Smile " reached the top 30 on the Australian Recording Industry Association ...

, Seven Stories
Seven Stories (band)
Seven Stories was an Australian rock group formed in Adelaide, initially as Tall Stories, in 1986. The band was nominated as 'Best New Talent' at the 1991 Australian Record Industry Association Awards and signed to Sony , but disbanded in 1994 after its second full-length album release, Everything...

 and Augie March
Augie March
Augie March are an Australian indie/pop rock band. Formed in 1996 in Shepparton, Victoria, the band currently consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Glenn Richards, lead guitarist Adam Donovan, bassist Edmondo Ammendola, drummer David Williams, and keyboardist Kiernan Box...

.

In 1996, Pleasance formed Felt with fellow singer-songwriter Wendy Morrison on piano and they released the self-titled album, Felt, on Gotham and BMG Records. Pleasance supplied vocals, guitar, bass guitar and keyboard and produced the album.

Pleasance wrote and produced the theme for the popular Australian television series SeaChange
SeaChange
SeaChange was a popular Australian television show that ran for 39 episodes from 1998 to 2001 on the ABC. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howard, Tom Long and Kerry Armstrong...

 (1998–2001). He started a band, Pleasantville, which included his wife, Michelle, which released their debut album Hill of Beans in 2004. He composed the theme music for 2006 feature film Kenny
Kenny (2006 film)
Kenny is a 2006 Australian mockumentary film starring Shane Jacobson as Kenny Smyth, a Melbourne plumber who works for corporate bathroom rental company Splashdown....

. As from May 2009, Pleasance was living in Hepburn Springs, Victoria
Hepburn Springs, Victoria
Hepburn Springs is a resort town located in the middle of the largest concentration of mineral springs in Australia. It is in Victoria, 48 km northeast of Ballarat. At the 2006 census, Hepburn Springs had a population of 601 and Hepburn had a population of 375. Total population of...

 where he has a recording studio.

APRA-AGSC Awards

The annual Screen Music Awards
APRA Awards
The APRA Music Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia and New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually....

 are presented by Australasian Performing Right Association
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...

 (APRA) and Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC).
  • 2008
    APRA Awards of 2008
    The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2008 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred on 16 June at the Sydney Hilton, they were presented by APRA and the Australasian...

     Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie win for Emerald Falls composed by Richard Pleasance.
  • 2008 Best Original Song Composed for the Screen nomination for "Episode 14" of City Homicide
    City Homicide
    City Homicide was an Australian television drama series that aired on the Seven Network between 27 August 2007 – 30 March 2011. The series was set on the Homicide floor of a metropolitan police headquarters in Melbourne...

     composed by Pleasance.

Discography

Boom Crash Opera albums
  • Boom Crash Opera (1987)
  • These Here Are Crazy Times!
    These Here Are Crazy Times
    These Here Are Crazy Times is the second album released by Australian rock group Boom Crash Opera, released in 1989.-Track listing :#"Onion Skin" – 3:28#"Where There's A Will" – 3:59#"The Best Thing" – 4:13#"Piece Of The Pie" – 4:54#"Forever" – 3:56...

     (1989) (produced by Pleasance)
  • Look! Listen!! (1990)
  • Dancing in the Storm (2009) (guest musician and produced by Pleasance)


Boom Crash Opera Extended play
  • Dreams on Fire (1991)

Albums

  • Galleon (East West
    East West Records
    East West Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, and operates under WMG's Independent Label Group.-History:...

     1991) (produced by Pleasance)
  • Colourblind (Gotham/BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

     1995) (produced by Pleasance)
  • Felt (Gotham/BMG 1996) as by Felt (duo with Wendy Morrison, produced by Pleasance)
  • Hill of Beans (2004) as by Pleasantville (with Michelle Pleasance, produced by Pleasance)

Engineer, producer or session musician

Pleasance has been an audio engineer, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 and/or session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...

.
  • 1991 – String of Pearls – Deborah Conway
    Deborah Conway
    Deborah Ann Conway, is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and had a career as a model and actor. She was a founding member of the 1980s rock band Do-Ré-Mi with their surprise top 5 hit "Man Overboard"....

  • 1991 – Electric Digger Dandy
    Electric Digger Dandy
    Electric Digger Dandy is the third solo album by Australian singer/songwriter James Reyne released in 1991. The title of the American release was Any Day Above Ground; the album was not officially released in the United Kingdom and only available via import.The album saw James Reyne's return to a...

     – James Reyne
    James Reyne
    James Reyne is an Australian rock musician and singer/songwriter both as a member of the iconic 1980s band Australian Crawl and solo work.. He is a successful singer/ songwriter and prolific artist...

  • 1992 – 99.9F°
    99.9F°
    99.9F° is the fourth album by the American singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega. Released in 1992, the album marked a significant departure for Vega, as she embraced a more electronic-influenced, experimental sound. It peaked at #86 on Billboard Magazine album charts, as well as two songs to their Modern...

     – Suzanne Vega
    Suzanne Vega
    Suzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.Two of Vega's songs reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner"...

  • 1993 – Everything You Want (Nothing That You Need) – Seven Stories
    Seven Stories (band)
    Seven Stories was an Australian rock group formed in Adelaide, initially as Tall Stories, in 1986. The band was nominated as 'Best New Talent' at the 1991 Australian Record Industry Association Awards and signed to Sony , but disbanded in 1994 after its second full-length album release, Everything...

  • 1994 – Happy Man – Barker
    Nick Barker
    Nicholas "Nick" Paul Barker is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who formed a Melbourne-based rock, power pop band Nick Barker & the Reptiles in March 1988. Their cover version of Cockney Rebel's "Make Me Smile " reached the top 30 on the Australian Recording Industry Association ...

  • 1996 – Shop Front Window – The Jaynes
  • 1998 – Waltz
    Waltz (EP)
    Waltz is an EP released by the Australian indie rock band Augie March. It was first released in 1999. It includes the first appearance of the band's early hit "Asleep In Perfection". A music video was also issued for the closing track, "The Moth Ball"....

     – Augie March
    Augie March
    Augie March are an Australian indie/pop rock band. Formed in 1996 in Shepparton, Victoria, the band currently consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Glenn Richards, lead guitarist Adam Donovan, bassist Edmondo Ammendola, drummer David Williams, and keyboardist Kiernan Box...

  • 2000 – Sunset Studies
    Sunset Studies
    Sunset Studies is the first studio album by the Australian indie rock band Augie March. It was released in 2000 in Australia by BMG.-Track listing:# "The Hole In Your Roof" – 7:12# "Maroondah Reservoir" – 5:05# "There Is No Such Place" – 3:17...

     – Augie March
  • 2001 – Resonate – Jimmy Little
    Jimmy Little
    Jimmy Little AO , is an Australian Aboriginal musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist, whose career has spanned six decades. For many years he was the only Aboriginal star on the Australian music scene...

  • 2002 – Cooinda – Kutcha Edwards
    Kutcha Edwards
    Kutcha Edwards is an Indigenous singer and songwriter. He was born in Balranald, New South Wales in 1965. A member of the stolen generation, he was removed from his parents at the age of 18 months. He is a Mutti Mutti man...

  • 2002 – Sensual Being – Archie Roach
    Archie Roach
    Archie Roach is an Australian musician. A singer, songwriter and guitarist, he survived a turbulent upbringing to develop into a powerful voice for Indigenous Australians, a storyteller in the tradition of his ancestors, and a nationally popular and respected artist.- Biography :In his own words,...

  • 2003 – Won't You Come Around
    Won't You Come Around
    Won't You Come Around is an EP released by Australian folk rock musician Paul Kelly and his band on 3 November 2003 by EMI. The EP peaked at #55 on the Australian Recording Industry Association Australian Singles Charts...

     – Paul Kelly
    Paul Kelly (musician)
    Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...

  • 2005 – All the Pretty Boys
    All the Pretty Boys
    All the Pretty Boys is the first album from Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Sophie Koh.The album is notable as it was produced by Aria Award winning producer Richard Pleasance and contains some of the final recordings of former Crowded House drummer Paul Hester.The first single from the album...

     – Sophie Koh
    Sophie Koh
    Sophie Koh is a singer and songwriter based in Australia.-Brief Biography:Born in New Zealand, Sophie Koh grew up both there and in Singapore. After finishing university in Melbourne, Australia, she headed north to Darwin , where she won Triple J's Unearthed contest in 2003. Returning to...


External links

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