Bryan Dawe
Bryan John Dawe is best known as an Australian writer, comedian and political satirist, but is also known for his work as a songwriter, photographer and social activist.
Dawe has been a regular collaborator of fellow satirist John Clarke in the form of mock interviews, first for A Current Affair, and then for The 7.30 Report. Dawe would take on the role of interviewer, with Clarke playing the role of a prominent figure or politician. Unusually for topical satire of this type - such as one of Clarke's earlier ventures, The Gillies Report (1984-1985) - Clarke never attempts to explicitly impersonate the figures he represents, and always performs them in his own voice and manner. The format generally involves Dawe trying to press for an answer and Clarke trying to evade the question.
The duo began writing and presenting the segments in 1989, and switched to The 7.30 Report not long after leaving A Current Affair in 1997. As of 2014[update], the pair continue to present their weekly interview segment at the end of the Thursday edition of The 7.30 Report. During the 2014 Australian television season 'Clarke and Dawe' became a self-contained program on the ABC. The interviews have also been compiled into several books and CD releases, two of which "Great Interviews of the 20th Century" and "The Annual Report" won the pair the ARIA Award for 'Best Australian Comedy Record'. "Secret Men's Business" was nominated for the same award in 1997.
Dawe has a number of other roles outside of his interview collaborations with Clarke. He is a songwriter, winning (along with musician Steve Groves) the Australian Song Festival and then representing Australia in Tokyo at the World Song Festival. Prior to this, in the early 1970s, he worked as an A&R manager for Astor Records and played a significant role in making the Neil Diamond LP Hot August Night a major hit in Australia. He is also a talented painter and photographer, and has featured in several gallery exhibitions which combine these two interests.
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