Darryl Cotton

Darryl Cotton
Darryl Cotton in 1997
Background information
Birth name	Darryl Grant Cotton
Born	(1949-09-04)4 September 1949 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Died	27 July 2012(2012-07-27) (aged 62) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres	Rock, pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, actor, television presenter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1965–2012
Labels	EMI, Sparmac, Oz, Hammard, Warner Bros., MGM, 20th Century, CBS
Associated acts	The Murmen, Down the Line, Zoot, Darryl and Beeb, Frieze, Friends, Cotton Lloyd & Christian, Darryl Cotton Band, Darryl Cotton & the Charts, Darryl Cotton & the Divers, Burns Cotton & Morris, Cotton Keays & Morris

Darryl Grant Cotton (4 September 1949 – 27 July 2012) was an Australian pop, rock singer-songwriter, television presenter and actor. He was a founding member of Australian rock group Zoot in 1965, with Beeb Birtles, and were later joined by Rick Brewer and Rick Springfield. As a solo artist Cotton released the albums, Best Seat in the House (1980), It's Rock 'n' Good Fun (1984) and Let the Children Sing (1994). In April 1980 his biggest solo hit, "Same Old Girl", which was co-written by Cotton, peaked at No. 6 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. He acted in the TV soap opera, The Young Doctors (1979), and on stage as Joseph in the theatre production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (1983). He presented TV shows, Summer Rock (1979 and 1980) and The Early Bird Show (1985 to 1989). In 1996 he formed Burns Cotton & Morris with fellow 1960s pop singers, Ronnie Burns and Russell Morris. In 2000 Burns retired from the trio and, with Jim Keays, they became Cotton Keays & Morris. In May 2012, Cotton was diagnosed with liver cancer and died on 27 July 2012, aged 62.

Darryl Grant Cotton was born on 4 September 1949 in Adelaide and grew up in the suburb of Christies Beach. His mother was Gloria. In 1965 Cotton was the lead vocalist for The Murmen, when he formed a pop rock covers band, Down the Line, with local rivals, Times Unlimited's Gerard Bertelkamp (later known as Beeb Birtles) on vocals and bass guitar, John D'Arcy on guitar and vocals, and Ted Higgins on drums. In mid-1967 the group changed their name to Zoot and increased the original content played. They entered the South Australian heats of Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds, finishing second in a tense contest to The Masters Apprentices. In mid-1968, Zoot relocated to Melbourne, where their management promoted them under the slogan "Think Pink – Think Zoot" – all band members wore pink costumes; Cotton's car was repainted pink; his pet dog, Monty, had its fur dyed pink; and the venue, Birties Disco, was pink-themed throughout. In September Rick Brewer, Cotton's band mate from The Murmen, joined on drums.