Owen Orford

Owen Orford is an Australian booking agent. Owen Orford transcended from lead singer in Australian touring bands Finch, Contraband and Toys, to venue booker of Sydney venues throughout the 1980s. He went on to promote tours for local and international acts and has booked shows for more than 100 Australian artists over the past 25 years.

Owen Orford was a high school teacher with a BSc degree in Industrial Art and Design in the early 1970s, Owen had aspirations of leaving the academic world to pursue his dream of becoming a professional rock singer. In 1972, he joined hard rock group Finch. The band toured the country extensively and over the years released a number of hit singles and albums, including the critically acclaimed Thunderbird in 1976. The band signed with United States Label Portrait, changing their name to Contraband due to the existence of a Dutch band with the same name. After a run of line-up changes the band split up in 1979. The following year Orford went to work at the agency that had booked his band, Harbour Premier. Owen quickly discovered a natural ability in his new found career as a booking agent, developing an impressive roster of acts including Hoodoo Gurus, Models, Hunters & Collectors, Icehouse, Moving Pictures, The Radiators, The Cockroaches, Machinations, Kids in the Kitchen, Electric Pandas, Boom Crash Opera, Jenny Morris, Paul Kelly, Jimmy Barnes and Do-Re-Mi.

In 1989 Orford left Harbour Premier to establish his own agency, Trading Post Agency (TPA). After an initial struggle, TPA signed their first act, Australian rock band Midnight Oil. TPA hit its stride and throughout the years the company, with Owen at the helm, represented such acts as; Tommy Emmanuel, Savage Garden, Men at Work, Killing Heidi, Grinspoon and Spiderbait, and also a number of international artists in Australia including; Hothouse Flowers (Ireland), Crash Test Dummies (Canada), and The Pursuit of Happiness (Canada). TPA booked world tours for; DIG, Karin Schaupp, and sold-out UK tours for Killing Heidi & Grinspoon.

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