Wendy Matthews
| Wendy Matthews | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Wendy Joan Matthews |
| Born | 1960 (age 56–57) |
| Origin | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, performer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Labels | Alfa, ABC, rooART, Atlantic, BMG, Warner |
| Associated acts | Little Benny Blues Band, Hiroshi Sato, Models, Peter Blakeley, Rockmelons, Kate Ceberano, Noel's Cowards, Absent Friends |
| Website | wendymatthews.com |
Wendy Joan Matthews (born 1960) is an Australian adult alternative pop singer originally from Canada who has been a member of Models and Absent Friends and is a solo artist. She released Top 20 hit singles in the 1990s including "Token Angels", "Let's Kiss (Like Angels Do)", "The Day You Went Away" and "Friday's Child" with Top 20 albums, You've Always Got the Blues (duet album with Kate Ceberano), Émigré, Lily, The Witness Tree and her compilation, Stepping Stones. She has won six Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards. According to rock music historian, Ian McFarlane she provides "extraordinary, crystal-clear vocals [...] a soulfulness that was the mark of a truly gifted singer".
Matthews appeared on three series of It Takes Two—an Australian TV celebrity singing competition—partnered with Richard Champion (2006), Russell Gilbert (2007) and John Mangos (2008). On 27 October 2010, Models were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame by Matthews.
Wendy Joan Matthews was born in 1960 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with Abenaki (First Nations tribe), Spanish and Scottish ancestry. Peter and Joan Matthews already had a son, Gary born a year earlier and another son, Glenn followed a year after Matthews. She listened and sang along to Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt and Barbra Streisand records. Her parents separated when she was 14, Peter became a Vancouver advertising executive and Joan took up yoga instructing near Quebec. At the age of 15 Matthews joined friends in the Little Benny Blues Band (named after Little Benny Park where they hung out). She left school at 16 and went busking across North America including south to Mexico with friends. By 1978, she was in Los Angeles where she busked, made jewellery and worked as a session singer. In February 1981, Matthews sang lead vocal for "Willow Pattern" on Osamu Kitajima's album Dragon King (1982). She met Japanese musician, Hiroshi Sato, and travelled to Japan to record lead vocals for his fourth album, Awakening, which was released in June on Alfa Records.
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