Jeff St John

Jeff St John
Jeff St John performing at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games
Background information
Birth nameJeffrey Leo Newton
Born(1946-04-22)22 April 1946
Newtown, New South Wales, Australia
OriginSydney
Died6 March 2018(2018-03-06) (aged 71)
Perth, Western Australia
OccupationSinger

Jeff St John (born Jeffrey Leo Newton; 22 April 1946 – 6 March 2018), was an Australian musician best known for several Australian hits, such as "Teach Me How to Fly" (1970), "Big Time Operator" (1967)[1] and "A Fool in Love" (1977).[2]

Early life

St John was born Jeffrey Leo Newton[3] on 22 April 1946, in Newtown, Sydney, Australia, and attended Cleveland Street Boys High School in Surry Hills, New South Wales. He was born with spina bifida and spent much of his life in a wheelchair.

Music career

St John appeared with a number of bands during the late 1960s and early 1970s including; John The Syndicate aka The Wild Oats (1965), The Id[4] (1966–67) with Bob Bertles (tenor sax 1967), Jeff St John & Yama (1967–68), Jeff St John & Copperwine (1969–72), with Harry Brus (bass 1970–72) and Wendy Saddington (co-lead vocals 1970–71), Jeff St John Band (1972–73) and Red Cloud (1975–76)[5]

In 1980, St John was the subject of an episode of the documentary series The Australians, presented by Peter Luck. The episode was titled "Jeff St. John – Rock 'n' Roll Man".[6]

In 1988, as part of Australian Bicentenary celebrations along with many other Australian celebrities, St John took part in a video shoot at Uluru (once called Ayers Rock), called Celebration of a Nation.[7]

St John was involved in educating people about disabilities and was a member of spina bifida support group MOSAIC.[2] He appeared at the opening of the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney where he sang the Australian National Anthem.,[5][8] and a song written for the opening ceremony called The Challenge.

St John's autobiography, The Jeff St John Story: The Inside Outsider, edited by James Anfuso, was published by Starman Books in 2015.[9]

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with Australian chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart
positions
AUS
[10]
Joint Effort
(as Jeff St John's Copperwine)
  • Released: 1971
  • Format: LP
  • Label: Spin (SEL-933742)
 -
The Best of Jeff St. John
  • Released: 1972
  • Format: LP
  • Label: Spin (SEL-934500)
 -
Jeff St. John Live
  • Released: 1974
  • Format: LP
  • Label: Infinity (L 35083)
 -
Survivor 1965-75
  • Released: 1977
  • Format: LP
  • Label: Infinity (L 36478)
 -
So Far So Good 66
Will the Real Jeff St. John Please Stand Up.
(with The Embers)
  • Released: 2001
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Asylum Records (600037)
 -

Charting singles

Year Title Peak chart
positions
AUS
[10]
1967 "Big Time Operator" 11
1970 "Teach Me How to Fly" 11
1977 "A Fool in Love" 10
"Rock 'n' Roll Man" 81
1978 "Starbrite" 85

Death

Jeff St John died in the morning of 6 March 2018, at Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth, Western Australia.[11][12] His death was caused by a bacterial infection following surgery.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Browne, Sheila (20 April 1989). "Jeff St John has a new message for fans". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 78. Retrieved 5 February 2020 – via News.google.com.
  2. ^ a b "Rock On Vinyl: Jeff St John - Live (1974)". Rockonvinyl.blogspot.com. 4 July 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  3. ^ Jack Russell (27 December 1973). "Jeff St John". Ausrock.8m.net. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  4. ^ McIntyre, Iain (1 January 2006). Tomorrow Is Today: Australia in the Psychedelic Era, 1966–1970. Wakefield Press. p. 15. ISBN 9781862546974. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  5. ^ a b "MILESAGO - Groups & Solo Artists - Jeff St John & The Id / Yama / Copperwine". Milesago.com. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  6. ^ Stephens, Tony; Luck, Peter, 1944–2017; Levy, Curtis; Stephens, Tony, 1939– (1981), The Australians, Lansdowne Press, ISBN 978-0-7018-1551-6{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ White, L., The Bicentenary of Australia: Celebration of a Nation in Fuller, L. K. (Ed.) (2004) National Days, National Ways – Historical, Political, and Religious Celebrations Around the World., p 33, ISBN 0275972704
  8. ^ Gilbert, Keith D.; Schantz, Otto J.; Schantz, Otto (2008). The Paralympic Games: Empowerment Or Side Show?. Meyer & Meyer Verlag. pp. 21–22. ISBN 9781841262659. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  9. ^ St. John, Jeff (October 2016), Anfuso, James Vincent (ed.), The inside outsider : the Jeff St John story, [Tuart Hill, Western Australia] Starman Books (published 2015), ISBN 978-0-9922758-1-5
  10. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 290. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ^ Baker, Glenn A. (8 March 2018). "Jeff St John, musician proved disability no hurdle". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  12. ^ Cashmere, Paul (6 March 2018). "R.I.P. Jeff St John 1946–2018". Noise11.com. Retrieved 9 March 2018.