Biography

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nik phillips Nik Phillips 2 Nik Phillips, is an Australian singer-songwriter who's music is an honest reflection of contemporary Australian life with a musical style ranging from pop/rock through to alternative/country, Nik's thought-provoking lyrics blend effortlessly with his emotional melodies.

In his home region of South East Queensland, Nik is well known as an established live performer who for many years performed over 250 shows a year. In a market and time dominated by local pub cover acts, Nik managed to seamlessly satisfy the “cover” market by blending unique interpretations of popular songs together with his original material. During the 90’s and 2000’s, Nik was a fixture at many of the premier venues in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. His work, along with a small number of other artists, helped create a live music environment in Brisbane that gave birth to a range of international acts such as George, Powder Finger, Keith Urban and Savage Garden.

However, his live work in his home region, is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Nik Phillips story. Nik is an independent artist who has released 6 albums. His most recent “Songs From the 4th Floor” became the first Australian CD to be released in mainland China through a major Chinese record company.

3 He has received Golden Guitar nominations from the Australian Country Music Nik Phillips Association and received strong radio and TV coverage as an alternative country music artist.

Nik began his career appearing regularly on an Australian TV music show called Saturday Juke Box on the Seven Network. During this time his first single "Something About You", released by Festival Records, reached number 10 in the Queensland music charts. Shortly after, he moved to Los Angeles, where he recorded his first album, Poetry and Beer, under the production skills of famous US producers the Robb Brothers. This album has since become a cult classic among Nik fans. Whilst in the USA, he performed across the West Coast and at events such as the famed Santa Monica Pier as part of the Soccer World Cup celebrations.

His next album 'Four Poet Steps' was released through BMG and featured the single "Bleeding Valentine", a song described at the time by some critics as the years most MMM radio friendly single. His other CDs include Six Pack (2001), Northern Rivers Child (2003), Songs From the Fourth Floor (2006) and Postcard (Chinese release 2007). Other songs to have shaped Nik's career include "Forever Queensland", the official anthem for Australia's biggest sporting event, the Rugby League State of Origin series. He also wrote and recorded the official song for Queensland's other leading sporting team, the Queensland Reds. Nik regularly performed at their matches before crowds ranging from 25,000 to 56,000 people. https://nikphillips.bandcamp.com

In 2001, while Australian troops where undertaking Peacekeeping duties in East Timor, Nik penned the song "Come Back Soon". This song was endorsed by the Queensland Premier Mr Peter Beattie and General Cosgove and was involved in projects which raised over AU$70, 000 for two East Timor orphanages. During this time Nik also devised and ran (in association with the radio station MMM) the Adopt a Digger program, which provided support for troops and their families and raised funds for the Red Cross. Also during this period, Nik was the only independent artist to have 3 singles play listed on major radio stations.

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In 2007 Nik received a Golden Guitar nomination at Australia's leading Country Music awards for the song "Not In This Life". His song "Postcard" was also nominated for a major award at the Mildura Independent Country Music Awards festival.

Throughout his career, most of Nik's success has been as an independent artist, recording and financing his own releases. The Country Music Chanel and country radio have supported the songs Postcard, Not In This Life, No One Is To Blame and My Town off the CD “Songs From The Fourth Floor”.

He is well respected by his peers. Nik travelled the country with his good friends James Blundell and the late Karl Broadie, as the Like Minded Felons. In 2017, Nik collaborated with other local personalities, Tuffy, Rusty Hammerstrom and Peter Cupples in a band called Act Your Age.

As a live performer, Nik has few piers. His ability to perform over 250 shows a year saw him play before crowds ranging from the local hotel venues through to capacity football stadium events such as the State of Origin. With Rupert McCall, Nik wrote the official Qld State of Origin song from 2000 to 2003. . After the release of Songs From the 4th Floor, Nik sought advice on how to explore new markets. A 2007 opportunistic discussion with the then Premier of Queensland Peter Beattie, led to Nik performing (very unexpectedly) in China at some major festivals. This led to a very unique 10 year journey.

In China, Nik Released his CD, 'Postcard' through the Guangdong company Pacific Audio 5 and Video (a subsidiary of the Southern Media Group and Guangdong Radio) in Nov 2007. Nik Phillips He became the first western artist to sign with a mainland Chinese record company. In June 2008, Nik wrote the song 'Hold Their Spirits High' for the people of Sichuan, after seeing the effects of the devastating earthquake that killed over 69 000 people and injured over 370 000. The duet was recorded in mandarin with Guangdong artist DJ Lam and released at a concert in Guangzhou which helped raise over a million AUD for the Chinese Red Cross. The film clip, shot on the Sunshine Coast, received wide mass market coverage and promotion for the region in Southern China.

This whole experience in Southern China showed Nik the power and influence that music held in the China market and a team developed around him, who assisted in expanding his music further.

Operations were moved up to Beijing, the power centre of Chinese media. The song Reach Around the World was released through China’s largest pop music label and reached number 3 on the China National Radio Network Chart. The song Five Star Red Flag saw nik appearing on China’s largest TV Network.

Says Nik, “My unexpected China decade has been at the same time, unique, insightful, exhilarating and also the hardest period of my life. China had never been on my radar. Before going there, the thought of meeting Chinese Government leaders, would have been quite terrifying actually. I knew absolutely nothing about the real China.Today I have some very senior Government people I count as friends. I obtained access to the highest levels of Chinese media and music industry sectors. I have sat in “fireside chats” with some of China’s biggest companies discussing business with Australia. I have been exposed to insights about the Chinese media, Government, business and daily life, that very few people get the chance to experience. Most importantly, I have had the chance of being exposed to how wonderful the Chinese people are. I hope a lot more Aussies get the chance to experience that”.

During this time, Nik was drawn into a corporate world that drew him away from his music for a while.Now he is back in his “home zone”, preparing to make a new CD, perform new shows and share a decade of experiences. Nik Phillips 6

In closing, let’s hand over to Nik’s close friend the late Ritchie Yorke, one of the world’s greatest music journalists, publicist for John Lennon and biographer for acts such as Van Morrison and Led Zeppelin:

“Nik's albums are full of depth and conviction, the product of a creative life well-lived. His collection of songs will surely resonate around the state and beyond. Like seeds of the prodigious local Moreton Bay fig trees, these songs will germinate, grow and occupy a special place in your mind”.