In early 1974 he was the drummer with The James Wright Band, moving on to Jim Keays' Southern Cross for a short time.

The brewer provided financial support to Swanee's tours and he in turn appeared in the company's TV commercials.

In 1987, Swanee replaced Angry Anderson as the lead singer of The Party Boys, a touring band with floating membership, formed in 1983 by Paul Christie of Mondo Rock.

A cover of the John Kongos song "He's Gonna Step On You Again" peaked at number 1 on the Australian charts.

Since 1990, Swan's recording career has been less than prolific, producing only two singles that year, including a cover of Little Richard's "Lucille" for The Delinquents film.

[4] In 2013 he worked with fellow Australian artists Ray Burgess, Tommy Emmanuel, John St Peeters and Marty Rhone, to release the single "Legends of the Southern Land".

[5] In July 2014 Swanee released the album One Day at a Time, consisting of entirely original work, in collaboration with Darren Mullan from the Adelaide Recording Studio and Tony Minniecon.