Wendy Joan Matthews (born 13 January 1960) is a Canadian-born Australian singer-songwriter who has been a member of Models and Absent Friends and is a solo artist.
According to rock music historian, Ian McFarlane she provides "extraordinary, crystal-clear vocals [...] a soulfulness that was the mark of a truly gifted singer".
[1] 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).
Wendy Joan Matthews[2] was born in 1960 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with Abenaki (First Nations tribe), Spanish and Scottish ancestry.
[1][4] In February 1981, Matthews sang lead vocal for "Willow Pattern" on Osamu Kitajima's album Dragon King (1982).
[1][3] Matthews decided to stay in Sydney at the tour's completion and found herself in demand as a session vocalist and singing jingles.
[4] Other backing singers for Models included Kate Ceberano and Zan Abeyratne, both members of I'm Talking – the two bands often toured together.
[7][9] In 1985, Matthews recorded vocals for the soundtrack of Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) TV series Dancing Daze (1986) with musical production by Martin Armiger.
[11] Noel's Cowards, with Matthews on lead vocals, provided six tracks for the Australian movie Rikky and Pete (1988).
[13] Matthews joined the Australian supergroup, Absent Friends, in 1989 with Kelly and James Valentine of Models, Garry Gary Beers of INXS, Roger Mason and Mick King.
[14] In 1990, Matthews recorded her debut solo album Émigré with the assistance of Absent Friends members, Beers, Kelly, King, Mason, Valentine, Francois and Andrew Duffield as well as Tim Finn and Blakeley.
[1] It was produced by Ricky Fataar and released on the rooArt label owned by INXS manager, Chris Murphy; Émigré became a hit, being certified platinum.
[1] She won the Australian Rolling Stone magazine award for best female vocalist in 1990 for her debut album and her work with Absent Friends.
[1] In February–March 1992 Matthews recorded her second solo studio album Lily in Los Angeles with T-Bone Burnett producing, it was released on 28 September while she was on tour supporting Simply Red.
[1] In 2000, Matthews joined the cast of a new Australian musical theatre production of Godspell alongside Angry Anderson, Jimmy Barnes, Debra Byrne, Marie Wilson, Fiona Horne, Belinda Emmett, Paul Mercurio and Terence Trent D'Arby.
[25] In 2001, Matthews relocated from Sydney to a property near Coffs Harbour on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales.
[18] Produced by Michael Szumowski, it was her first with BMG records, and included three singles, "Free", "Beautiful View" and "Like the Sun" which did not reach the top 50.
In 2003, Matthews sang a duet with Rod Stewart on the track "My Heart Stood Still" on the Australian release of his album As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook, Volume II.
The album is a personal collection of favourite songs by women who have inspired her, Bonnie Raitt, Aretha Franklin, Emmylou Harris, Chrissie Hynde, Joni Mitchell, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Lucinda Williams and Jane Siberry.
[30][31] Matthews recalled meeting the group for the first time at a recording session – she was due to provide backing vocals but they were busy playing indoor cricket in the studio.
The live album, available through her official website only, was recorded in the winter of 2012 with Brendan St Ledger on piano and Greg Royal on standup bass.
"[33] In November 2016, Matthews featured on the Catherine Britt single, "F U Cancer" alongside Kasey Chambers, Beccy Cole, Lyn Bowtell, Josh Pyke and Wes Carr.
It Takes Two second series premiered on 8 May, where Matthews was paired with comedian Russell Gilbert, they were voted off in week four of the competition.