Daniel Merriweather
Encyclopedia
Daniel Paul Merriweather (born 17 February 1982) is an Australian R&B
singer-songwriter
who has worked as a featured vocalist for other artists and has a solo career. His guest vocals are included on album tracks by Disco Montego
, Mark Ronson
and Phrase
. His collaborations with Ronson led to working in the United Kingdom including lead vocals on Ronson's cover version of The Smiths
' song "Stop Me" in 2007. Merriweather's debut solo album, Love & War, was released in June 2009. It entered the UK Albums Chart
at number two. It was preceded by two singles, "Change
" and "Red
", which both made the top 10 on the related singles chart
. Merriweather has won two ARIA Music Awards
, 'Best Urban Release' in 2005 for "She's Got Me" and 'Best Male Artist' in 2009 for Love & War.
's self-titled album in September 2002. The album peaked at No. 17 on the ARIA Albums Chart
. He signed with the local label, Marlin Records
, which led to work with Mark Ronson
, a United Kingdom DJ and guitarist, on the latter's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz
, ("She's Got Me" and "NYC Rules") in September 2003. Merriweather signed with Ronson's label, Allido Records
, and worked on his debut solo single, "City Rules", as a revised version of "NYC Rules". It was produced by Ronson and featured raps from New York MC Saigon
and was issued in early 2004. Other musicians on the single are ?uestlove, The Black Eyed Peas
' horn section and members of Beck
's backing band. He received an ARIA Award
nomination for "City Rules" in the category 'Best Urban Release' at the 2004 ceremony
.
"She's Got Me" was released as Merriweather's second single. While neither charted on the ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart, both became favourites in clubs and urban music circles. "City Rules" won the 'Most Performed Dance Work' category at the APRA Awards of 2005
and "She's Got Me" won the 'Best Urban Release' at the ARIA Music Awards of 2005
. "City Rules" obtained some airplay on the major Australian commercial radio stations FOX FM (Melbourne)
/2Day FM
and B105
.
In 2005, he co-wrote and co-produced much of Phrase
's debut album Talk with Force, also lending vocals to three tracks including the single "Catch Phrase". In March 2006, Undercover News reported that Merriweather was recording his debut album, The Fifth Season with Ronson producing. However, in August 2011, Merriweather recalled "It was 12 songs out of a whole bunch of songs that I’d written. I came up with the idea of calling it The Fifth Season and someone put it on Wikipedia. But it wasn’t really an album – it was just a collection of songs. There’s a difference".
In early 2007, Ronson featured Merriweather's lead vocals on a cover version of The Smiths
' song "Stop Me". It was re-composed
with additional lyrics from the song "You Keep Me Hangin' On
" by The Supremes
. Merriweather admitted in an interview with The Guardian
that he was not familiar with "Stop Me (If You Think You've Heard This One Before)" prior to recording the revised version: "Mark said, 'I want you to sing on this - it's my favourite Smiths song', so I listened to it. I'd heard it once before, but I was never a Smiths fan. But I thought it was beautiful". It was issued as a single in April on Columbia Records
and appeared on Ronson's compilation album, Version
that same month. It was a commercial success in the United Kingdom where it reached number two on the Singles Chart
. It peaked in the top 40 on the Swiss
and Italian Singles Charts.
Merriweather's debut solo album, Love & War, also produced by Ronson, was released in June 2009, which reached number two on the UK Albums Chart
and peaked in the top 10 on the Swiss Albums Chart. It was preceded by the singles "Change
" (February) and "Red
" (May), which both made the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart. "Change" appeared in the top 10 on the Swiss Singles Top 75. While "Red" was a top 10 hit on the Danish
and Irish Singles Chart
s. On the ARIA Albums Chart, Love & War reached the top 40 and "Change" peaked in the top 50 on the related singles chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2009
, he won 'Best Male Artist' for Love & War.
Merriweather cites Stevie Wonder
, Prince, Jeff Buckley
and Herbie Hancock
as his major influences.
in the Dandenong Ranges
. Both his parents are teachers and he has two brothers. Merriweather described his family as, "My mum’s lot are working-class – my granddad was a boxer and fireman, a real man’s man – while my dad’s parents were missionaries, and he grew up with a tribe in Papua New Guinea". His maternal grandfather, Ted Ellis
, was also an Australian rules footballer for North Melbourne
and Footscray
, while Daniel is an Essendon
supporter.
Merriweather attended The Patch Primary School, Billanook College
, Blackburn High School
and Swinburne Senior Secondary College
(for year 11) and left school when he was aged 17. His musical education began with violin lessons at the age of four; he started guitar at age 13; his music grades at Blakckburn High were average. As a teen, he became involved in violent confrontations, he was charged with assault and threatened with jail. After dropping out of school, he focused his attention on music, taking vocal lessons and performing in clubs around Melbourne. In a September 2009 article in The Sun, he indicated that he liked reading about philosophy and "was thinking of studying it at a higher level" but would not forgo his musical career.
His younger brother, Ben, had the lower half of a leg amputated as a result of a car accident. Merriweather spent much of his time between New York and London, and as from 2009 resided in East Harlem. Since the age of 18, Merriweather has a tattoo on his inside right forearm bearing the Latin phrase for "love or money". Merriweather indicated in 2009, that he planned another tattoo for his back – a 100-word excerpt from the last verse of the poem, "Jim Jones
", quoted in Robert Hughes
' book, The Fatal Shore
which includes "For night and day ... we toil and toil".
, Scribe
and P-Money
. In March 2006, Merriweather supported Kanye West
on his Australian tour. He opened for Biz Markie
in Brooklyn and Justin Timberlake
in London; He has performed live on various radio and television programs, including Late Night with Conan O'Brien
, Triple J
's Hip Hop Show, Radio 1's Live Lounge
show, and Australian TV show, Sunrise
.
He has performed at various festivals
and events including the Montreux Jazz Festival
(alongside Erick Sermon
); the 2004 St Kilda Festival
and 2004 Melbourne World AIDS Day
Concert.
During 2007, he toured the UK
with Mark Ronson (as well as performing several solo shows). He also performed with Ronson and the BBC Concert Orchestra
at the 2007 BBC Electric Proms
. He also performed at the MTV Video Music Awards
on 9 September 2007 alongside Ronson who acted as the official DJ
for the proceedings. On 22 February 2008, he appeared on BBC Radio One with Ronson to perform a special version of his track, "Stop Me", as part of the Chris Moyles
breakfast show.
He also played at the 2008 Brit Awards
alongside Ronson. Also, he sang "Stop Me" on stage during Ronson's Glastonbury
2008 set. Merriweather performed in Australia for the first time since 2006 at the Global Gathering
shows in November 2008 with Mark Ronson's Version Players.
At the 2009 O2 Wireless Festival
in Hyde Park London, Merriweather headlined the second stage where Ronson supported him for half a set on guitar. Merriweather is set to play at this year's Oxegen
festival in Punchestown Racecourse
, Co. Kildare, Ireland
. He has appeared on television program
mes such as The Justin Lee Collins Show
and Britain's Got More Talent
. He performed his single "Red" on T4 On The Beach 2009 in Weston-super-Mare
.
Merriweather appeared as the musical guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
on 14 July 2009, performing "Change", and Letterman on 18 February 2010 when he performed "Red".
In spring 2010, Merriweather toured as the opening act for British light jazz and R&B
singer Corinne Bailey Rae
.
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
singer-songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
who has worked as a featured vocalist for other artists and has a solo career. His guest vocals are included on album tracks by Disco Montego
Disco Montego
Disco Montego are an Australian R&B and dance music performance, song writing and production duo. The Dowlut brothers Dennis and Darren, formed Kaylan in Melbourne in 1995. They released an R&B album No Commandments in 2000, which reached No. 23 in Australia and spawned three Top 50...
, Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....
and Phrase
Phrase (rapper)
Harley Webster —better known as Phrase—is an Australian hip hop MC, originating from Melbourne, Victoria.-History:Phrase began to piece together an album with producers Daniel Merriweather and J-Skub , while working part-time for the Reach Youth foundation, an organization that Phrase credits with...
. His collaborations with Ronson led to working in the United Kingdom including lead vocals on Ronson's cover version of The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
' song "Stop Me" in 2007. Merriweather's debut solo album, Love & War, was released in June 2009. It entered the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
at number two. It was preceded by two singles, "Change
Change (Daniel Merriweather song)
"Change" is a song by the Australian singer/songwriter Daniel Merriweather featuring a rap verse from rapper Wale. It was written by Merriweather and Andrew Wyatt and produced by Mark Ronson. It was released on 30 January 2009 in the United States and Canada, and 2 February 2009 in the UK .The song...
" and "Red
Red (Daniel Merriweather song)
"Red" is the second single by Daniel Merriweather from his second album Love & War, which was released on June 1, 2009. The single was released on May 18, 2009. It was produced by Mark Ronson, like the rest of the songs on his album...
", which both made the top 10 on the related singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Merriweather has won two ARIA Music Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
, 'Best Urban Release' in 2005 for "She's Got Me" and 'Best Male Artist' in 2009 for Love & War.
Music
Daniel Merriweather's first commercially released recording was a guest appearance on the track "All I Want" for Australian dance act Disco MontegoDisco Montego
Disco Montego are an Australian R&B and dance music performance, song writing and production duo. The Dowlut brothers Dennis and Darren, formed Kaylan in Melbourne in 1995. They released an R&B album No Commandments in 2000, which reached No. 23 in Australia and spawned three Top 50...
's self-titled album in September 2002. The album peaked at No. 17 on the ARIA Albums Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
. He signed with the local label, Marlin Records
Marlin Records
Marlin Records was one of the record labels set-up by Henry Stone before he launched the successful TK Records....
, which led to work with Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....
, a United Kingdom DJ and guitarist, on the latter's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz
Here Comes the Fuzz
-Release and reception:"International Affair" was originally released on Sean Paul's Dutty Rock album and featured Debi Nova instead of Tweet. Mark Ronson addresses the failure of the album, often by joking that "only 12 people bought it."-Critical response:...
, ("She's Got Me" and "NYC Rules") in September 2003. Merriweather signed with Ronson's label, Allido Records
Allido Records
Allido Records is a record label and production company. The company was started by DJ and producer Mark Ronson, and Rich Kleiman, a television, internet and music businessman. The label got its name "Allido" from the Stevie Wonder song "All I Do". Rapper Saigon was the first artist signed to...
, and worked on his debut solo single, "City Rules", as a revised version of "NYC Rules". It was produced by Ronson and featured raps from New York MC Saigon
Saigon (rapper)
Brian Daniel Carenard, better known by his stage name Saigon, is an American rapper and occasional actor.Saigon is currently signed to Suburban Noize Records and Just Blaze's Fort Knocks Entertainment record label. After years of delay due to former record label interference, his album The Greatest...
and was issued in early 2004. Other musicians on the single are ?uestlove, The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
' horn section and members of Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
's backing band. He received an ARIA Award
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
nomination for "City Rules" in the category 'Best Urban Release' at the 2004 ceremony
ARIA Music Awards of 2004
The 18th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 17 October 2004 at the Sydney Superdome within the Sydney Olympic Complex...
.
"She's Got Me" was released as Merriweather's second single. While neither charted on the ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart, both became favourites in clubs and urban music circles. "City Rules" won the 'Most Performed Dance Work' category at the APRA Awards of 2005
APRA Awards of 2005
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2005 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred on 30 May at the Sydney Four Seasons Hotel, they were presented by APRA and the...
and "She's Got Me" won the 'Best Urban Release' at the ARIA Music Awards of 2005
ARIA Music Awards of 2005
The 19th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 23 October 2005 at the Sydney Superdome at the Sydney Olympic Park complex, thus continuing the previous year's innovation of televising the awards on Sunday evening...
. "City Rules" obtained some airplay on the major Australian commercial radio stations FOX FM (Melbourne)
FOX FM (Melbourne)
Fox FM is a radio station that serves the Melbourne, Australia, broadcasting on the FM band at a frequency of 101.9 MHz. Licensed to Mount Dandenong, Victoria, the station is currently owned by the Austereo Radio Network. The station's transmitter is located on the ATV-10 transmission tower on top...
/2Day FM
2Day FM
Not to be mixed up with Today FM in Ireland.2Day FM is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting in Sydney, Australia, on a frequency of 104.1 MHz, and part of Austereo's Today Network.- Transmission :...
and B105
B105 FM
B105 is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting on 105.3 MHz in Brisbane, Australia. It is part of the Austereo Radio Network. B105's primary audience is 10 to 24 age group.-History:...
.
In 2005, he co-wrote and co-produced much of Phrase
Phrase (rapper)
Harley Webster —better known as Phrase—is an Australian hip hop MC, originating from Melbourne, Victoria.-History:Phrase began to piece together an album with producers Daniel Merriweather and J-Skub , while working part-time for the Reach Youth foundation, an organization that Phrase credits with...
's debut album Talk with Force, also lending vocals to three tracks including the single "Catch Phrase". In March 2006, Undercover News reported that Merriweather was recording his debut album, The Fifth Season with Ronson producing. However, in August 2011, Merriweather recalled "It was 12 songs out of a whole bunch of songs that I’d written. I came up with the idea of calling it The Fifth Season and someone put it on Wikipedia. But it wasn’t really an album – it was just a collection of songs. There’s a difference".
In early 2007, Ronson featured Merriweather's lead vocals on a cover version of The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
' song "Stop Me". It was re-composed
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
with additional lyrics from the song "You Keep Me Hangin' On
You Keep Me Hangin' On
Vanilla Fudge's 1967 psychedelic/hard rock remake of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" reached #6 on the Hot 100 chart two years after the release of the Supremes' recording. While the version released on 45 RPM single was under three minutes long, the album version was extended to six minutes and...
" by The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
. Merriweather admitted in an interview with The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
that he was not familiar with "Stop Me (If You Think You've Heard This One Before)" prior to recording the revised version: "Mark said, 'I want you to sing on this - it's my favourite Smiths song', so I listened to it. I'd heard it once before, but I was never a Smiths fan. But I thought it was beautiful". It was issued as a single in April on Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and appeared on Ronson's compilation album, Version
Version (album)
-iTunes digital edition:-Japanese CD edition:-Chart performance:-Release history:-External links:* at MetaCritic...
that same month. It was a commercial success in the United Kingdom where it reached number two on the Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. It peaked in the top 40 on the Swiss
Swiss Music Charts
The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...
and Italian Singles Charts.
Merriweather's debut solo album, Love & War, also produced by Ronson, was released in June 2009, which reached number two on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
and peaked in the top 10 on the Swiss Albums Chart. It was preceded by the singles "Change
Change (Daniel Merriweather song)
"Change" is a song by the Australian singer/songwriter Daniel Merriweather featuring a rap verse from rapper Wale. It was written by Merriweather and Andrew Wyatt and produced by Mark Ronson. It was released on 30 January 2009 in the United States and Canada, and 2 February 2009 in the UK .The song...
" (February) and "Red
Red (Daniel Merriweather song)
"Red" is the second single by Daniel Merriweather from his second album Love & War, which was released on June 1, 2009. The single was released on May 18, 2009. It was produced by Mark Ronson, like the rest of the songs on his album...
" (May), which both made the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart. "Change" appeared in the top 10 on the Swiss Singles Top 75. While "Red" was a top 10 hit on the Danish
Tracklisten
Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl...
and Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
s. On the ARIA Albums Chart, Love & War reached the top 40 and "Change" peaked in the top 50 on the related singles chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2009
ARIA Music Awards of 2009
The 23rd Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards took place on 26 November 2009 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. The ceremony was telecast on the Nine Network at 8:30pm that night...
, he won 'Best Male Artist' for Love & War.
Merriweather cites Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, Prince, Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
and Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
as his major influences.
Personal life
Daniel Paul Merriweather was born on 17 February 1982 and he grew up in the Melbourne suburb of SassafrasSassafras, Victoria
Sassafras is a locality and township within Greater Melbourne beyond the Melbourne metropolitan area Urban Growth Boundary, 43 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. At the 2006 Census, Sassafras had a population of 968...
in the Dandenong Ranges
Dandenong Ranges
The Dandenong Ranges are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately 35 km east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
. Both his parents are teachers and he has two brothers. Merriweather described his family as, "My mum’s lot are working-class – my granddad was a boxer and fireman, a real man’s man – while my dad’s parents were missionaries, and he grew up with a tribe in Papua New Guinea". His maternal grandfather, Ted Ellis
Ted Ellis
Edward 'Ted' Ellis was a leading Australian rules footballer who played with North Melbourne and Footscray in the Victorian Football League ....
, was also an Australian rules footballer for North Melbourne
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
and Footscray
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
, while Daniel is an Essendon
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
supporter.
Merriweather attended The Patch Primary School, Billanook College
Billanook College
Billanook College is an independent co-ed school with an early learning program through to Year 12, located in Mooroolbark, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is a school of the Uniting Church in Australia, and a member of Round Square. It was founded in 1980 by the founding principal Dr Peter...
, Blackburn High School
Blackburn High School
Blackburn High School is a public secondary school for girls and boys in years 7 to 12 in Blackburn, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school has traditionally had a strong music curriculum, with its varied bands and orchestras consistently winning state and national awards...
and Swinburne Senior Secondary College
Swinburne Senior Secondary College
Swinburne Senior Secondary College is a state run high school for students in the final two years of schooling Year 11 and 12 in Melbourne, Australia. It is quite a notable high school, being renowned for its advanced media faculty. It is rare in Melbourne as most secondary schools run from Year...
(for year 11) and left school when he was aged 17. His musical education began with violin lessons at the age of four; he started guitar at age 13; his music grades at Blakckburn High were average. As a teen, he became involved in violent confrontations, he was charged with assault and threatened with jail. After dropping out of school, he focused his attention on music, taking vocal lessons and performing in clubs around Melbourne. In a September 2009 article in The Sun, he indicated that he liked reading about philosophy and "was thinking of studying it at a higher level" but would not forgo his musical career.
His younger brother, Ben, had the lower half of a leg amputated as a result of a car accident. Merriweather spent much of his time between New York and London, and as from 2009 resided in East Harlem. Since the age of 18, Merriweather has a tattoo on his inside right forearm bearing the Latin phrase for "love or money". Merriweather indicated in 2009, that he planned another tattoo for his back – a 100-word excerpt from the last verse of the poem, "Jim Jones
Jim Jones at Botany Bay
"Jim Jones at Botany Bay" is a traditional Australian folk ballad first published in 1907. The narrator, Jim Jones, is found guilty of an unnamed crime and sentenced to transportation. En route, his ship is attacked by pirates, but the crew holds them off...
", quoted in Robert Hughes
Robert Hughes (critic)
Robert Studley Forrest Hughes, AO is an Australian-born art critic, writer and television documentary maker who has resided in New York since 1970.-Early life:...
' book, The Fatal Shore
The Fatal Shore
The Fatal Shore. The epic of Australia's founding, by Robert Hughes, published 1987 by Harvill Press, is a historical account of the United Kingdom's settlement of Australia as a penal colony with convicts. The book details the period 1770 onwards through white settlement to the 1840s, when...
which includes "For night and day ... we toil and toil".
Tours
In January 2004, Merriweather headlined the City Rules Tour of Australia with Mark RonsonMark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....
, Scribe
Scribe (rapper)
Malo Luafutu better known by his stage name Scribe, is a New Zealand hip hop rapper and recording artist of Samoan descent...
and P-Money
P-Money
-Albums:-Singles:-External links:* - News, video clips, downloads* - Information, photos, and video clips...
. In March 2006, Merriweather supported Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
on his Australian tour. He opened for Biz Markie
Biz Markie
Marcel Theo Hall better known by his stage name, Biz Markie, is an American rapper, beatboxer, DJ, comedian, singer, reality television personality, and commercial spokesperson. He is best known for his single "Just a Friend", an American Top 10 hit in 1989...
in Brooklyn and Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
in London; He has performed live on various radio and television programs, including Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
, Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
's Hip Hop Show, Radio 1's Live Lounge
Live Lounge
The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio station BBC Radio 1. Originally hosted by Jo Whiley on her mid-morning radio show and now hosted by Fearne Cotton, it exhibits well-known artists usually performing one song of their own and one by another artist, in an acoustic format...
show, and Australian TV show, Sunrise
Sunrise (TV program)
Sunrise is an Australian breakfast television program, broadcast on the Seven Network. On weekdays the programme follows Seven Early News, and runs from 6am through to 9am.-History:...
.
He has performed at various festivals
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
and events including the Montreux Jazz Festival
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
(alongside Erick Sermon
Erick Sermon
Erick Sermon , in Bay Shore, New York is an American rapper, musician, and producer.Sermon is best known as half of late-1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD and for production work. He currently resides in Islandia, New York.- Career :...
); the 2004 St Kilda Festival
St Kilda Festival
The St Kilda Festival is a popular community festival held in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda. Traditionally held on the second Sunday in February, the festival is about showcasing live Australian music, family and children's entertainment, beach activities and much more all presented in a...
and 2004 Melbourne World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, observed December 1 every year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. Government and health officials observe the day, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995, the President of the United States has made an...
Concert.
During 2007, he toured the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with Mark Ronson (as well as performing several solo shows). He also performed with Ronson and the BBC Concert Orchestra
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....
at the 2007 BBC Electric Proms
BBC Electric Proms
The BBC Radio 2 Electric Proms was an October music festival in London run by the BBC for five years, 2006-2010...
. He also performed at the MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
on 9 September 2007 alongside Ronson who acted as the official DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
for the proceedings. On 22 February 2008, he appeared on BBC Radio One with Ronson to perform a special version of his track, "Stop Me", as part of the Chris Moyles
Chris Moyles
Christopher David Moyles is an English radio and television presenter and author, who currently presents The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 and Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on Channel 4....
breakfast show.
He also played at the 2008 Brit Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
alongside Ronson. Also, he sang "Stop Me" on stage during Ronson's Glastonbury
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
2008 set. Merriweather performed in Australia for the first time since 2006 at the Global Gathering
Global Gathering
GlobalGathering is an annual dance music festival by Angel Music Group. Festivals are held in countries such as the UK, Poland, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and feature leading electronica artists from across the globe...
shows in November 2008 with Mark Ronson's Version Players.
At the 2009 O2 Wireless Festival
Wireless Festival
The Wireless Festival is a music festival in England that takes place every year in Hyde Park, London, and took place at Harewood House, Leeds in 2006 and 2007. It is owned and managed by Live Nation....
in Hyde Park London, Merriweather headlined the second stage where Ronson supported him for half a set on guitar. Merriweather is set to play at this year's Oxegen
Oxegen
Oxegen is an annual music festival in Ireland held since 2004, sponsored by Heineken. As of 2007, 2008, 2009, the festival has been cited as Ireland's biggest music festival. And by 2009, the festival is cited as the greenest festival, being a 100% carbon neutral event in Ireland. It was previously...
festival in Punchestown Racecourse
Punchestown Racecourse
Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is home of the National Hunt Festival of Ireland....
, Co. Kildare, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. He has appeared on television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
mes such as The Justin Lee Collins Show
The Justin Lee Collins Show
The Justin Lee Collins Show is a British television talk show recently aired Thursday nights on the digital channel ITV2 starring Justin Lee Collins. Justin has a small band on the show and a continuing theme is to mention Labi Siffre as part of a joke. The series ended after one series after...
and Britain's Got More Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
. He performed his single "Red" on T4 On The Beach 2009 in Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
.
Merriweather appeared as the musical guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
on 14 July 2009, performing "Change", and Letterman on 18 February 2010 when he performed "Red".
In spring 2010, Merriweather toured as the opening act for British light jazz and R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
singer Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist from Leeds, who released her debut album Corinne Bailey Rae in February 2006....
.
Discography
- Love & War (2009)
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 2004 in music See also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol.... |
ARIA Awards | Best Urban Release | "City Rules" | |
| 2005 2005 in music -Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:... |
APRA Awards APRA Awards of 2005 The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2005 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred on 30 May at the Sydney Four Seasons Hotel, they were presented by APRA and the... |
Most Performed Dance Work | ||
| ARIA Awards | Best Urban Release | "She's Got Me" | ||
| 2009 2009 in music The following is a list of notable events and releases in 2009 in music. Susan Boyle's album I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 8.3 million copies in five weeks; more than any other artist's in the whole year... |
ARIA Awards | Best Male Artist | ||
| MTV Europe Music Awards MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards were established in 1994 by MTV Networks Europe to celebrate the most popular music videos in Europe. Originally beginning as an alternative to the American MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards is today a popular celebration of what MTV viewers consider... |
Best New Act | |||
| GQ Australia GQ Australia GQ Australia, or Gentlemen's Quarterly Australia, is the Australian version of popular magazine for men, GQ. GQ has been referred to as the male Vogue, with GQ Australia corresponding to Vogue Australia... Awards |
Breakthrough of the year | |||
| 2010 | APRA Awards APRA Awards of 2010 The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2010 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards... |
Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year |