Holiday Sidewinder

Former Bridezilla singer and all-round brilliant performer Holiday Sidewinder is taking her seductive dance pop on the road this February and March, and we're psyched. You should be too! To celebrate, we asked Holiday to fill out an imaginary dating profile so you'll know exactly how she likes sweet nothings whispered in her ear...

Username: Holiday Sidewinder
Quote to live by: Free your mind, and your ass will follow.
Age: 24
Location:
 Utopia
Sex: Lady
Looking for: the one.
Profession: Songbird. I write, play, sing, dance, do the hustle.
Political affiliations: Indifferent
Hobbies: Obsessive compulsive cleaners. Learning Italian & French. Flora & fauna. Nails. Bleach. History. Philosophy. Squats.
Smoking habits: Only in the movies, in dreams, in France...I would smoke Gaulouise.
Annoying traits: I was born in my waters, like Liberace. Still live in a bubble.
Want children: Immaculate conception.
Drinking habits: Sober. Though I can appreciate a Martini Rosso on the rocks.
Diet: I don’t eat anything that has a mother.
Religious beliefs: Multi-theistic. I believe in prayer.

Music: Pop, Exotica, Easy-Listening, Glam, Disco, Funk, Jazz, Country, Soul, 60s Garage, R'n'B, Rap, Classical, Rock n Roll.
Sports: Aerobics. State Lawn Balls Champion 06. Jazz ballet. Ballroom dancing. Tai Chi.
Have/want pets: Anything that flies should be in the sky, anything that swims should be in the sea or swamps or rivers. I don't like the domestication of animals. They should be free.
Celebrity crush: Amitabh Bachchan
Perfect first date: The Madonna Inn
Impress me by: Proposing on white horse, with little drummer boys, strings & brass following behind.
On our first date, wear: A gold lamé kaftan.
Serenade me with: Barry White — 'Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe'
Pick me up in your: Little red corvette.
NEVER ask me: To do anything I don't wanna!
Pet hates: Boredom. Stagnation.
Idea of a great relationship: Love, lust and laughter.
What I've learnt from past relationships: Life is short!
Perfect birthday present: A ride in a hot air balloon, a big fat creamy fruity cake with my name on it.
Favourite YouTube: 'Raat Baaki Baat Baaki'
Favourite website: Roses Only - Oyster Magazine

Holiday is the former singer of Sydney-based atmo-pop troupe Bridezilla, who split at the end of 2012. She later relocated to London, and at the beginning of 2014 she posted a message on her Facebook page.

"Happy New Year Y'all," it began. "I'm hoping to make a record in 2014 that will increase the national birth rate by at least 1%, have security guards whistling to themselves in a quiet hour and factory workers humming in the line. I hope all of the singles become wedding songs and karaoke classics. I hope it will be a musical landscape upon which to dwell in thought and prayer. I hope you dance. I hope you well up and then beam with joy. But hey, I don't ask for much. Love, Lust & Laughter until then. Anon. x x x"''

'Carousel' is the first glimpse of this record, and it sounds both completely demented and extremely brilliant, fulfilling Holiday's aim to come across like "a pop star from a different era". (Her influences, she says, include Barry White, Dolly Parton and Liberace.)

It sounds a bit peculiar on first listen but by Listen 2 it's totally brilliant. - Pop Justice

Immaculately produced pop music...
A change of scene, a change of style.
When Australian group Bridezilla split up in 2012, singer Holiday Sidewinder decided to get away from it all.

Relocating to London, the singer began building up a solo persona rooted in classic pop. Starting the year with a bang, Holiday posted a declaration on her Facebook page:

"I'm hoping to make a record in 2014 that will increase the national birth rate by at least 1%, have security guards whistling to themselves in a quiet hour and factory workers humming in the line. I hope all of the singles become wedding songs and karaoke classics. I hope it will be a musical landscape upon which to dwell in thought and prayer. I hope you dance. I hope you well up and then beam with joy. But hey, I don't ask for much."

Since then, new cut 'Carousel' has emerged online, causing an enormous stir in the process. There's a sense of classicism here, in the way that Holiday can reconstitute languid, widescreen pop into something thrillingly new.

Utterly addictive, 'Carousel' comes equipped with a highly stylised video. Shot - where else? - at a fairground lit up at night, Holiday Sidewinder is the star of show as she prowls the attractions in a gloriously beautiful outfit.

Watch it now. - Clash Music

Former Bridezilla frontwoman Holiday Sidewinder announced her return to music in January, telling fans that she was starting work on a record that will “increase the national birth rate by at least 1%, have security guards whistling to themselves in a quiet hour and factory workers humming in the line.”

Our first taste of this album is ‘Carousel’, a languid retro-pop jam that springs to life with jaunty Hammond organ and Sidewinder’s unmistakable honey vocals. There’s something a little Xanadu. - The Guardian

Actor Noah Taylor and his goddaughter singer Holiday Sidewinder have been friends since she was a little girl. Here they talk about tattoos, songs and the colour pink...

His story
Noah Taylor, 44, actor and artist

It's an unusual relationship – to have known someone when they were born and then be friends with them when they're an adult. She's always been wise beyond her years. I remember being at a party feeling maudlin after a girl dumped me. Everyone was having a great time, but I was moping in a chair and this little six-year-old came and patted me on the shoulder and said: "Don't worry, it'll be all right." Instantly I perked up. I thought, how lucky am I to have such a magical little person in my life.

I went to watch her first gig when she was 13. I don't know what I was expecting, I suppose I thought it would just be teenagers, but the audience was all adult musicians in their 30s and I was immensely proud to see their jaws drop. For her graduation performance, which wasn't open to the public, she sang a 15th-century song in Latin. Her dad and I snuck on to the roof to watch and he sobbed – silently so she didn't get into trouble. He's a real character.

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She's incredibly professional and way more focused than I am. I don't worry about her. She's very much all about the music and not bothered about celebrity. She's exceptionally modest. Music is what makes her happy and she's born to do it, but I could also imagine her becoming a politician – she's a real diplomat. She was a UN member when she was just 12 and went to Washington.

We do argue, about our musical differences and, of course, my smoking. She gives me a hard time about it and is always begging me to stop.

It's great that she's in England now. I feel like her resident guardian as well as a godfather.

Her story
Holiday Sidewinder, 23, musician

Noah played the male lead opposite my mum in an Australian classic called The Year My Voice Broke when they were 16. They became best friends and when Mum met my dad they became a trio. When I was born my dad decided to tattoo my name on his chest. Noah went with him and when the tattooist asked Noah if my name had "two Ls or one", he said two. So, thanks to Noah, my dad has my name spelled incorrectly on his chest for evermore.

Noah's always been eccentric. At my second birthday he turned up to my party dragging behind him a rubbish bag full of secondhand Barbies. Some of them had no hair. Not very girly but amazing, nonetheless. I was his little friend. When he moved to the UK to pursue an acting career years ago, he never forgot me. We formed a "Pink Club", for people who liked the colour pink. We used to write each other letters about things we'd seen or bought that were pink.

Everything around our house has his artistic stamp on it. He used to paint on anything he could get his hands on – even old kitchen cupboards. We fight like cat and dog. He can be a nightmare because he's very strong willed. He hates waiting to go into restaurants and gets really grumpy, so I tell him off. I feel like he's more of a brother sometimes.

He's very protective and now that I've moved to London, he definitely has my back – we see each other every month at least. It's a unique friendship, and I have nothing else like it . He inspires me all the time. I may actually be closer to Noah than my parents are now. - The Guardian

In the unlikely, no impossible event of Sean Nicholas Savage ever siring the child of Lana Del Rey, that’s Lana Del Rey and definitely not Lizzy Grant, then a) it would likely be named Carmen, and b) it would probably grow up to produce such immaculate retrospective pop as Carousel from precocious Aussie upstart, Holiday Sidewinder.

She soothes like Alaina Moore some moments while hollering like a lost Bangle at others, ballpark organs and smashing twinkles underpinning lyrics of “dancin’ after dark, whispering sweet nothings”. There’s a sense of adolescent mischief to it too, which should be expected given that Sidewinder (which may, although most probably is not her real name) is still only twenty-three. Indeed, fellow Antipodean songstress Sia used to babysit her ‘when she was teeny tiny’ but now grown up enough to plea she “take a ride upon your carousel, swing low sweet chariot, angels will carry us”, with such brilliant, thinly veiled innuendo on the tip of her tongue, the summer may yet be hers. - Dots and Dashes

A couple of issues ago we profiled budding songwriter Holiday Sidewinder on her journey from leaving the successful aussie group Bridezilla and transitioning into a solo artist. She's been working away with famed songwriter Mike Chapman (Blondie, Suzi Quatro, The Knack) in London developing a new body of work. At the beginning of this year, Holiday posted a note for her facebook followers:

"I'm hoping to make a record in 2014 that will increase the national birth rate by at least 1%, have security guards whistling to themselves in a quiet hour and factory workers humming in the line. I hope all of the singles become wedding songs and karaoke classics. I hope it will be a musical landscape upon which to dwell in thought and prayer. I hope you dance. I hope you well up and then beam with joy. But hey, I don't ask for much. Love, Lust & Laughter until then."

The track Carousel is a beautiful introduction as to what we can expect from the upcoming album. Holiday's trademark ethereal vocals enchant over a cinematic sonic loundscape and with each listen the track's strength reveals itself. We can't wait for the record in it's entirety. - Black Magazine

Holiday Sidewinder has already traveled many journeys in life and career. Part of indie darlings Bridezilla, being raised in nomadic family of artists and setting up what is already a sturdy foundation which to build on as a solo artist.

Nothing seems too rushed with Holiday; her music doesn’t feel forced or overly produced in ways to please the confines of popular radio formats. It’s what it is. Smart, distinctive, astral in character and neatly whimsical pop songs. Refreshing in a time when formulaic is the norm and arrogance in music rules the tabloids.

As an observer, Holiday Sidewinder portrays who she is, a student, perhaps a willing passenger of life. She is a music artist traveling the lands without too much in the way of plans for world domination. That can destroy the soul.

Sidewinder will make the music she feels and let the people decide. Her music, lifestyle and purpose are in her blood and no need to change what is.

In other words, Holiday Sidewinder is cool.

First off, thanks for helping to keep pop music viable.

Hey Walter, thanks for the Qs!

I really haven’t heard the full story about why you went all solo.

I’ve always written on my own since I can remember. I have endless Dictaphone, Talk Girl, 8 Track, and Garage Band Recordings of songs I’ve been writing since the age of 3. I have lyrics and songbooks from before I could even write, dictated to my mother, and hilarious fake solo album covers wearing feather boas and business cards from the 90s. It’s simply in my blood. I was always going to be a musician and a performer. I was always making a solo record.

Back to the top, there is a growing disdain for what has been shoved in our faces, down our ear canals on mainstream pop radio. Would you say this is the perfect time for you to get your full debut out?

I’d like to think that whenever you put anything out, if it’s good enough, if it connects, it will fly, word of mouth. Especially in this day and age. I’ll just do what I do defiantly, with a spring in my step and a laugh in my heart, and hope for the best.

The two singles (Carousal/Born On The Wind) you’ve released have been wildly peaking the interests of people worldwide, is this mostly encouraging or eagerly daunting?

If people like it, in Mexico or Texas, in nursing homes or blue light discos, dishwashing or standing in an elevator. I’ll be happy and encouraged. I enjoy what I do, and the greatest gift of all is when I can give to others.

I dig this quote from you, “I’m hoping to make a record in 2014 that will increase the national birth rate by at least 1%, have security guards whistling to themselves in a quiet hour and factory workers humming in the line. I hope all of the singles become wedding songs and karaoke classics. I hope it will be a musical landscape upon which to dwell in thought and prayer. I hope you dance. I hope you well up and then beam with joy. But hey, I don’t ask for much.” …do you want to add or subtract anything from this statement?

I could write war and peace, but I believe as much as my skills and experiences subconsciously inform my music, I am honestly a conduit, for miraculously appearing lyrics and melodies. You can’t depend on creative productivity, it comes and goes as it pleases, much like love, life and death. To have a voice that people empathize with, that moves people is a gift I’m grateful for, one I I try to hone, and use with some sense of purpose and meaning where I can. Never take anything for granted. Especially that which we cannot keep under a lock and key.

From the outside looking in you seem to be certain romanticism about the way you live your life. Going where the wind takes you, landing in foreign destination and staying unexpectedly, making music of your freewill, thriving in observations… What’s the view like from the inside?

I don’t think too much about anything until I’m asked, though there are certain philosophies I remind myself of time to time as a guide when I hit walls. To makes mistakes, take chances, practice love and compassion, and to find comfort in knowing that the universe is unfolding as it should.

You’re not the only one in your family that has entertainment in the blood. What sort of childhood did you have growing up in Australia?

I had a very unorthodox childhood. My family unit is too complex to explain, but it was colorful to say the least and I’m very lucky. I was surrounded by an infinite group of creative, passionate, talented people, who all cared and continue to care for me as if I were their own blood. I was sleeping in suitcases beside stages in pubs, while my mother sang. I was the baby passed around the room at parties. When I was two weeks old my mother snuck me in to a Screamin’ Jay Hawkins concert under her jacket. I travelled a lot, following my parents who were working in the film industry. I fancy myself as a Saffy from Ab Fab kind of character.

What perceptions of the world did you have as a teen that absolutely devastated you once you got out and about and learned some truths?

Despite growing up surrounded by it, I never acutely realized that many of the people I knew were victims of drug and alcohol abuse and addiction, and the whole bohemian lifestyle hangover from the 70s and the artistic world. That shocked me when the fluffy dreamy rose coloured veil I saw the world through was drawn from my eyes. I encountered people treating me badly and taking me for granted for the first time in my life too. I started to become less carefree, more judgmental. I think that happens to all teenagers. You recover!

You seem to carry a proper sense of humor…After navigating the music business for some time now have become jaded or just thick skinned?

There’s no use being jaded about the industry, because at the end of the day making music is entirely separate from business and you will continue to do that regardless, in spite of, the industry. You should never feel like you have to justify or compare yourself musically. Music is subjective, transcendent and holy. Music isn’t (and shouldn’t be) an industry, selling it is. Selling music in 2014 serves the same purpose as a collection plate that goes around at the end of a Sunday service. It is hard to entirely financially sustain yourself on music, as Iggy Pop and Leonard Cohen will testify! I’m lucky I’m not on the streets to be honest, but I’m not afraid of a bit of elbow grease.

Would you say you’re more Stevie Nicks or Agnetha Fältskog?

The best of both thanks very much. How did you know?! My favourites!

When will your full length be out for us to love on?

Fingers crossed for 2015.

What are 5 things that the world should (and doesn’t) know about Holiday Sidewinder?

I’m not a real blonde.
Holiday Sidewinder Carmen-Sparks is my real name on all of my official ID’s and my original birth certificate, much to immigration’s amusement.
I can whistle and hum at the same time. Still trying to find a good use for that
I wanted to be an astronomer and study the stars, then I wanted to be Australia’s first female President. Unfortunately for my bank thus far, I make a better musician.
I own one of the few Hammond C3 Organ’s in the UK. Bought from a Gospel Church Pastor down south, after a bidding war with a Kenyan Church, by an extremely generous fan in Australia that I have never met. - Global Texan Chronicles

Not long after the disbandment of popular Sydney band Bridezilla in 2013, the band's vocalist and founding member Holiday Sidewinder packed up and moved to the UK. For those fans of hers who've been wondering what she's been up to since relocating to London, fear not, that voice of hers has emerged on "Born on the Wind", her new single with PBO. Holiday took some time out to update us on how everything has been travelling, the new single and what she's missing about home.
I love that you've got new material coming out - Bridezilla remains one of my fave Australian bands. Gushing aside, how do you think "Born on the Wind" ranks in terms of the music you've written in recent times?
Blushing! Basically, I feel incredibly liberated to be able to delve into any scenes or sounds I should please and thoroughly enjoyed writing with my uncle (PBO member) for a bit of fun over summer. The lyrics came like lightning, and have nostalgic significance within the family as you may have read in the press release, so I hold it dear to me.

How has the relocation to London changed or affected your approach to music, if it has any?
It's entirely different. I co-write on blind dates like a cog in the wheel of pop without any sonic limitations. Sounds unromantic perhaps, but personally I find the challenge thrilling. The grey miserable weather forces you indoors and creates a yearning to colour and warm your life through culture and imagination. Its a brilliant breeding ground for ideas. So much history and so much happening to inspire.
Did you plunge yourself straight into working on new material once you had moved or did you take some time just to settle and explore?
I wrote and recorded three songs in my first week, decided not to get on my flight home, and haven't stopped since! I've explored like a madwoman though, dalliances in France, Rome and Berlin. Caught Soho-itis and didn't sleep for about a year, lost in the late night jazz clubs and buzzing on endless shots of coffee.
You were approached by PBO - were you aware of them prior to working with them on this track?
It's basically a writing/production team that my uncle started. He's a great disco guitarist! I loved his band Swoop growing up. It was a very casual collaboration, lazy Sunday kind of thing that just turned out to be really great. I've always wanted to release a track like this.
Now that the single is released, can you tell me a bit about what you are working on at the moment? What's happening in the Sidewinder camp?
I've been working with a lot of brilliant writers, but I've made an especially wonderful friend and collaborator in the legendary Mike Chapman. He's a genius and we truly are two peas in a pod. We are wired with the same principles, ideals and visions of musical grandeur. There are hundreds of songs I have written over the years that never made it to Bridezilla's repetoire, and dozens over the past three years. There is an album written, conceptualised. Romantic, epic, and musical as always. I'm dying to finish, release and tour it.
Can you see yourself coming home for some shows in the near future? What do you miss about Sydney?
If any promoters want me to come, I will be there in the blink of an eye. Sydney is heavenly. The ocean, the birds, the produce, the harbour, the bush, the sun, the air...
I really miss my little gang of legends at Goodgod Small Club, Yo Grito!, Freda's, Route 66 and all the Slurry Hillbillies. There is a monumental record collection between those four! I miss dirty dark pub rock, actually.
There are heaps of talented musical folk coming out of London at the moment; what are you enjoying the most, as a creative, being based in that city?
Seeing your peers start small and the following year, being Number 1 all over the world. Anything is possible here, and there is room for everyone to exist legitimately in the industry, from skiffle bands to pan-pipe players, Afro-Caribbean dancehall, to classical. Everything is appreciated and supported and that is comforting and encouraging.
Have you found any artists who you'd recommend us looking up over there?
FKA Twigs (I think you've cottoned on already to that). James Newman (John Newman's brother, wrote "Waiting All Night" by Rudimental) is with the same management as me and his voice is golden I can't wait for the world to hear him. MNEK, I really like too. This is all serious pop music though, if that's not your thing. I sit on both sides of the fence. There a bunch of strange south american french bands I enjoy too, and a Jazz collective called Kansas Smitty's. I have eclectic taste. Can't handle scene bands and boys in skinny jeans anymore. Did enough of that as a teenager on the gig circuit.
How will you be spending the end of 2014? In the studio or jetsetting some more?
Planning to indulge in everything. I want to perform again, travel forever, sing better, dance more, and love extravagantly. - The AU Review

After the disbandment of Bridezilla in early 2013, founding member and vocalist Holiday Sidewinder re-located to London and not long after was approached by PBO, Personal Best’s in-house label production team, to lend her unique voice to the track that would become “Born On The Wind”.

‘Born On The Wind’ is an airy, ethereal track that straddles indie-pop, dance and neo-boogie, with hints of Kate Bush wafting through its production, which filters and juggles Fairlight and vocal samples with skittering guitars and a prominent rolling synth bass line.

Just before last Christmas, Sidewinder was given a small gift; the only ring from her Grandfather to her Grandmother, inscribed with these words, giving her an incredibly rare insight into the intimacy of their relationship, especially considering she has only ever known them to be separated. - Life Without Andy

Earlier in the year we told you to watch out for a lady named Holiday Sidewinder who was about to do some huge things. As the ex singer of Bridezilla, Holly has spent the last year or so in the UK getting her pop-chops ready and has now plonked her second song on the internet, a collaboration with PBO.

The first release on new label Personal Best Records, Born On The Wind is a dance-pop gem that sounds like it could easily fit on a Crystal Fighters album or maybe even a Van She one.

Holiday kind of plagiarised the words of the chorus, but it’s a gorgeous story as to how, so that’s okay. “”Born on the wind, by the wrath of the sea, under the sky’s infinity,” came about because just before last Christmas, she was given an amazing gift; the only ring from her Grandfather to her Grandmother, inscribed with those words and the year “1966”. She says it was “an incredibly rare insight into the intimacy of their relationship, especially considering she has only ever known them to be separated”.

So nice. This lady’s going to do some big things. She’s so stunning in voice, personality and looks. - Project U

We go way back with Holiday Sidewinder. We first chanced upon her in 2006, wearing a cat mask and sashaying around a stage as the sassy, mesmerising frontwoman of Sydney-based five-piece Bridezilla. She totally owned the room. She was fifteen-years-old.

Fast forward a bunch of years – during which we saw countless Bridezilla gigs – and we were there to catch Holiday perform her sold-out debut solo London show at the back end of 2013. Her delicious performance showcased a poppy, jazzy sound which nodded to influences from the past such as Dolly Parton, while also pointing firmly towards a bright future for the Australian.

Having seen her grow from a brown-haired, robot dancing teen playing in Sydney venues she was not old enough to frequent, to a sultry blonde bombshell in her early twenties selling out London shows, we’re thrilled to bring you her debut single. Unleashed this week, it’s called Carousel and you can check it out above.

A full-length album will follow later this year. Holiday sneakily let us listen to a few of her other tracks a while ago and, hot damn, they made us VERY EXCITED for an album. For now though, we’re happy to spin the excellent Carousel on repeat while we await more live shows and her debut longplayer.

Have a listen above and, if you fall in love, then keep up to date with Holiday on Facebook. - Something You Said

One of our all time favourite humans, Holiday Sidewinder, has just released “Born On The Wind” a new collaborative single with PBO, Personal Best Records’ in-house label production team. We caught up with the former Bridezilla frontwoman to find out more:

Hello Holiday! Where are you at this exact moment and how has your day gone so far?
In bed. My mobile seems to be getting some action this morning!

You’ve just unleashed your brand new single, Born On the Wind. Can you tell us a little about it?
Last Christmas (I gave you my heart…), I went into the studio with my uncle (half of PBO) for the first time ever and we whipped this up in a day! I’d just been given a ring from grandmother that my grandfather had given to her in 1966 inscribed with ‘born on the wind, by the wrath of the sea, under the sky’s infinity’. So I imagined their romance where they would go on long drives in Western Australia and gave myself some poetic license. My grandmother has been a ballroom-dancing lesbian most of her life, doing social work in Alice Springs and Afghanistan and so on, so I think my grandfather romantically summated her character pretty well.

Will there be an album, or an EP to follow?
This is a one-off collaboration, special release. My solo material is an entirely separate thing. My album is still in glorious pipelines.

We were at your debut London solo gig a while back and it was magical. Are there any more live shows coming up?
I may do another small showcase next month.

How is London life treating you, generally? You’ve been here a while now since your relocation from Sydney…
London is fabulous! I’ve very much enjoyed selling pants to the likes of countesses, Jerry Hall, John Paul Gaultier and Adam Ant to pay my keep. Washing dishes and carrying boxes of booze from basements up wonky staircases. It is by all means an absolutely brilliant city. I love the grime and the hardship as much as the glamour and the ritz! A place where both stand wilfully in each other’s shadows. It is the land of opportunity and a city that belongs to the world. ‘Londoners’ aren’t english, they’re people from all over the world with a common goal and mind-set.

What prompted your move here in the first place?
A small suitcase and a three-week writing trip. I just didn’t get on the return flight home.

You’re a long way from home. Do you have any plans to relocate back to Sydney?
I like being part of the bustling mad world, if anything I’ll keep moving anywhere but home, but of course, there is no place like home, and Australia is heavenly.

After so many years being part of the much-loved five-piece Bridezilla, how are you finding being a solo artist? What are the upsides and downsides?
I’m enjoying the complete freedom of vision. I’m a loner at heart anyway. Confines and limitations can be great to work within though, and I do miss just playing music together. That incredible chemistry of musicians who have are so overfamiliar with each other’s playing… it’s like second nature, almost sublime and ethereal. That is rare and irreplaceable. I miss the girls’ company too. We were a family.

If you could go back and give teenage Holiday a few words of advice, what would they be?
Non, je ne regrette rien!

What are you listening to/reading/watching at the moment?
I’ve been reading The Prophet and Siddhartha again, and The Symposium of Plato, and a bit of Wordsworth here and there. A Bollywood film called Sholay is my new favourite! And Aretha Franklin blaring on the stereo. Gospel is Soul.

What are you going to do now you’ve finished this interview?
I’m going to The Royal Albert Hall this afternoon to see my friend Ruben Fox play, a tenor sax player. He’s boss. - Something You Said

All you Bridezilla fans can rest assured that the alt, experimental, mello-jello tunes legacy is living on via former band member and lead singer Holiday Sidewinder. The blonde babe is currently living around London and is spreading her heat (physically and musically) as a solo act.
In Sidewinder’s teenage years she played more shows around Sydney between 2005 and 2007 (along with her other mates from Bridezilla) than I can be bothered to type out. The young Bridezilla crew quickly made a name for themselves touring around the world with big names like Wilco, Interpol and The Drones, and featured on the bill to large festivals such as Homebake and Splendour.
holiday sidewinder
There was a time when going out in Sydney meant going to see Bridezilla. Sadly they split, but Holiday Sidewinder has now launched her sparkling solo work.

Fun side fact: she also appeared on SBS’s Rockwiz with fluffy haired rocker Andrew Stockdale from Wolfmother, as the tender teenager that she was. Fun fact two, the band signed their first record deal right here in Happy HQ which it was occupied by Ivy League! Bridezilla unfortunately split some time after with their last show at the Oxford Art Factory in Sydney at the end of 2012.
Now in her musically seasoned post-teenage years, this girl is impressive. Earlier this year she released her debut single Carousel, and if it is any indication of what her album is going to be like, it’s safe to say I’m excited. While Sidewinder’s classicly gentle, angelic, soft vocals remain stable throughout her debut, she also brings something new to the table – venturing into hints of jazz within an alternative, melancholic, pop-friendly framework. Take a look at her video clip to Carousel, the aesthetic of which hints at a burlesque or show girl feel.

I’m sure many of us are anticipating Holiday’s full-length debut. From the enigmatic lead of her high-school sweetheart band, she’s grown into a badass, confidant woman in her own league. There is no competition and comparison doesn’t seem to fit – Sidewinder is obviously on a path to unshakeable success. - Happy

Holiday Sidewinder (what a name) is the former lead singer of Aussie spooky indie pop outfit Bridezilla; she moved to London late last year to pursue a solo career, something that’s about to kick off with debut single Carousel. The song basically sounds like a carousel: a somewhat nostalgic but incredibly joyful ride on a pop carousel, a creature that jumps up and down right next to Lana Del Rey and Whinnie Williams. Fun fact: Sia used to babysit her (for real). - Disco Naivete

The cover photograph of Holiday Sidewinder’s debut solo track “Carousel” sells its artist as a fun loving, fast riding 70s pop icon. In fact, Ms Sidewinder was born in Syndey, Australia and counts the present day as her home. Once a member of Australian band Bridezilla, the blonde beauty is now based in London and in pursuit of a solo career.

She’s not going to have to do much running. “Carousel” bucks and plonks like a tired pony riding a broken down ghost train. Sidewinder sings whimsically over the track, seemingly oblivious to the consequences of such a pairing. It’s like Mary Epworth just overdosed on Dead Man’s Bones, and it’s utterly great.

Counting, somewhat unsurprisingly, the likes of Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton and Barry White as an influence; Holiday Sidewinder has already gained exposure from the likes of Pop Justice, Urban Outfitters and Dots & Dashes. We told you she wasn’t going to have to run. There are no plans to release “Carousel” as of yet, but with an arson of good press behind her, it won’t be long before Holiday Sidewinder commits something to 7”, we’re sure. - Drunken Werewolf

I read somewhere that having Sia Furler as your babysitter means that you are contractually obligated to produce great pop music for the rest of your life, which explains this new single from Holiday Sidewinder (another possible origin story here), very much a kooky, cotton-candy, retro-dream-pop jam. - The Hairpin

Native Aussie lass, Holiday Sidewinder, now residing in London, brings a touch of show-girl magic to the video for her new track.

With its roots in retro, Carousel takes a languid journey through the fairground of pop, growing and planting itself in the present. Dreamy and delightful, your imagine will be whisked away. - Repeat Button

Holiday is one of those people who you meet and just know is going to be brilliant. She is crazy and lovely and full of stories, like all the best people. This song was written with Mike Chapman who produced Parallel Lines by Blondie, probably my favourite record from the 70s. - Skeletory

Well, it's almost December...
East 17's 'Stay Another Day' isn't strictly about Christmas, but it's certainly become synonymous with the festive season - perhaps due to that snow-clad video.
Holiday Sidewinder hails from Australia, but caught the track shortly after her move to a tinsel-clad UK.
Promptly smitten, she then recorded her own version of it, utilising glacial synths and sun-washed vocals.
She even shot the video, too. Tune in now. - Clash magazine

Isn’t it great when two things you love come together to create something new and awesome? Like that time someone decided that, while banana and toffee are pretty amazing as individuals, if you put them together… boom… you’ve got Banoffee pie, the best dessert ever.

Which is a roundabout way of saying that we’re excited that one of our favourite people in the world has decided to cover one of our all-time fave Christmas songs. Yup, London-based Sydneysider Holiday Sidewinder has just dropped her rendition of East 17’s ‘Stay Another Day’.

Recorded at Dean St Studios in Soho, the tune will be released across all digital platforms and on limited edition cassette tapes available directly from her website. In homage to the original (penned by Tony Mortimer about his brother’s suicide), a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Mind charity for mental health.

The video – set in an ice rink because Christmas – is below. Check it out and then buy a copy of the single at Holiday’s website. - Something You Said

Channeling Enya and The Cocteau Twins, Sidewinder has delivered us a twinkling gem of seasonal melancholy. Hailing from the sandy shores of Home & Away, Holiday only discovered the 90s hit last Christmas. She was nestled in amongst a big and boisterous Punjabi family in West London, and through the hubbub of Christmas jubilation the boy band’s iconic video played on the television. The juxtaposition of the cheeriness of the occasion with the sadness in the song struck a chord and like the rest of us- she was secretly smitten.

Recorded at Dean St Studios in Soho, the cover will be released across all digital platforms and on limited edition cassette tapes available directly from her website. In homage to the original (penned by Tony Mortimer about his brother’s suicide), a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Mind charity for mental health. The home style video is set in an ice rink… because nostalgia, winter, why not the holidays!

Holiday Sidewinder released her single “Carousel” back in 2014, which was co-written and produced by Mike Chapman (Blondie). She has since written a self-described ‘continental breakfast buffet’ of new material, the first songs of which are set to be released early in the new year. - Northern Transmissions

London based musician, Holiday Sidewinder is set to release a cover of East 17‘s, ‘Stay Another Day’, just in time for those traditional, cozy, festive nights in.

Surprisingly, until last year this ‘Modern Christmas Classic’ was apparently unknown to the Australian born singer. However the juxtaposition of the cheeriness of the occasion with the sadness in the song struck a chord – the result is this glittering and festive re-imagining. Listen, below. - Vulture Hound

Dreamy pop sensation, Holiday Sidewinder, has dished up another sparkling gem, in the form of East 17’s ‘Stay Another Day’.

That old chestnut of a 90’s tune was only discovered by the Australian-born artist last Christmas, while nestled in amongst a big and boisterous Punjabi family in West London. The iconic boy band video played through the hubbub of Christmas jubilation, and immediately struck a chord with Holiday, for its juxtaposition of sadness with the cheeriness of the occasion.

London-based Holiday started her career as a young teen in the Australian indie band, Bridezilla – handpicked by Nick Cave, Sia, John Cale and The Flaming Lips to play festivals and tours around the globe – and her debut solo outing ‘Carousel’ was co-written and produced by the legendary Mike Chapman (Blondie, Tina Turner). She has since written a self-described ‘continental breakfast buffet’ of new material, the first songs of which are set to be released early in the new year.

In keeping with the melancholy holiday theme, check out her playlist of songs for the brokenhearted this festive season.

1. Billie Davis – ‘Angel Of The Morning’

“The ultimate bachelorette anthem to get you through your one night stands.”

2. Carly Simon – ‘Why’

“A feel good sad song, with a famously awkward video. I like how lo-fi it is, tried to borrow this vibe for the ‘Stay Another Day’ video.”

3. Aaron Neville – ‘Tell It Like It Is’

“Always tell it like it is. This one is for all the internet daters and their Ghosting, Benching and Zombeing.”

4. Question Mark and the Mysterians – ‘96 Tears’

“Raucous. 60s Garage band from Bay City doing vitriolic teenage heartache and pain so well. Incidentally, a great funeral song too.”

5. Dorothy Ashby – ‘Why Did You Leave Me’

“The Fantastic Jazz Harp of Dorothy Ashby – an African American female composer and multi-instrumentalist I’m totally in love with. This instrumental will keep you moving with a skip in your step through the crisp cool air, whilst thinking ‘why did you leave me?’”

6. Lustt – ‘Pillow Talk’

“The original was written and recorded by Sylvia Robinson (of Sylvia & Mickey ‘Love Is Strange’ fame) who wrote it for Al Green (who thought it was too risqué). I’m a big fan of this 1983 Italo disco cover version by the mysterious Lustt (aka Suzanne Stevens, who worked as a receptionist in Montreal).”

7. Ultravox – ‘Vienna’

“Ultimate. Gives me all the feelings. Devastatingly beaten to Number 1 in the UK by Joe Dolce‘s novelty hit, ‘Shaddap You Face’.”

8. Laura Branigan – ‘Gloria’

“A belter from New Yorker, Laura Branigan, and an absolute classic 80s tune. ‘Will you meet him on the main line, or will you catch him on the rebound? Will you marry for the money, take a lover in the afternoon?’ Here’s hoping for the belle de jour option.”

9. Harry Nilsson – ‘Without You’

“Harry Nilsson, with one of the most unforgettable vocal performances in recording history. Mariah nailed it, but Harry is so vulnerable and raw.”

10. Asha Puthli – ‘Lies’

“Love her vicious and seething version of this JJ Cale tune. Asha Puthli is wild. Still singing on dance hits in the US well into her 70’s.”

11. Barbara Lynn – ‘You’ll Lose A Good Thing’

“Jimi Hendrix’s sister, Barbara! This whole album is fantastic, but this tune takes the cake. Anyone being dumped (or doing the dumping) this Christmas will appreciate the sentiment hopefully!” - FMS