Sarah McLeod

Sarah McLeod

A relentless passion for a musical life breeds a roaring fire that Sarah McLeod cannot ignore. She is one of those artists who has always felt it, always fuelled it, and could never let the fire go out… even if she wanted to.

Sarah McLeod is a delicious musical recipe: the girl with the unforgettable voice - the songwriter who can crack you like hard candy or melt you like marshmallow - the chick with the sexy stage presence – a musical talent of iconic proportions.

Australia fell in love with our first lady of rock for many reasons. It’s not just her talent that makes Aussie audiences possessive of her, it’s her genuine warmth and a pride in being Australian.

Sarah has a certain rare appeal. She first stepped into the spotlight as the front woman of The Superjesus – a band who rose to fame after three successful albums and in the process winning multi awards including 3 ARIA’s, and a huge dedicated fan-base along the way.

And with a whole lotta memories filled with success, the band went their separate ways, as many do. Sarah went on to take the solo road. And it was a road she embraced wholeheartedly, and in the process changed everything – her management, record label, her comfort zones. It was like stripping back to a raw state of being.

Sarah moved on to write and record her debut solo album – Beauty Was A Tiger, in 2005, which marked the beginning of a new energy in her sound. An amazing catalyst to the future growth of an artist ploughing through destiny. She founded a new band and stepped out with a new groove.

Beauty Was A Tiger (co-produced by ARIA award winner Matt Lovell & Chris Peters of Electric Six) scored nationwide radio play and major media support for its releases including Private School Kid (duet with The Living End’s Chris Cheney), the heartbreakingly beautiful All But Gone, and the ARIA chart topping He Doesn’t Love You. National tours with sold out shows proved she was on the right track.

Soon after came the invite to perform at Canadian Music Week in Toronto, followed by shows in New York. Sarah decided to strip back the set to a solo acoustic format and finally show a different, raw side of herself musically. The result was sheer brilliance. Her performances attracted a diverse crowd of curious punters, media and industry, one being the legendary Jimmy Douglass.

Upon returning to Australia to continue her new-found acoustic passion, Sarah experienced a personal turning point. She was evolving musically as well as personally, and embraced a softer inner self and dawned upon what could only be seen as the most brave and truthful leap of faith of her career. Sarah took a break from band life and hit the road armed with her Gibson Hummingbird and drummer, Mick Skelton. Together they mesmerised audiences across the nation for most of 2006. It was a gutsy move. And one that was addictive for both Sarah and her fans. A key performance at the East Coast Blues Fest was further testimony to this and oozed strength and a personal musical growth.

While the acoustic shows were happening nearly every night of the week, Sarah’s final single from Beauty Was A Tiger, He Doesn’t Love You, started to breathe a whole new life of its own. The commanding vocals on the track caught the attention of hot Sydney DJ / Producer, Hook n Sling. The result was a remix that fast became a smash hit in the clubs and radio and leapt to the #1 spot on the ARIA Club Charts. Signed to Renaissance UK, the Hook n Sling mixes of He Doesn’t Love You are to this day enjoying international acclaim – from Europe to NYC to North America.

Enter 2007. Sarah took time out to build a studio for her record label and commenced writing her heart out. It was a special time musically. And it was the producer / engineer she met during her Canadian Music Week performance, multi Grammy Award winner, Jimmy Douglass (Duran Duran, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Missy Elliot), that heard the tracks first. Jimmy took Sarah under his wing and had kept in touch with Sarah since they met. After hearing her new songs, he knew he had to get her into his studio in Miami to record her 2nd solo album. An extraordinary life changing experience awaited.

But first, Sarah had different shoes to fill – she was asked to host the music show Coca-Cola Live ‘N’ Local. Sarah hit the other side of the microphone giving national audiences an up close and personal view of an artist talking with artists such as Ziggy Marley, Gomez, Ben Kweller, and local acts Wolfmother, and Little Birdy. It was due to Sarah’s natural affinity with other musicians that created compelling viewing and as a result catapulted Coca Cola Live ‘N’ Local being voted as the #1 music show on Australian television.

Now, back to the extraordinary life changing experience….

In July 2007, Sarah jetted off across the globe to Jimmy Douglass’ studio in Miami, The Spot, where they were joined by Grammy nominee, cult hip hop guru ill Factor (