Vale Jeff St John

https://www.nfsa.gov.au/sites/default/files/03-2018/jeff-st-john-cropped.jpg

One of Australia’s greatest rock voices, Jeff St John left a legacy of great recordings as well as his unforgettable rendition of 'Advance Australia Fair' at the opening of the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney.

Jeff performed in many seminal bands in the late sixties and early seventies including The Syndicate, The Id, Yama and Copperwine before embarking on a solo career.

Although his career never hit the heights his talent deserved, he did have a top ten hit in 1977 with the song 'A Fool in Love'.

This song perfectly highlights Jeff’s great soul/rock vocal style.

His vocal range and control transforms what could have been a lightweight pop song into a raunchy soul number.

This recording is one of the forgotten classics of Australian 1970s music.

Jeff was a great supporter of the NFSA and donated much of his material to our collection.

Main image:

The Australians: Rock'n'Roll Man (1981), NFSA title: 1081786

This dynamic image shows Jeff St John at work in the recording studio. The image was taken for the television series The Australians, a joint production between Peter Luck Productions and Hanna-Barbera that aired on the Seven Network and celebrated the achievements of Australians.