Doug Parkinson (singer) - Career

Career

Parkinson first started singing with a band called The A Sound but,in 1966 graduated to a more professional outfit, The Questions,Led by Rory Thomas ( Piano,Organ,Woodwind and Brass ), which held a residency at the Canopus Room, colloqually known as "The Can", at The Manly Pacific Hotel in Manly, a seaside suburb of Sydney, Australia.

In 1969 The Questions changed personnel and in the process became a four-piece band and took on the name of Doug Parkinson In Focus. This band, made up of some of Sydney's top musicians, Billy Green (guitar), Mark Kennedy (drums) and Duncan McGuire (bass), allowed him to showcase his powerful, soulful voice. With this band he rose to prominence with a number of Top 20 hit records in Australia such as "Dear Prudence" and "Without You" / "Hair", the latter written by guitarist and songwriter Billy Green (aka Wil Greenstreet ) in the mid-1970s, when Green composed the soundtrack to the film Stone, Parkinson sang on two tracks.

In 1969 Doug Parkinson In Focus won Australia' prestigious band competition, Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds. Following the demise of that band he joined Vince Melouney's post-Bee Gees supergroup Fanny Adams, which recorded one album and broke up. He then embarked on a successful solo career. He also sang the theme song of the short-lived 1980s soap opera, Arcade.

He continues to be a perennial favourite in stage shows, cabaret, club work and recording until the present day.