Success Abroad
With his EMI contract about to expire, Williams decided leave the shores of New Zealand in pursuit of an international standing in Australia. With him came Alan Galbraith, his new manager and producer of his three albums. Alan had recently taken up a new position with CBS Australia. After Williams's departure, EMI released the obligatory "Greatest Hits" album late in 1977.
In the years to follow he had quickly established himself in the lucrative session world of Sydney singing many radio and TV commercials and become a favoured back up vocalist on albums by major Australian talent, Renee Geyer, Jenny Morris, Eurogliders, Ian Moss, Richard Clapton, The Church and Sharon O`Neil. It wasn’t until 1980 that his Australian album was released called ‘Life after Dark’, which spawned two singles.
Williams also formed a Sydney based band called Boy Rocking signed to CBS. The band would go on to released two Australian singles. In 1988 on the verge of touring with the musical ‘Cats’, Mark made an eleventh hour decision to instead tour with the Ian Moss band for the hugely successful ‘Matchbook’ tour. 1989 would see Williams break into television singing the theme song for the hit Australian soap Home and Away with Karen Boddington.
Williams soon attempted to replicate the fully-fledged successful solo career he experienced in New Zealand. He was signed to Albert Productions (released through Sony) and began working on new material with Harry Vanda and George Young of The Easybeats.
1990 saw the release of the album Mark Williams ZNZ, which featured perhaps his best-known song, "Show No Mercy". Gone was the silky voice; it was a completely different sounding Williams. The song went platinum and was chosen to launch the 1990 New South Wales Rugby League grand final. He went on to tour Australia and New Zealand and made an appearance on the Strictly Ballroom soundtrack singing "Time After Time" with Tara Morice. In 1996 he began coaching promising young Australian performers before again becoming involved in television, coaching Popstars performers for the Seven Network including the female pop group Bardot and culled hopefuls for Network Ten’s Australian Idol.
In 2005, Todd Hunter of the New Zealand rock band Dragon asked Williams to join the newly reformed band and in 2006 the new line up released ‘Sunshine to Rain’ through Liberation Music. They have been touring ever since.
Williams currently lives in Sydney and is working on material for another album.
Read more about this topic: Mind Over Matter (Mark Williams Album)
Famous quotes containing the word success:
“Much of the success of life depends upon keeping one’s mind open to opportunity and seizing it when it comes.”
—Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)
“The white man regards the universe as a gigantic machine hurtling through time and space to its final destruction: individuals in it are but tiny organisms with private lives that lead to private deaths: personal power, success and fame are the absolute measures of values, the things to live for. This outlook on life divides the universe into a host of individual little entities which cannot help being in constant conflict thereby hastening the approach of the hour of their final destruction.”
—Policy statement, 1944, of the Youth League of the African National Congress. pt. 2, ch. 4, Fatima Meer, Higher than Hope (1988)