Stevie Wright (Australian Singer)

Stevie Wright (Australian Singer)

Stephen Carlton "Stevie" Wright (born 20 December 1948, Leeds, England), formerly billed as Little Stevie, is an Australian musician and songwriter who has been called Australia's first international pop star. During 1964–1969 he was lead singer for Sydney-based rock and roll band The Easybeats, widely regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of 1960s.

Early hits for The Easybeats were co-written by Wright with bandmate George Young, including, "She's So Fine" (#3, 1965), "Wedding Ring" (#7, 1965), "Women (Make You Feel Alright)" (#4, 1966), "Come and See Her" (#3, 1966), "I'll Make You Happy" (track on Easyfever EP, #1, 1966), and "Sorry" (#1, 1966). He was lead vocalist on their only international hit "Friday on My Mind", which peaked at #1 in Australia in 1966, it made #6 in United Kingdom, the Top 10 in France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, and Top 20 in United States in 1967.

After The Easybeats disbanded in 1969, Wright fronted numerous groups including Stevie Wright Band and Stevie Wright & the Allstars; his solo career included the 1974 single, "Evie (Parts 1, 2 & 3)", which peaked at #1 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart. Wright has had problems with alcohol and drug addictions, by 1976 he was hospitalised and undertook methadone treatment, in the late 1970s he was treated at Chelmsford Private Hospital by Dr Harry Bailey who administered Deep Sleep Therapy with a combination of drug-induced coma and electroshock.

His biography has been detailed in Sorry : The Wretched Tale of Little Stevie Wright by Jack Marx (1999) and Hard Road: The Life and Times of Stevie Wright by Glenn Goldsmith (2004). On 14 July 2005, The Easybeats, with Stevie Wright as a member, were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame alongside Renée Geyer, Hunters & Collectors, Smoky Dawson, Split Enz and Normie Rowe.