Marty Rhone-Gavin Woods Podcast-Series 8 Episode 6

Gavin Wood's Podcast

Marty Rhone was born as Karel (or Karl) Lawrence van Rhoon on 7 May 1948 in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) His father was Eddy Emile van Rhoon, his mother was Judith Olive. She was a singer and actress, who met Eddy through the Sydney jazz scene; he was a visiting pianist. The couple married in 1947, and migrated to Australia on 21 April 1950 and briefly lived in Sydney and Brisbane, and then moved to Darwin.

Rhone was taught piano by his father but he preferred singing. In August 1959, aged 11, he first performed publicly at Darwin's Mitchell Street Town Hall in Around the World in 80 Minutes – a charity variety concert – alongside his father on piano and his mother. After he finished primary school, the family moved to Sydney.

In mid-1961, Rhone appeared on a talent quest segment of ATN7-TV series, Tarax Show, and was offered a singing spot on a children's show,

During 1966 Marty Rhone and The Soul Agents supported The Rolling Stones on the United Kingdom rock group's tour of Australia. They also performed on the bill of the P.J. Proby Show at the Sydney Stadium with Wayne Fontana, Eden Kane and The Bee Gees appearing. Rhone moved to Melbourne and issued five singles on Spin Records but had "limited success".

In March 1970, Rhone was conscripted for National Service until 1972. During his service he attended the Royal Military College, Duntroon, as a member of their band, for 18 months.

From April 1972 to July 1973 he acted in the Australian stage version of Godspell at The Richbrooke, Sydney with Rod Dunbar, Peita Toppano and John Waters. The Australian cast soundtrack album was issued as Godspell: a Musical Based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew on His Master's Voice. He attended the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and in July 1973 he released a new single, "Goodbye in May". He composed the music for Ruzzante Returns from the Wars, which starred Ivar Kants Rhone followed with appearances on TV soap operas, Number 96 (1974) and Class of '75 (1975).

By mid-1975 Rhone had signed with M7 Records and issued his next single, "Denim and Lace", which peaked at No. 8 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. It was promoted on the Class of '75 soundtrack album. It was co-written by L Lister (aka Jack Aranda) and F Lyons (aka Shad Lyons). Lister and Lyons also produced Rhone's debut album, Denim and Lace, recording at Alberts Studio 139. At the end of the year "Denim and Lace" was the second highest selling single in Australia. His next single, "Star Song", reached the Top 50, the next two were less successful, while the last one for the year, "On the Loose" reached the Top 40. Of the four singles, "On the Loose (Again)" – co-written by Bryan Dawe and Steve Groves (ex-Tin Tin)– was used by Rhone to win the 1976 Australian Popular Song Festival and represented Australia at the World Popular Song Festival. In June 1977 he had another hit with "Mean Pair of Jeans", which reached No. 10. In July 1978 Rhone relocated to London. In June 1979, Rhone took the role of Lun Tha in the London Palladium presentation of The King and I alongside Yul Brynner and Virginia McKenna. By September 1981 he had returned to Sydney.

In 1987 Rhone became a business manager for a trio of brothers, the Australian boxers: Dean, Guy and Troy Waters. In December 1988 Rhone organised the "Battle on the Beach" for January 1989 with Dean Waters, as Australian heavyweight champion, to fight New Zealand's title holder.

In 2007, Rhone performed a repertoire of tracks by Cliff Richard; a gig at the Crown Casino, Melbourne, in late 2008 it was filmed and broadcast in February the next year as Marty Rhone: A Tribute to Cliff Richard and The Shadows. In May 2011 on the Cliff & Dusty presentation he performed with Sheena Crouch as UK pop singer Dusty Springfield and in June 2012 with his own "musical theatre fantasy" covering Richard's and The Beatles' material in Cliff Joins The Beatles.

In August 2016, Rhone released 50th Anniversary Album, a career spanning compilation album.