Kiwi singer songwriter Sharon O'Neill was huge here and in Australia in the late 70s and 80s and is still writing and performing the occasional gig. She's being inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame and will receive the Legacy Award as well in November at the Vodafone NZ Music Awards.
Sharon was born in 1952. Here she is two and a half years old in her sandpit at Moana Avenue.
Everyone had a school photo like this in the 1960s! Waimea Intermediate.
Sharon with her parents in Nelson playing her new record on a turntable. Remember those? Well they’re back!
In the park with Ludwig Van Beethoven.
Crazy clothes you can buy in Tokyo. Not even Halloween.
Sharon with John Boylan in LA. John produced her smash hit album Foreign Affairs that contained the track Maxine. He was a mentor.
Sharon with Dragon keyboardist, Alan Mansfield, who has been her partner for 33 years.
American Alan Mansfield, Dragon keyboardist, Sharon's long time partner who she lives with in Sydney.
Sharon with the actress who played Maxine in the Australian video of the song. This was taken on the shoot. "That night we needed police protection as a couple of our girl extras were taking the focus off the ‘real’ girls. The pimps got a tad mad."
On ‘The Good, The Bad And The Ugly’ tour of Australia with Angry Anderson (Rose Tattoo), Marc Hunter and Sharon.
Sharon presents an award at the 1984 NZ Music Awards, the year the Dance Exponents cleaned up.
Sharon O'Neill with Elton John in 1980. She and Jon Stevens had been called up to sing a song with him during his Wellington concert.
Recording the ‘Physical Favours’ video in London. It was a long night of wind machines and sheets.
The teddy bear that appear on stage. Her ‘wee chap’ has been all over the world with her. Sharon knitted his outfit but now he wears an All Blacks jersey at 56 years old.
Sharon O'Neill was part of the Volume: Making Music in Aotearoa exhibition held at Auckland Museum in 2016. She's pictured here with Shona Laing who she says inspired her because Laing wrote and sang her own songs at a time when many Kiwi women singers were just performing covers.
As a guitarist and pianist, the keytar worked well. Sharon says: "A phase I went through playing keyboards on the move. Interesting."
In Melbourne on tour. Fans brought her this cuddly toy wombat, all the way from Sydney on the train.
The dark eye makeup was signature O'Neill in the 1980s.
After starting out in folk bands in the 1970s, Sharon O'Neill moved to pop-rock.
Robert Palmer on the left with Sharon and Alan at Robert's home in Lugano, Switzerland. Sharon wrote songs for Robert Palmer as well as Dragon.
The images in this gallery are used with permission and are subject to copyright conditions.
