BRISBANE quintet George has arrived. Six years ago, guitarist Nick Stewart entered a university band comp. The only trouble was, he didn't have a band.
After filling in the entry forms, he approached some of his musical mates, asked them if they would like to have a go, they said yes and the rest is history.
Now, after slogging it out on the live circuit - first in Brisbane, then the rest of Australia - they have a bag full of independently produced EPs and a debut album, Polyserena, that entered the ARIA charts at number one.
That achievement made them the 10th Australian artist in chart history to debut their first album at number one on the ARIA mainstream chart.
Polyserena was also the album of the week on ABC radio's youth station, Triple J. The diverse mix of sounds in Polyserena came about with the help of international producer David Nicholas, who has worked with Elton John, Ash, Pulp, INXS, The Pretenders and New Zealand band Zed. George has also played sell-out shows at venues including Brisbane's Powerhouse Theatre, the Newtown RSL, The Metro in Sydney and the famous Corner Bar in Melbourne.
Making up George are Katie Noonan on vocals and keyboard, Tyrone Noonan on vocals, keyboard and guitar, Geoff Green on percussion, Paulie Bromley on bass and Nick Stewart on guitars.
Katie Noonan's angelic voice is the result of classical operatic training, for which both siblings, Katie and Tyrone, regularly sit exams.
They attribute much of their talent to their mother Maggie Noonan, who is an internationally renowned opera singer.
George's EP of 1999, You Can Take Whats Mine, reached number at one on the Australian ARIA independent charts, and in 2000, the Bastard Son/Holiday EP stayed in the national charts for a staggering five months.
George's support act, Sydney four-piece Waikiki, is one of Australia's strongest emerging talents.
Their EP Waikiki Presents, released in late 2000, featured the single Frail and it became an instant summer favourite with Triple J listeners.
Last year Waikiki toured with Wheatus, iOTA, Alex Lloyd and The Whitlams. Waikiki's current single is New Technology. Also supporting will be Sydney-based Fourplay who manage to blur the boundaries between classical and rock music as an eclectic electric quartet.
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