Richard Clapton

Richard Clapton as one of Australia’s foremost singer/songwriters, paved the way for subsequent generations of songwriters to write about the experience of being Australian.

He grew up in Sydney in the 1960s before hopping a plane for London, and then later to Germany, where he wrote a first album, Prussian Blue (1973) which was one of the first major Australian “singer-songwriter” albums and included popular song ‘I Wanna Be A Survivor’. Richard Clapton developed a sound based on melodic rock while his lyrics were poetic musings on his state of mind or the state of the nation.

By 1975, when he released his highly acclaimed, No.1 hit ‘Girls On The Avenue’, Clapton had set the themes he was to explore for the coming decades. Over the following years there were a string of hits including the perennial favourites: ‘Capricorn Dancer’, ‘Deep Water’, ‘I Am An Island’, and many more.

Recently Richard released his first cover album, entitled Music Is Love (1966-1970). A timely homage to the music of peace love & understanding; tunes of the American hippies from the late 1960’s; Richard Clapton’s unique versions of songs recorded by The Byrds, Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, The Band, Lovin’ Spoonful and more, sung as only Richard can.