Marcia Hines, other-wise known as Australia’s Queen of Pop (and Kylie is our Princess), is a well rounded, thoughtful, kind, generous, fun-loving, spiritual, intelligent and insightful human. That’s kind of impressive enough, but, throw into this mix a power-force of talent with a voice that transcends the heavens – we have an Australian Music Icon that has held thrown for 50 freaking years. I chatted with Marcia about the decades and her tour celebrating her momentous and illustrious career.
Markus Hamence: Good morning Marcia and what a pleasure to speak to you again, chatting with you fills my space with sunshine.
Marcia Hines: So lovely to talk with you again also Markus. And, I know you’re having better weather in Adelaide right now that I’m having in Sydney haha.
Markus: I do smell the scent of Spring in the air to be honest, yes. So let’s chat the tour which is celebrating your 50 Years (which is no mean feat) of a blessed and wonderful career in Australian Music. Did you even think for a moment this is what you would still be doing five decades on?
Marcia: Well I think it’s great management. I’m talking to you now and I’ve got a full day of interviews, you know it’s me ‘Marcia Hines’, but there are SO many people that are behind me and make it all happen. They make the machine happen, it’s a machine you know. They are GREAT people behind, actual, no, we are shoulder to shoulder. We all work bloody hard hard and they tell me where I need to be and tell me what I should be doing at various pints in the day. I love them. It’s not even work any more, it’s a joy and this is my blessing. I love what I do and I love singing and I never expected expected to have this incredible surge to my career. Like I said to you earlier, you can’t script this, I’m so grateful.
Markus: So during the fifty years Marcia what is one of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt?
Marcia: Really, to try and be consistently kind. You know that age old message; ‘Do Unto Others’ etc. It is an interesting phenomenon, I don’t take any of it for granted you know and sometimes it just brings a huge smile to my face that people still want to come and see me work. I just sing and make it all up as I go along darling Markus and they are still enjoying it hahaha 🙂
Markus: Now I most recently saw you do a show a couple of years ago with ‘The Gospel According To Marcia’ which was also an album. It was brilliance and received extremely well by fans and critics alike. Was that a career defining moment for you as we came out of THAT dreaded covid period when we though arts and entertainment would never return to the hay days?
Marcia: It was received the way I wished for and then some. You know, you can have all these plans etc, and hope for the best and then it becomes a fizzer haha and again you just can’t script it. You can never know what’s going to work and what’s not going to work. I did that piece of work because it came from my heart. I learnt to sing in church and all of those songs were incredibly heart felt for me. And that album for me felt like going home. So everyone that saw that album on tour saw me being the essence of who I am. Most black children in America are brought up in church and that’s wher you learn a lot of your morals, wher you learn to behave properly and respectively and it’s where I learned my musicality.
Markus: During these fifty years there will be be many highlghts, naturally. What is one however that really stands out for you as something precious above all else?
Marcia: Ah, I would have to say when I received the title of Australia’s ‘Queen Of Pop’, and as corny as that sounds Markus when I won it I wasn’t even a citizen of Australia, I had only adopted Australia as my own as I had no plans to back to America. And then back in the day when you won an award like that people had to and buy a magazine from a news-agency and vote, it wasn’t online, there was physical effort behind it. It was writing out a coupon, bying an envelope and stamp and popping it into a letter box somehat down the road or even further. It was a decent effort to vote. And it was THAT that meant a lot. That was back in the day when music was growing in Australia and becoming part of the Australia culture. And I must add, that anyone that says that an award is bullshit, pardon my language, is purely because that have never received one. Jealousy does not sit well with me and never has.
Markus: Yoi have been fortunate to work with some AMAZING talents and indeed they have been blessed to work with you. What would one of you most treasured collaborations be?
Marcia: Oh gosh, it’s funny because Hugh Jackman, Shirley Jones from The Partridge Family, Tina Arena and of course Kylie Minogue , there hae been moment I go to bed feeling very lucky. So opening the Fox Studios I feel very proud to ba part of that. I mean, What a bunch of incredible talent on the gig. That’s a highlight for me personally. Bit then there was the show I did with John Denver and John Engligh in Sydney, lord it goes on. I love just absorbing everything that i get to see.
Markus: Isn’t there good fortune in breathing in the moments we get to partake in.
Marcia: Oh, you betcha. If you’re not learning and growing and being a sponge in life there’s something very wrong.
Markus:So the future. let’s be honest we are going to see a 60th, 70th and 80th Anniversay Tour. Your career is not stopping anytime soon darling, I won’t here of it. What is a collaboration you’d love to see occur for you.?
Marcia: Oh, easy, Sting. I’d love to sing with Tom Jones. If there was an opportunity I dearly would have loved to sung with Aretha Franklin. But, right now, Alicia Keys. I love Alicia. She’s a nice strong woman..Oh and Patti LaBelle, ooooh! Patti, I met and she’s soooooo sweet. She said to me “I want to wish you all the luck in the worls with what you do”… And you know what that meant to me? EVERYTHING. Once again, it is kindness. You always remember kindness.
Markus: Marcia, what can we expect from the tour which is covering all of Australia?
Marcia: Well firstly we are going everywhere, including regional. You will hear all the big ballads, my 90’s dance hits, and the classics. It’s a big sing and I believe the set list is well-chosen and will appeal the die hards and the curious. I’m so excited to get started.
Markus: Again, delightful chatting and big hugs for you when you hit Adelaide and wish huge further success for you.
Marcia: Lovely as always. I’ll see you backstage stage for that hug.
Marcia Hines – Still Shining 2024 Australian Tour
Tickets here!
