Singer Jeff St John in a recording studio, seated in a wheelchair, wearing headphones and singing with eyes closed into a microphone.
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Vale Jeff St John

22 April 1946 – 6 March 2018
BY
 Thorsten Kaeding
& Tamara Osicka

 

Head and shoulders close up of singer Jeff St John wearing glasses, a necklace with pendant and embroidered shirt, looking directly at camera with his head slightly tilted to his right. The image is dated around the late 1970s.
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Jeff St John in the late 1970s, by unknown photographer. NFSA title: 356471

One of Australia’s greatest rock voices, Jeff St John left a legacy of great recordings as well as his unforgettable rendition of 'Advance Australia Fair' at the opening of the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney.

Jeff performed in many seminal bands in the late sixties and early seventies including The Syndicate, The Id, Yama and Copperwine before embarking on a solo career.

Although his career never hit the heights his talent deserved, he did have a top ten hit in 1977 with the song 'A Fool in Love'.

This song perfectly highlights Jeff’s great soul/rock vocal style.

His vocal range and control transforms what could have been a lightweight pop song into a raunchy soul number.

This recording is one of the forgotten classics of Australian 1970s music.

A Fool in Love

The single 'A Fool In Love' was released by Asylum Records in 1977. The B-side contained the track 'Pamela’s Song'. NFSA title: 322817.

Jeff was a great supporter of the NFSA and donated much of his material to our collection.

Main image:

The Australians: Rock'n'Roll Man (1981), NFSA title: 1081786

This dynamic image shows Jeff St John at work in the recording studio. The image was taken for the television series The Australians, a joint production between Peter Luck Productions and Hanna-Barbera that aired on the Seven Network and celebrated the achievements of Australians.