Marcia Hines | Long Play Series

Singer, performer and television personality Marcia Hines is one of the most beloved and accomplished members of the Australian music scene. Her career, spanning over five decades, has included being the first Australian female artist to have a platinum selling album, seven consecutive Top 20 albums, and releasing 22 albums that have collectively sold 2.6 million copies.

Born in Boston, USA, Hines made her debut in 1970 at the age of 16, having been discovered during an audition for the Australian production of Hair. She flew to Sydney, leaving behind her mother and brother, not then knowing that she would come to call Australia her permanent home.

Her music career took off in the late 1970s when she recorded several hit covers, including ‘Fire and Rain’, ‘I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself’, and ‘You’, as well as releasing her debut studio album, Marcia Shines (1975), and touring the USA and Russia with the Daly-Wilson Big Band. Known for her captivating vocals and stage presence, Hines regularly appeared on the ABC’s Countdown and her own television series, Marcia Hines Music. In 1976, she was voted Queen of Pop by TV Week readers for three consecutive years.

After taking a break in the 1980s, Hines returned in 1994 with her eighth studio album, Right Here and Now. In 2003, she became a mainstay in Australian living rooms as one of the judges on music contest show Australian Idol. Hines was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2007 and awarded the Order of Australia in 2009 for her contribution to the Australian music industry. In 2023, she received the Support Act Music in the House Award for Excellence in the Community.

In this interview, Hines reflects on her rise to stardom in Hair and its global cultural impact, on working alongside fellow iconic artists including AC/DC and Renée Geyer, and on her experience as the compassionate judge on Australian Idol throughout its 21-year history.

Interviewer: Brian Nankervis

Location: Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne