Julie Anthony's best role
Family means a lot to Julie Anthony. In fact, she says, it’s what she’s enjoyed most in life. She has two daughters, Talitha (Tali), 19, who works in Melbourne, and Tamara, 13, a Year 8 student. “I’ve always been very family based. If it doesn’t work [for the family], if anything gets in the way of that, we’ve never done it. When the children were little, we all toured, including my mum and dad, because that’s the way it worked. We were all together with the kids—there was never anything missing.
“Children grow up; it’s all so fast. You’re just there for a minute as a guiding person. You get such a short time to give them their ammunition to go out into the world. For us it’s always been, ‘Does this fit in with what everybody wants?’ And if the answer is no, then we didn’t do that [event].
And like any mother, Julie is happy to talk about her children. But while hers is a strong, happy family, she acknowledges that it’s not like that for everyone, including her children’s friends. She knows that life can be hard for kids in any demographic, and feels that even among the wealthy there are child victims of a culture that seeks to satisfy material needs ahead of relational, and it’s kids that suffer.
“There have been many mistakes made in the name of the ‘have’ syndrome—the ‘busy’ syndrome,” she says. “We all have to be busy in order to have. But what happens to the family? Where do kids fit in? If they think they don’t have a place and aren’t valued, then they’re going to feel that no-one really wants them. And that’s where it goes astray.
“But giving them time is going to be good for the parent too; the first person to benefit when you give your kids time is you! I really get angry—cheesed off—when it’s seen that unless you’re busy, you are really living a non-event. The most important thing you have is who you connect with and who you like.”
She sees keeping young people positive in a difficult world becoming harder, with the mass media—TV news in particular—being so negative.
“I worry about kids today. I see that we’ve taken away their right to work. In the name of progress, there are fewer jobs. Young people must have a sense of worth. You develop a sense of worth through something that you are and you do. My generation knew that there’d always be work. It didn’t matter what you decided to do; there would always be a job for you.
“These days kids wonder why they strive for a high school certificate—what’s so magical about it that it will produce a job for them. They know it won’t necessarily. Then at the other end, we’ve got the aged. We in the middle can generally look after ourselves, but each end is in need of care.”
But, she acknowledges, the world isn’t all bad. “It might be struggling—and people in it are always going to struggle—but you have to put the good out there to make a bit of balance.”
n Beyond the joy she brings to people through her art, Julie does her “bit” as a governor of the St George Foundation, a charitable organisation that is a kind of charity to the charities, helping smaller but worthwhile children’s charities achieve their aims. In this role she says she gets to meet “the most wonderful people.”
“They’re good people; they’re so appreciative of anybody who will help,” she reflects “Every meeting we have we say, ‘Well, we’ll never meet another group of people like that.’ It restores my faith. For me it is something to look forward to; I enjoy being in the middle of all that.
“You only have to listen to their stories as they speak about the work they do—people helping people. But I don’t think you can say we aren’t helping enough, for as long as you’re helping in any form—locally or globally—the little bits come together. They’re like a jigsaw picture.”
And charity begins at her home. Her children are encouraged to get involved themselves, at their own level. Tali, for example, in a school community service program, visited elderly people in a Kingscliff aged-care centre.
“Tali had a lady, about 80, who would be waiting for her,” explains Julie. “She would wait for the day when they arrived, and tea would be on. She would tell stories. It was Tali, her friend, and Rita. It’s been a terrific thing for the girls.
“You can teach kids to be selfless. But because a lot of kids don’t always get a bed of roses themselves, they’re already more aware [of social needs]. A lot of kids are doing it hard, and from their own circle of friends, my kids understand that. Nevertheless, it’s a pity they have to at their age.”
Destiny and good fortune can sometimes intervene in a life. Julie acknowledges it happened in hers, although once on the track to stardom, she says, it was her love of music that drove it.
She’d sung with a local Mallee band after their lead dropped out and her dad volunteered her. She did this for a year before entering a talent quest on Adelaide’s Channel 7 “Tonight” show. She won and was spotted by Ernie Sigley, who, recognising real talent, invited her onto his show, giving her a chance to learn about television. “He was great,” says Julie.
She sang on one of the last of the Bandstand shows, and was suddenly a made woman—in demand and in need of an agent. “I inquired about a trustworthy agent in Sydney, got a name—Tony Brady—and went over and auditioned. He’s still my agent today.”
So does she believe in destiny?
“I would have to,” she says. “Because as a kid, I loved music, and as much as I loved the farm and thought that this was where I’d always be, I still had the dreams that kids have. And when it happened—the break into musical success—I wasn’t that surprised. I thought, ‘Oh, it’s time now.’
“I did a show called Lush, which was part of that—the knowing yet not believing that it would ever happen. While I would have to say that I’m a believer in destiny, the trick is knowing where you’re supposed to go.
“I value most that I’ve been able to do what I love to do—to actually put my passion [music] into play. It’s what a lot of people aren’t able to do—to be passionate about something and actually do it as their life’s work. A lot of people say, ‘I hate my job; I really wanted to be a . . .’ That must be one of the worst things—to live a life when your passion is elsewhere. I’m so grateful. Singing is such a big part of who I am and how I feel.”
Julie says her songs reflect who she is and her journey through life, although it is difficult to pigeonhole her as a crooner, cabaret or concert performer. “I don’t think I fit any mould. Record companies didn’t know what I was—I sing it all, even country. One of the first songs I sang was ‘He’ll have to go.’ There’s been so much music through my life, all different sorts, and I took it all on board and loved most of it.”
She expresses disdain for and disquiet about current TV talent shows, and fears for the young, aspiring performers. “I’ve had a go at them [the show producers],” she says. “I say, ‘Don’t you remember when you were in that position? I don’t think people who are true nurturers of talent would do that.’ Most of our industry, I’m happy to say, would put their hand up as against that. I worry that what they do is at the expense of the kids and purely for the show and ratings.”
She says it can be even worse for the children of performers, such as her own. Tali has performed professionally in Melbourne. She’s warned them to expect a rough ride, where the most difficult and painful experience is to be unfavourably compared to a celebrity parent.
“You always get the negative first,” she says, referring to the children of such stellar talent as Jimmy Barnes and Marcia Hines, where insensitive criticism can possibly damage a young person’s self-image. “My kids get the same thing—‘They can’t sing as well as their mother’—it’s a nonsense, and it’s tough.”
It’s her wish that her children be happy with who they are—that they’re all right with themselves, because if they are, she says, that can make a difference in what they do and accomplish.
“People who are comfortable in their skin do make a difference, even if it is just talking to somebody and being their friend. It only has to be a small thing—it’s small pieces that make up the jigsaw.
“I grew up a country girl; I drove tractors. I was always going to be a farmer’s daughter (or wife)—and I was happy. But life often sometimes has other plans.”
She says she’s content with herself and life, and has enjoyed bringing enjoyment to people over many years. But it’s been a two-way street. “People talk to you and its lovely, but in turn I’ve had as much as they have. A good audience that is enjoying what you do gives back—it comes back—they give a huge amount.
Interview Audio File Downloads
Clip 1: (672k .mp3)
Julie talks about getting into singing as a young person in rural South Australia.
Clip 2: (424k .mp3)
A "product" of a TV talent show herself, Julie gives her opinion on today’s TV talent shows such as Australian Idol.
Clip 3: (876k .mp3)
Julie talks about how she handles criticism and teaches her daughters to handle the extra criticism they receive as children of a noted singer.
Clip 4: (908k .mp3)
Julie talks about the values she has tried to teach her children and the importance of family.
Clip 5: (408k .mp3)
Julie Anthony’s greatest gift?
Clip 6: (704k .mp3)
Julie talks about her work with the St George Foundation, a charity that works for charities.
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This is an extract from December 2004
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