Sarah McLeod (musician)

Early life and family

Sarah Yvette McLeod, was born on 1 February 1973, to parents Don and Rosemary. She grew up in Adelaide with her older sister, Leah McLeod (born 1971), a former TV presenter.

McLeod attended St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School and started singing in her late teens. In 1990 she commenced a university course doing a bachelor of arts at Flinders University in Adelaide. 3 months into the course she went on a holiday with friends to Bali, where she was invited to join a Balinese band. Although being her first time on stage , she took to it like a duck to water and played with the band every night during her visit. McLeod later remembered "I could already play a bit of guitar by then but did little more than sing and play to my buddies at home." Upon her return to Adelaide , armed with a new passion for performing, she quit uni and formed her first group, Fallen Down Monster (FDM). She displayed her rock-chick characteristics and honed her vocal and guitar skills, and fun-loving, energetic stage presence. FDM performed indie band covers, McLeod wrote original tracks which were not recorded.

The Superjesus

Late in 1994 she joined Chris Tennent to form an indie guitar rock band, Hell's Kitchen, which later became The Superjesus. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described McLeod's "captivating voice and melodic rhythm guitar." In May 1996 the group issued their debut four-track extended play, Eight Step Rail, with all the tracks co-written by McLeod with her band mates. Jonathan Lewis of AllMusic noticed McLeod's singing: "Sounding like a cross between Liz Phair and Catatonia's Cerys Matthews, McLeod's voice was a major drawcard; strong, confident and rarely lapsing into the girlishness that characterized some of The Superjesus' contemporaries."

At the ARIA Music Awards of 1997 the Superjesus won Best New Talent for Eight Step Rail and Breakthrough Artist – Single for "Shut My Eyes" / "Eight Step Rail". Then released their first full length album, Sumo (June 1998), which won Best Rock Album at the 1998 ARIA Music Awards . The group released two more albums, Jet Age (October 2000) and Rock Music (May 2003), before they split in 2004.

First album: Beauty Was a Tiger

In 2005 Sarah McLeod launched her solo career, she signed with Festival Mushroom Records, releasing her first single, "Let's Get Together", in May. Her debut solo album, Beauty Was a Tiger, followed in September that year; it was co-produced by McLeod with Matt Lovell. All the tracks on the album were written either by McLeod or with Chris Peters, bass player from the Detroit band, Electric Six. It peaked at No. 31 on the ARIA Albums Chart. For touring her backing band, the Black Diamond Express, consisted of Patch Brown (guitar), Grant Fitzpatrick (bass guitar), Stu Hunter (keyboards) and Mick Skelton (drums).

Following the release of another single, "Private School Kid" (July 2005) – a duet with Chris Cheney from The Living End – McLeod parted ways with Mushroom Festival Records. It peaked at No. 33 on the ARIA Singles Chart. During 2006 she released two more singles, "All But Gone" as an independent EP, and "He Doesn't Love You"; both included remixes.

Live & Acoustic

During 2006 McLeod performed acoustic gigs with drummer Mick Skelton, which led to an Australian tour, playing tracks from Beauty Was a Tiger, some Superjesus material and several cover versions. This resulted in the release of the live album Live & Acoustic.

Madness

In October 2006, the Hook n Sling remix of "He Doesn't Love You" reached No. 1 on the ARIA Club Charts. It was also released in the United Kingdom and the United States. She spent much of 2007 and 2008 first travelling in the US and then living in London, where she recorded songs for various projects. In November 2009 she released a single, "Tell Your Story Walking", a song influenced by the new wave sound of the 1980s, which became a surprise hit in the club scene. The second single, "White Horse", was a hit in clubs both in Australia and around the world.

In 2009 Sarah McLeod posted further material including "Love to Last". In August 2010 she released a single, "Double R", with remixes by John Roman, Autoerotique and Grandtheft. It was followed by a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark". Her third album, Madness, appeared in November that year, which included both "Double R" and "Dancing in the Dark".

Screaming Bikini

McLeod, using the pseudonym Sammie Scream, started a new group, Screaming Bikini, featuring KJ from The Art, which issued a single, "Easy", followed by their debut self-titled album in May 2011. "Dirty Beats/ Disco Bass" and "Dancing Alone" were also released as singles.

The Superjesus reformation and 96% Love Song Book

From November 2012 the Superjesus reunited, initially for a concert in Adelaide in the following February; it was followed by an Australian tour in May and June 2013. In 2013 McLeod released an EP, 96% Love Song Book, under her own name. It was influenced by her love of 1950s and 1960s music and contained an a cappella, barbershop quartet track, "The Greatest Pretender". In 2014 McLeod and Jeff Martin (of the Tea Party) released a duet single, "Man the Life Boats"; they toured Australia to promote it. This collaboration was followed by a Tea Party / The Superjesus national tour in 2014.

In 2015 The Superjesus teamed up with Baby Animals for a co-headlining tour, She Who Rocks, during May to June.

The Superjesus issued their first single in 12 years, "The Setting Sun", in June 2015. They followed this with the Love and Violence EP, released in 2016.