Daryl Braithwaite, the singer of perennial karaoke favourite The Horses, is the latest Australian star to be inducted into the Aria hall of fame.
The honour comes 45 years into Braithwaite’s career, which began in the 1970s with the rock band Sherbet.
The 68-year-old has since found success as a solo artist, including two multi-platinum albums, Edge and Rise.
But it was his version of the Rickie Lee Jones song The Horses, which appeared on Rise in 1991, that has become his signature and something of a meme. In 2015, a short-lived Change.org petition circulated to make the song Australia’s official national anthem and, at the Beyond the Valley festival in January 2016, irony-laden 80s revivalists Client Liaison brought Braithwaite on to the stage to perform the classic, in celebration of its 25th anniversary.
“That was a thrill,” Braithwaite said in the aftermath. “I honestly didn’t know, will people know the song? Will people be accepting of me? I was coming into their domain, it wasn’t my area. That was most definitely a moment.”
Since then, Braithwaite has been added to this year’s Falls festival lineup, alongside artists such as Flume and Liam Gallagher.
“It’s a strange, exciting, situation with that song ... trying to fathom why it is so endearing to people. I’ve spoken to Rickie Lee Jones about it and, like myself, she doesn’t know. But it continues on,” Braithwaite said.
Braithwaite performed the song with Jones herself during her Australian tour in April. He also recently sung it at Perth’s Beer Fest, where he discovered young fans who weren’t even born when his albums were released.
“It was about 3,000 people and they were mainly in their 20s ... It was quite staggering and it’s strange because I’ve been doing it for 40-odd years and it’s still as enjoyable now, if not more, than when I started out,” he said. “I can’t figure it out. All I know is that I love it. I love performing, I love the people, doesn’t matter what age.”
Sherbet were inducted into the Aria hall of fame in 1990 and Braithwaite will now be rewarded again when he is acknowledged as a solo artist at next month’s Aria awards.
“I feel very honoured to be inducted into the Aria hall Of fame, in an industry that I started out in because I was so passionate about it.
“It’s been a great journey and life through music.”
