Danny Hooper
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BIO

    As the sun set on the Hooper family home in the 1970s, you would frequently     
    find Danny Hooper, his parents and three sisters belting out some of their        
    favourite tunes around the kitchen table. Music meant entertainment for the 
    Hoopers, who lived on a remote station in the mid north of South Australia. This 
    early and joyful introduction to music planted the seed for Danny, but it was his 
    Dad’s old Maton guitar that sprouted a lifelong passion.

    At the age of ten, Danny began guitar lessons with his Dad and it wasn’t long         
    before he strummed his first song,
Banks of the Ohio. As a teenager, Danny’s flair 
    for performing came to the fore and he was often called upon to liven up a
    party with the song
Rock n’ Robin. He later started a rock band with a few mates, 
    called
Niteshift.

    It was love that inspired Danny to begin song writing at 18 years of age. When he     sang his first song, You’re the one for me, to his girlfriend Lea, her teary response     sparked a passion for song writing that has since reaped much recognition.

    Together with Lea, Danny began entering country music competitions in 1987.          They won awards for Best Duo and went on to record an album in 1992, entitled     Talkin’ Bout Love.

    In 1994, Danny got serious. He entered the Toyota Star Maker competition in       
    Tamworth
and was selected as a Top Ten Grand Finalist. In the same year he 
    entered the Australian Songwriters Association (ASA) National Song Competition 
    in Melbourne and won the Acoustic Section and Song of the Year with
I Left You.

    Despite this early success, music was placed on the back burner due to the arrival
    of Danny and Lea’s first son Jace, followed by siblings Courteney and Tom.       
    Danny’s main occupation became that of House Dad, although he continued   
    to perform at weekend gigs throughout the state. It wasn’t until ten years later   
    that Danny Hooper once again became a name to look out for in the song-writing        arena, thanks to a swag of awards:

    2004            Won Country Song of the Year in the ASA National Song writing
Contest with
Up

                    Won Country category in January and Country Song of the Year in Houston Texas with Dreamland

    2005        Won Spirit of Australia category at the ASA awards with Dreamland

Finalist in the Country and Contemporary Ballad sections with
The Legacy and I Believe In You

    2007        Released debut album The Legacy

                    Finalist in the ASA Country Songwriter Of The Year (Top 4)

    Finalist in the Gympie Muster Maton Talent Search (Top 3)

    Finalist in the IMA’s Independent Music Awards (US based) Country   
    Song Of The Year (Top 5)

    Finalist in the Musicoz Awards Country Artist Of The Year (Top 10)

    Finalist in the ACRA’s Australian Country Recording Awards for New  

    Talent and Male Artist

    2008        Finalist in the TIARAS (Tamworth Independent Artist Recognition                             Awards) Male Vocal - Every Reason

                    Finalist in TSA Awards  -  TSA/Capital News New Songwriter Award

                    Finalist in the Victorian & National Country Music Awards  -  
                    Hawking Brothers Best New Talent

           Semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition for
                    Country Song Of The Year



    During a year-long family trip around Australia in 2005, Danny was inspired to 
    reignite his dream to become a household name in Australian country music. He 
    secured Rod McCormack as a producer and in 2007 released his debut solo 
    album, The Legacy. Featuring 12 original songs, the album name and its title track
    are a tribute to his father and a signal to the legacy of music Danny will pass onto
    his own children.

    Danny’s debut single, Every Reason, worked its way onto radio play lists     
    throughout the country and charted on the Top 100 Country Hits chart. The 
    accompanying video clip also made Top 40 on the CMC (Country Music 
    Channel) PayTV network. 

    His second single Already Gone is also proving a radio favourite, and filmclip 
    under the direction of Ross Wood for the album track Heartache has managed
    a Top 40 position on CMC.

    With the success of Heartache on CMC, Danny has decided to try the airwaves 
    with the radio single of the same. Heartache has recently been released on 
    NFS123 and is already receiving an excellent response.

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Buy the legacy

click here to buy the album

Check out Danny's MySpace

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Some things about Danny

    Birthday                18th of January

    Star Sign              Capricorn

    Fav Colour            Deep Purple
                                   I used to hate purple because 
                                   I was made to wear purple                                            flares and lavender shirt to 
                                   ‘Free Dress’ days at High                                            School.  I’m over that now.

                                   No really........I am!!!

    Fav Food               Definitely Pizza (any kind)
                                  

    Fav Drink             I love red wine (Shiraz mostly)
                                   (probably should say water)


    Fav Vehicle          Commodore                                           

    Hobbies                 Music still.

    Likes                     People who are positive and                                        cheerful.       

    Dislikes                People who put other people                                        down.  That really pisses me                                        off!

    Heroes                  My Parents.  My mum worked                                   her butt off to raise four kids on                                   the smell of an oily rag (so to
                                  speak)

                                  My Dad gave me my future.  
                                  He also worked bloody hard for                                   the
 sake of his family.

    Life Motto            Have a crack! You never know.

    Fav Holiday         I love camping.  I don’t care                                           where as long as I’m in good
                                  company.
                                  My two favourite spots in                                           Australia are:  All of Tassie and                                   the Kimberleys.  Oh, and the                                       West Coast of Australia.                                               Awesome!!! 
                                  I guess that makes three.

    Music Influence  My Dad.  As a kid he was the                                       only form of music I heard.  As                                   a teenager I was influenced by                                       John Denver, Neil Diamond and                                   Roy Orbison.
                                  As an adult it has been quite                                       vast.  Keith Urban, Chris Isaac,                                   Robbie Williams are just some 
                                  of my influences, and all for                                           different reasons.

    Most important
    People                  My wife Lea and our three                                           fantastic kids, Jace, Courteney                                   and Tom.  They are my greatest                                   reason for wanting to, and                                           having to, succeed.
                                  Lea is hugely supportive of my                                   dreams and goals; in fact she                                       keeps me on target.  Not                                               everyone can boast a partner 
                                  like that and I love her very                                           much.

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