Anne McCue
Anne McCue
Click to Hear Sample of "Ballad Of An Outlaw Woman"
Click to Hear Sample of "More Than This"
Click to Hear Sample of "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)"
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Anne McCue's first band, called Vertigo, lasted one hot summer and never got out of the garage. The band was named after the Alfred Hitchcock film and was a three piece inspired by the likes of The Jam, The Marine Girls and The Velvet Underground. The drummer, Alison, pronounced the band's name 'Vertico' and bassplayer Karen D. played a shortscale bass as she was only 5 ft 1. That was in Sydney.
A year later, McCue moved to Melbourne with little more than a $60 guitar she "borrowed" from her brother, a large blue suitcase and a plan to write a novel. Finding the writer's life a little isolating, she answered an ad in the paper which read "Wanted: Wild Women For Rock'n'Roll Band" and joined the pop rock band Girl Monstar as lead guitarist, touring the country and topping the independent charts for weeks at a time. On the side, she studied jazz guitar and began honing her own songwriting style. After four years and two ARIA nominations (the Australian Grammies), Anne pursued her solo career.
It was around this time that Anne was invited to spend three months performing in Vietnam. Once there, the three months lengthened into nearly a year with Anne performing almost every night. "It was an unbelievable experience and really changed my life. It also gave me the chance to hone my lead guitar playing." Anne rode a 1965 Vesper and toted her guitar around on the bike 'just like the locals'.
On returning to Melbourne, Anne frequented the blues jams and played in a band called The Creatures From The Blues Lagoon sharing the lead guitar and singing duties with Fiona Boyes of The Mojos. She continued recording her original songs, six of which can be found on Amazing Ordinary Things.
As a member of the group Eden a.k.a, Anne toured the U.S. and Canada as part of the "Lilith Fair." This experience brought her on stage with many of her heroes such as The Pretenders, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow, and Sarah McLachlan (who invited the group on the tour two years in a row). The band was later signed to Columbia Records.
Creatively frustrated Anne left the group to pursue her interrupted solo career and was immediately signed to the newly formed Relentless Records in Montreal.
Her debut album Amazing Ordinary Things is made up of material recorded in Australia as well as music written and recorded in Los Angeles. Anne co-produced all the tracks except Angel Inside which was produced by Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Shawn Colvin). The CD is named after a painting by Jules C. McCue, Anne's sister, whose artwork is found throughout the packaging. And More Than This was co-written with Anne's brother Mark. He's the one she "borrowed" the guitar from.
Her latest release is a live recording from her tour in 2002 with Lucinda Williams and is called Ballad Of An Outlaw Woman.