Latest news with #SarahMcLeod
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Superjesus singer Sarah McLeod says the Australian music industry is still very much a 'blokes game'
Rocker Sarah McLeod has revealed that, when it comes to sexism in the Australian music industry, little has changed in decades. As frontwoman for The Superjesus, McLeod has enjoyed a 30 year career that has spawned four studio albums and three ARIA Awards. Speaking to he Daily Telegraph, McLeod, 52, who is also chair of advocacy group Women In Music, said that there had been little done to redress gender imbalances within the industry. 'Things have changed marginally but since I took on this role and I'm looking at the statistics, I see total imbalance everywhere,' she said. She said that statistics have shown that when it comes to festivals, female representation clocks in at around 'five percent or ten percent.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The Superjesus were certainly no strangers to the Aussie festival circuit, being regular fixtures on the liked of Livid, Homebake, and the Big Day Out. She admitted that while once thinking the band missed out on festival slots due to lack of talent, she has since changed her tune. 'I used to think we didn't get chosen for festivals, or another female-fronted band didn't get picked, because we weren't good enough,' she told the publication. 'But over the years I've realised that it is still very much a blokes' game, and we play it the best we can.' It was a similar sentiment that McLeod expressed when talking to The Music in 2023. 'It still is very much a male-dominated world, and I don't think it's changed as much as it should have, but at least we're aware of it now,' she said. 'The discussions are open, but it's still very much a male-dominated world.' She added that in the early days of The Superjesus she felt like just one of the guys, until choosing to embrace her femininity on stage. 'I used to think we didn't get chosen for festivals, or another female-fronted band didn't get picked, because we weren't good enough, But over the years, I've realised that it is still very much a blokes' game, and we play it the best we can,' she added. Pictured: The Superjesus in 2001 'I was very much a scrappy little tomboy for the first ten years of my career. And I just became one of the fellas, and I was cool with that, she said. 'But it wasn't until a good decade in, where I was like, "Wait a minute, I'm going to stretch my femininity here and embrace my power. 'I don't need to be one of you guys. I've got something else I could be, something better".' Sarah caused a stir, back in 2014, after she hit out at a touring festival, from which The Superjesus were dropped, for being too male-centric. In a post to Facebook at the time, McLeod claimed that The Superjesus and the Baby Animals, fronted by Suze DeMarchi had been culled from a Day On The Green tour to make way for iconic UK rocker Billy Idol. 'Guys, I'm sorry to say this and we do not know why this has happened but The Superjesus and the Baby Animals have been booted off A Day On The Green in favour of adding Billy Idol,' she wrote. 'So it's now Billy, Cheap Trick, The Angels and The Choirboys. They will refund your tickets if you are no longer interested in attending this sausage fest.' 'It still is very much a male-dominated world, and I don't think it's changed as much as it should have, but at least we're aware of it now,' she said. 'The discussions are open, but it's still very much a male-dominated world' In a response to The Music, A Day On The Green promoter Michael Newton said gender did not play a role in the decision. 'I did not even think about it being a gender issue. It's bullshit, to be honest,' he said. The Superjesus are currently riding high off the back of the release of their fourth studio album in March. The self-titled album debuted in the top ten of the ARIA Album chart upon release marking their first top ten berth since 2000's Jet Age. The single, Something Good, given the remix treatment by Paul Mac, is also currently sitting at number 15 on the ARIA Club Tracks chart. Hot on the heels of their latest success, The Superjesus are now embarking on a national tour.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
The Superjesus' Sarah McLeod says music industry sexism hasn't improved in 30 years
The last thing Sarah McLeod had on her bingo card when her alt-rock band The Superjesus returned to the top 10 with their first new music in 20 years was a dance hit. The Adelaide rockers have been holding sway in the ARIA Club chart for the past three months with the Paul Mac remix of their single Something Good. The song featured on their comeback self-titled record which also debuted in the top 10 on the ARIA Australian Album chart when it was released in March. 'I used to do dance music years ago for my solo stuff and I wrote Something Good as a club track but decided to make it into a Superjesus song,' McLeod said. 'In the back of my mind we should get a remix done of it one of these days. And now we're in the clubs.' The Superjesus kick off their national tour this weekend, playing the new album in full as a greatest hits set, with only a handful of tickets remaining for most shows. McLeod said the flood of goodwill that has greeted the band's return was unexpected and a relief as the Australian music industry struggles to engage local audiences with new homegrown music. 'I kind of assume I'm screaming into the ether and I just scream louder and just try different things,' she said. 'I'm a total hustler, I even manage the band now with Ruddy (bassist Stuart Rudd) and there's no blueprint for how to do this so we're doing a lot of YouTube tutorials.' Back in the late 1990s, The Superjesus was all over the altrock airwaves, in the top 5 of the album charts and picking up ARIA awards, with songs including Gravity, Down Again and Now and Then generating millions of streams as the band reconnects with fans in the digital era. As much as streaming has dramatically changed the music landscape, McLeod said she has discovered many things remain the same and that includes discrimination and lack of opportunities for female and non-binary artists, particularly on festival line-ups. McLeod said back in the day she thought the band missed out on coveted festival slots because 'we weren't good enough.' Now as the new chair of the Australian Women in Music advocacy group, McLeod is studying statistics from across the decades which show there has been little improvement in rectifying inequality in the industry. 'Things have changed marginally but since I took on this role and I'm looking at the statistics, I see total imbalance everywhere,' she said. 'I get reports about how many women are on festivals and it's one per cent or five per cent or 10 per cent and then it's male, male, male. 'I used to think we didn't get chosen for festivals, or another female-fronted band didn't get picked, because we weren't good enough. 'But over the years I've realised that it is still very much a blokes' game, and we play it the best we can.' The Superjesus record also proved popular with fans of old school music formats and featured in the top 10 of the ARIA Vinyl Chart. But McLeod was shocked when fans started petitioning them on social media to also release in on CD. The singer loves the idea that vinyl and CD versions of records are now considered 'merchandise' souvenirs in the same way fans collect T-shirts and stickers. 'It's exciting in an industry that you work so hard to make a product and give it away for free (on streaming) that people are into vinyl and CD again,' she said. 'My mum asked me how we make money from a new record and I told her we don't, it's a marketing tool. We put out new music so that people will come to the show and if they buy a ticket to the shows, that's when we make money. But we don't make money from the actual record.'
BBC News
10-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Plans to turn farm near Wentworth Woodhouse into spa hotel
A number of redundant farm buildings on a historic country estate could be converted into holiday cottages and a hotel with a spa, swimming pool and Fitzwilliam Estate has submitted plans to restore the semi-derelict Home Farm in the village of Wentworth to Rotherham said they hoped the scheme would "enhance" the experience for visitors to nearby Wentworth Woodhouse, which is owned separately by a preservation chief executive Sarah McLeod said the plans would create job opportunities and economically regenerate the area. The proposal involves a number of listed buildings associated with the estate, the Local Democracy Service Threshing Barn would become hotel accommodation and a spa and cafe would be created. The Gun Park building would be restored and transformed into a restaurant, while the Potting Sheds and Cart Sheds would be converted into hotel Powerhouse, which dates from 1904 and once provided electricity to Wentworth Woodhouse, would be converted into an events and wedding submitted to Rotherham Council state the development would include new parking provision as well as a secondary access route through Granny Clarke's Wood. 'Boost for local economy' Ms McLeod OBE told the BBC: "The Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust supports the planning proposal that has been submitted by our neighbour as it provides suitable car parking for visitors to the area, thus avoiding street parking within the historic village which has always been a concern to residents. "We believe visitors to Wentworth Woodhouse will visit from further afield and stay longer, spending more money in the area and thus boosting the local economy."The Fitzwilliam family, who once owned Wentworth Woodhouse, sold the house and grounds in the 1980s but retained ownership of a number of farms and Woodhouse Preservation Trust acquired the ancestral home of the Earls Fitzwilliam in 2017, with the Georgian mansion in a semi-derelict state at the to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
