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Location: Hobart, Tasmania
Instruments: vocals, guitar
Web site: Kate Meehan, the Blues Lady
Text courtesy of Mr Blues
Kate has been singing professionally since 1984. She is the
daughter of well known Tasmanian Jazz trumpeter, Clem Meehan, and
grew up with the sounds of Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald
bouncing around the lounge room. She began singing at a very early
age in the school choir, and as a youngster had many a valuable
lesson from her father.
From cabaret style bands to playing guitar and singing folk songs
at the Doctor Syntax Hotel, Kate was frequently called upon to
perform as "fill-in" for various vocalists in Hobart - Lindy Lou
Bean, Bruce Venables, Gwen Oliver, to name a few. She then secured
a spot singing back up vocals with Christine Sullivan and Lou
Lincoln for well known Sydney singer Jeff St John whilst on tour in
Hobart. She continued playing guitar and singing for sometime in
the Tattersalls front bar where she would regularly guest with
various resident bands, Ian Cline and Scott Hunt and then later with
Billy Whiton and the Be-Bop Brothers. It was during this time Kate
was discovered to have her own sound and was called upon by
guitarist Peter Crowe from a band called "Rock Bottom" to sing
original rock style material.
She moved to Melbourne in 1986 and auditioned (along with 40 other
vocalists) successfully to front a popular covers band "Front
Runners". On her return to Hobart she joined up with an ex-member
of Rock Bottom and formed a covers band "Double Crossed" and played
regularly throughout Tasmania. She was also performing every
Wednesday night at Nickelby's Wine Bar in Sandy Bay with
keyboardists Brian West and John 'Tweed' Williams.
In March 1988 Kate was singing at a nightclub called "Pips" when
she was approached by blues guitarist Robert Harwood and asked if
she would be interested in singing blues with the "Fabulous Blue
Cats". It was from this day that Kate's passion to be a blues
singer (and a good one) began.
She spent 2 and a 1/2 years with the "Fabulous Blue Cats" at Round
Midnight, (a renowned blues club in Hobart), singing the graveyard
shift every Friday and Saturday from midnight to 4am, and it was
here that Kate was given the title of "Tasmania's Queen Of The
Blues"
In 1991 she teamed up again with Harwood and formed a band called
"The Night Owls". In 1992 she returned to perform at the
Tattersalls Hotel with a band called "The Midnight Callers". In
1993, she formed her own band "The Katy", which again was a great
success and once more performing regularly at Round Midnight.
In 1994 she took a break from singing the blues scene to
concentrate on her personal life and she married her music
director/manager, David Paterson. During this period she was singing
regularly with the Clarence City Concert Band and recorded with the
band on their 10th Anniversary CD, "Bandology" and has been a
popular singer at Clarence City Council's "Jazz By The Water"
Festivals and the Carols By Candlelight.
She returned to the blues scene with a vengeance on Friday 13th
February 1998, when Robert Harwood begged her to come back as he
had the perfect gig at the Republic Bar and Cafe in North Hobart.
She reformed her old band, called it "The Kate Meehan Blues Band"
and on her first night succeeded in attracting the largest crowd
the hotel had ever seen. On the 6th of November 1998, Kate released
her debut CD, titled "Let The Good Times Roll".
On the 20th March 1999, Kate performed at the annual Forth Valley
Blues Festival (Tasmania) alongside such artists as Turning Blue,
The Hippos, Muddy Puddles, Rod Garfield (UK) and Dirty Kizer and
the Outloop Ways Blues Band from Japan.
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