Greg Champion

For the American film director, see Gregg Champion.

Greg Champion OAM (born 1955)[1] is an Australian songwriter, guitarist, and radio personality.

Biography

Born in Benalla, Victoria,[2] Champion is most recognised for his work as part of the Coodabeen Champions as a songwriter and guitarist. Greg often appears on the program writing songs about both Aussies rules football and cricket.[3]

He is an avid Australian rules football fan, supporting the Adelaide Crows[2] and since the 1980s has penned many tunes on the Australian game. Of these, the most famous is "That's the Thing About Football", which has gone down as a classic Australian rules song, and has been used on Seven Network's Australian Football League coverage since Seven bought rights to the song in 1994.[4] The song would peak at 31 on the ARIA charts following the 1994 AFL Grand Final.[4] Seven would use the song over a number of seasons, later remixing it with different vocalists.[4][2]

Greg Champion spent his early childhood in Vienna, before his family moved back to Australia.[5] He grew up in Hectorville, a suburb of the South Australian capital Adelaide,[2] and was educated at Pulteney Grammar.[6]

He would move to Melbourne in the late 1970s,[5] and beginning in 1981 on Melbourne radio station 3RRR has appeared on various Australian radio stations (especially ABC Local Radio) as part of the Coodabeens team, singing parodies of popular songs and relating them to Australian rules footballers.[5]

Champion has written hundreds of songs (many serious, many humorous) and is a multi-awarded country/folk singer, who after being discovered in the Catacombs (an Adelaide folk club of the 1970s), went on to form the band Tidewater[6] before launching a successful solo career.[7]

Champion's highest-selling album is the 1995 released Aussie Christmas with Bucko & Champs with Australian country music star Colin Buchanan. In 1998, Aussie Christmas with Bucko & Champs 2 was released featuring 25 Christmas-themed songs.

Champion would play his song "That's the Thing About Football" at both the 1995 AFL Grand Final[1] and 2002 AFL Grand Final matches.[4][8]

In 2006, his song "Been There, Done That" peaked at number 4 on the Country Music Chart, having been released that year as part of The Shack Tapes.

In 2009, Greg released his album Strayana.

In 2010, Champion was awarded Victorian Male Vocalist in the Victorian Country Music Awards for his song "this was my town (Marysville)".[citation needed]

In 2012, just prior to heading off to his 22nd Tamworth Country Music Festival, he surprised many with his album Emergence which had a wide range of musical styles of 11 original songs.[citation needed]

In 2017, Champion headlined the All Star Musical Comedy Showcase at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.[9]

In 2021, Champion moved back to Adelaide after more than four decades in Melbourne, forming a new band with Scott Opie, Tom Stehlik and Goof Miller.[10]

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
AUS
[11]

Wild Horse Plains

[recorded by Tidewater, 1976]

Apocalypso

[recorded by The Fabulaires, 1980]

The Young Homebuyers

[self-titled, 1983] Rough Diamond

Work Hard Play Hard

[8 track cassette]

  • Released: 1985
  • Label: Impressive Records
Greg Champion
  • Released: 1990
  • Label: ABC/EMI
Coodabeen Champions Live in Studio 320
  • Released: 1992
  • Label: ABC/EMI
Champs
  • Released: 1993
  • Label: ABC/EMI
That's What I Like About Football
  • Released: 1994
  • Label: Massive (7310152)
 31
Everybody Loves to watch the Cricket
  • Released: 1995
  • Label: Massive (7310314)
That's What I Like About Football Volume II
  • Released: 1995
  • Label: Massive (7310492)
Aussie Christmas with Bucko & Champs
(with Colin Buchanan)
  • Released: 1994
  • Label: Massive (7310782)
 39
Football is a Funny Game
  • Released: 1996
  • Label: Massive (0630159252)
Australian Music
  • Released: 1997
  • Label: Massive (7320462)
Aussie Christmas with Bucko & Champs 2
(with Colin Buchanan)
  • Released: 1998
  • Label:
 67
Stand Back Australia
  • Released: 2000
  • Label: Warner
Greg Champion & the Coodabeen Champions, 20th anniversary album
  • Released: 2000
  • Label: Niche
Shady Tree
  • Released: 2002
  • Label: Greg Champion (champs003)
North & South
  • Released: 2004
  • Label: ABC Country (13672)
Cricket's on the Radio
  • Released: 2005
  • Label: ABC Country (14292)
The Shack Tapes
  • Released: 2006
  • Label: ORIGiN (OR 069)
Strayana
  • Released: 2009
  • Label: Compass Bros. (063CDCB)
Emergence
  • Released: 2012
  • Label: Greg Champion
A Whole Different Story
  • Released: 2013
  • Label: Greg Champion
Happy Travels
  • Released: 2017
  • Label: Greg Champion
That Keilor Beat
  • Released: 2020
  • Label: Greg Champion

Compilation albums

Title Details
Best of Greg Champion
  • Released: 2003
50 Fave Footy Ditties
  • Released: 2010
  • Label: Shock
At This Stage – Songs 1990-2010
  • Released: May 2011
  • Label: Greg Champion (CHAMPS008)
Thirty Years of Footy Songs
  • Released: 2012
  • Label: Greg Champion
Thirty Years of Footy Songs Vol II
  • Released: 2013
  • Label: Greg Champion
All the Fun Ones
  • Released: 2015
  • Label: Greg Champion (CHAMPS016)
Gather My Fishing Lines: A Greg Champion Collection
  • Released: 2016
Best of 1985-2015 + Happy Travels
  • Released: 2017

Charting singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
AUS
[14]
"That's the Thing About Football" 1994 31 That's What I Like About Football

Awards and recognition

Champion was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours.[15]

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

Year Nominated works Award Result Ref
1996 Aussie Christmas (as Bucko and Champs) Best Comedy Release Nominated
[16]
2000 Stand Back Australia Nominated

Country Music Awards of Australia

The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.[17]

Year Nominee / work Award Result (wins only)
1994 "May Your Fridge Be Full of Coldies" Video Track of the Year Won

Tamworth Songwriters Awards

The Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) is an annual songwriting contest for original country songs, awarded in January at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. They commenced in 1986.[18] Greg Champion has won two awards.[19]

Year Nominee / work Award Result (wins only)
1994 "May Your Fridge Be Full of Coldies" by Greg Champion Comedy/ Novelty Song of the Year Won
1996 "Don't Call Wagga Wagga, Wagga" by Greg Champion and Jim Haynes Won

References

  1. ^ a b Cherny, Daniel; Pierik, Jon (28 June 2015). "A Champion in his own cause". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria: Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. p. 20. Champion, who turned 60 this year
  2. ^ a b c d McDonald, Patrick (13 June 2022). "QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY HONOURS Musician with an eye on the ball". Adelaide Advertiser. Adelaide, South Australia: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. p. 6.
  3. ^ Cole, Brad (20 March 2014). "A champion of the AFL game". The Advocate. Burnie, Tasmania: Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. p. 9. The name Greg Champion is synonymous with witty songs about AFL players and clubs
  4. ^ a b c d Gill, Shannon (13 April 2024). "Greg Champion on 30 years of his AFL footy anthem, 'That's the Thing About Football'". Code Sports. Melbourne, Victoria: News Corporation Australia.
  5. ^ a b c Flanagan, Martin (12 March 1998). "Guru Bob . . . a real champion". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria: Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. p. 8.
  6. ^ a b Byrne, Matt (21 May 2017). "Championing his hometown in song". Adelaide Advertiser. Adelaide, South Australia: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. p. 7.
  7. ^ "Greg's melodic mix". The Canberra Times. Canberra, Australia: Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. 11 April 2006. p. 8.
  8. ^ Lyon, Karen (26 September 2002). "Something old, something new get a guernsey for football's grandest day". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria: Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. p. 2.
  9. ^ "All Star Musical Comedy Showcase – Greg Champion & Friends". onlymelbourne.com.au. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Champion makes his long awaited move back to SA". Adelaide Advertiser. Adelaide, South Australia: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. 2 October 2021. p. 56.
  11. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. pp. 45, 54.
  12. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  13. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1998 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  14. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 54.
  15. ^ "Mr Greg Champion". It's an Honour. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Best Comedy Release", ARIA
  17. ^ "Past Award Winners". Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Tamworth Songwriters Association". Tamworth Songwriters Association Online. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Tamworth Songwriters Association Past Winners". Tamworth Songwriters Association Online. Retrieved 23 March 2022.