Ivor Arthur Davies, AM, known professionally as Iva Davies, is an Australian singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is known for his distinctive singing voice, which was influenced by contemporary glam rock singers. Davies' music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of rock band Icehouse, becoming one of Australia's top rock stars of that decade. He is the only member who has been with Icehouse throughout its entire history. In addition to his work with Icehouse, Davies has made music for television series and films, most notably as the composer for the film . He has also had a solo career which included work on the soundtrack albumThe Berlin Tapes with Icehouse.
Davies first performed professionally as a 16-year-old musician with the Lucy Fields Jug Band, led by Lindsay Campbell around 1971. The band secured a recording contract with M7 Records, but the company changed hands shortly thereafter and the band's album was never released. In 1974, Davies performed Handel's Concerto for Oboe in E♭ major with Strathfield Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Richard Gill. Davies would later use his woodwind skills on some tracks with his band Icehouse, playing oboe on several albums and adding cor anglais to "Man of Colours", the title track of their sixth studio album. In July 1975 Davies released his first single, “Leading Lady” on the RCA label. In early 1977, Davies was working as a part-time cleaner at a squash court managed by bass player Keith Welsh's mother. Davies and Welsh got together to form the band Flowers. In 1977, Davies re-established an old acquaintance with Cameron Allan, the director of Sydney-based independent label Regular Records, and Flowers signed with the label in early 1977. And in 1980 their debut album Icehouse containing the song "Can't Help Myself" reached the Top Five, making it the highest-selling debut album in Australia. To take advantage of this success, the band changed its name to Icehouse in 1981. The name was taken from a cold flat Davies lived in and the strange building across the road populated by itinerant people.
1980s
In 1983, Davies with Icehouse went on a European tour with David Bowie. In 1985, Davies and fellow Icehouse member Bob Kretschmer worked on the ballet Boxes with the Sydney Dance Company. In addition to scoring the ballet, they also co-wrote the script with Graeme Murphy. Boxes opened at the Sydney Opera House in December, and Davies performed in an acting/singing/dancing role to sold-out crowds for three weeks straight. 1985 also saw Davies win an APRA Music Award for Most Performed Australasian Music for Film for Razorback. Davies was an early adopter of the Fairlight which he used to compose the music of the film. His score has been described as "pioneering" and "an important contribution to Australian film scoring". In 1988, Davies and co-collaborator John Oates won an APRA Music Award for the Icehouse song "Electric Blue" in the Most Performed Australasian Popular Work category. On 25 January 1988, Icehouse performed "Electric Blue" at the Royal Command, New South Wales Bicentennial Concert in front of the Prince and Princess of Wales at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.
1990s
In the early 1990s, the Sydney Dance Company worked on creating a work which became the ballet Berlin. As well as recording the score to the ballet, Davies performed these songs live with Icehouse at each show. He was an intrinsic part of the ballet, in a role similar to the one he played in Boxes. He was successful in creating a translation from the dancers to the audience. Berlin was an instant success and ran for two seasons.
2000s
In 2003, Davies travelled to Los Angeles to record the soundtrack to the Peter Weir film with Christopher Gordon and Richard Tognetti. Together, they won the 2004 APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award in the Best Soundtrack Album category. In 2005, Davies scored the mini-series The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant. On 6 November 2006, he won the 2006 APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award in the Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie category. From 15 June 2008, Davies was a judge on Seven Network TV series Battle of the Choirs; his band Icehouse performed "Great Southern Land" on the grand final show won by University of NewcastleChamber Choir.
Personal life
Davies currently lives in Whale Beach, New South Wales. He married Tonia Kelly in 1990, then principal dancer at the Sydney Dance Company, but divorced in 2010. From the marriage he has two children, Brynn and Evan.
