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Sweeney’s new song is a homage to Australian musician Johanna Pigott

Johanna Pigott might not be a household name, but she definitely made her mark on the Australian music scene.

Sweeney has shared his new single, Johanna in the 80s and it’s all about the XL Capris singer who went on to have success as both a screenwriter and songwriter.

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This song, written in collaboration with writer Nick Pelomis, is dedicated to this fierce legend of Australian pop culture and her incredible chart-topping work in Australian music and tv in the 1980s. 

Pigott sang and played guitar in Melburne indie-punk band Xl Capris who formed in the late 1970s. She later went on to front post-punk band Scribble from 1983 until 1987. Both bands put out several albums but they never found huge chart success.

Pigott’s greatest success came writing music for other artists, often alongside her partner Todd Hunter who was in the New Zealand band Dragon.

Rain which came out in 1983 was one of Dragon’s biggest hits. The duo also wrote the title track for John Farnham’s Age of Reason album – the single topped the charts. Later she wrote songs for Keith Urban.

Pigott also found success as a scriptwriter. She co-created the iconic ABC series Sweet and Sour and wrote for Heartbreak High too. Hunter and Pigott also wrote the theme song for Heartbreak High and the closing theme for Sweet and Sour.

Jason Sweeney has released music under several different guises, he’s put projects out as Sweeney but also works under the moniker Panoptique Electrical.

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