00:00Yeah, I've co-written with Ross Wilson from Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock fame, so I'm very
00:08lucky I'm in good company. In fact, you had a hand at writing that as well. I prodded
00:13him along. I don't consider myself in his league, but he let me sort of help tailor
00:17it towards me, so. Sensational. Now, the album, The Best Of, celebrating 25 years. It's tragic,
00:26isn't it? Tragic? It's a long time. Does it make you then reflect on how hard all the
00:34journey you've taken to get where you are? No, it was actually when we put the thing
00:39together and realised that the first track we used was 73, and the last one was out in
00:4598. It was 25 years, so we just went, wow, it's 25 years. So you don't, you do in retrospect,
00:52but not while you're going through it. Let's go back to the beginning. We're talking 70s.
00:57What are your earliest memories of first getting into singing? Why did you want to be a singer?
01:04I think probably being a very big show-off as a little girl. Annoying family and friends,
01:12probably. I just always knew I could sing. I'd listen to things on the TV and always could
01:18imagine myself doing a better job. I used to say, I'm better than that girl. I just always was a
01:25bit of a show-off, singing into the hairbrush. In the mirror and doing all that? In the mirror,
01:28I used to do all that. I had short hair when I was a little girl. I used to fantasise in my room.
01:33I'd put a sweater on my head, pretend I had long hair, and sing. It was a good look. You
01:39actually put the sweater on the head? I did. This is the first time this has come out,
01:42but yeah, I used to put sweaters. The really flimsy sweaters, I'd put one on my head. I was
01:50very young. It was in the privacy of my little room. I was a long-haired singer. But so many
01:57young girls do it and they never have the talent of a Renee Geyer. Wow, thank you. What sort of
02:02songs, if you'd sit there singing to yourself, what sort of songs would you sing? When I was
02:08little? Beatles. When I was very little, I loved the Beatles. I used to sing myself to sleep at
02:14night and have to be told to shut up because I was a very loud singer even then. I loved the
02:19Beatles. Then all of a sudden, I found Aretha Franklin and that was the end. That was the
02:25beginning of the whole beginning of my journey because I knew that that's really what I wanted
02:31to do and that I could maybe have a go at it. Aretha Franklin is my ultimate inspiration. What
02:39about the gigs? Then you started singing out and about. How old were you when you first did a gig?
02:44I was doing a wine bar in Bondi Road called The Cask when I was about 17 for $5 a night. $5? Yeah.
02:53My parents are a bit, they must have been curious as to what I'd be doing because it was school
02:59nights and I'd go in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and sing and come home and say I got this money
03:04and I've been singing in a wine bar. I'm sure they thought I was up to chicanery. They couldn't
03:10imagine it because in those days to get up and sing, you know, you'd be wearing a spangly dress
03:14and you'd go see people in nightclubs and they'd be all dressed up. Well that was a Shirley Bassey.
03:18Yeah, I mean they didn't realize what they had on their hands. I was a problem child. Were you a
03:24problem child? Maybe. I think it was a little hard for them to understand but they're slowly,
03:30they're coming around. I think they're finally getting it. Do they just accept it or understand?
03:35I think they accept it and I hope and I think that they're very proud and I'm proud of them too.
03:40Okay, we're talking the 70s. You shared a flat with Michael Godinsky who's the boss of Mushroom
03:45Records. He actually, one of the quotes he makes about you is that you're fiery. Now you've been
03:54known for your strong character and you named your last album A Difficult Woman. Is that the
04:00way you see your character? That song was written for me by Paul Kelly. I was a bit miffed when I
04:07first heard that he wrote a song for me called Difficult Woman and then I heard the song and
04:10it's really more complicated woman because I think any woman over 25 years of age that has ambitions
04:19and feelings and aspirations is ultimately going to end up being a difficult woman because you never
04:27hear that the term difficult man. He's a difficult man. You only ever hear it about a woman and I
04:32think it's mainly women that know what they want and will argue to get it and you sort of term
04:38difficult but in the end I think it's a compliment. I'd rather be a difficult woman than a, well I'm
04:46happy with it. I'm very happy with the title. I mean it's not a bad thing. What do they call
04:50difficult men then? Wankers. Oh did we have a comment over there? Would you care to repeat
04:58that? My question was what do you call a difficult man? Your husband? A knucklehead. How about knucklehead?
05:05But I'm you know it's people you know I've been asked that question a lot and I think it's it's
05:15it's been all right being a difficult woman. Well you had so many hits. Oh look at, is this back to
05:20the 70s? Good hairdo yeah. Oh my goodness a slim girl. Now what year do you think this this was?
05:27Mid 70s? Have you not seen this? Oh look no 1976 it looks like. It's got to be Charlie's Angels era.
05:39And I'm that girl's mother. I mean I know how spooky it is going back looking at those things
05:52because people do it to me and you go what possessed me to have that wear that or you know.
05:58Actually that was pretty good. I think I'll be looking at this and saying what possessed me. A few
06:04mutts of balls later and I'm sort of yeah I like looking at old things because I was such a slim
06:10girl and it's it's nice to look at that. So what do you I mean you're very comfortable with the
06:14way you are now? I'm I would love to lose some weight but I'm not obsessed by it but it'd be
06:20lovely to be able to lose weight but then I might lose my voice with it so I wouldn't want to do
06:24that. Absolutely not but I mean if you're comfortable and you're happy physically the way you feel I mean
06:30you don't feel unhealthy do you? I don't feel unhealthy I'm actually pretty good but you know
06:35everybody would love to dreams of sort of walking into a shop and picking something off a rack and
06:41popping it on so it would be nice but I'm not I used to obsess more about it than I do now I'm
06:47sort of happy get a little bit happier about being myself. And that comes with not being the
06:52difficult woman but just a woman who knows what she wants. Yeah and it's it's been an incredible
06:58journey of the best thing about what I'm doing now is that the very first time around I didn't
07:05really I wasn't in the moment I didn't realize I was doing well and singing great and this time
07:11I'll actually have another chance to come back and relive it and look at everything around me and
07:16enjoy it so I'm a very very lucky girl. In there you went to America for eight or ten years and
07:21you worked with people like Joe Cocker, Julio Iglesias in fact Joe's been on on this program
07:27twice he was so cool he showed me how to do Joe Cocker impersonations. That is very cool. Yeah
07:33in fact that's him there how did you find working with him? He was great I went all through Europe
07:39with him and States and I did a duet with him on the Unchain My Heart album we shared a manager
07:43at the time and he was great a gentleman and just an awesome singer it was really really great.
07:52Julio Iglesias you also worked with? Yeah. He was on the show in fact you're only supposed to shoot
08:01Julio from one side I do not know why. Really? Because he looks the same from both sides for
08:06me but we got him playing soccer. He needs to get out of the sun Julio. Do you know what I mean? Yeah
08:12he's very tanned. He's got a just slightly to the skin I've seen it close up it's a it's a bit I've
08:20got a leather jacket at home. It's naughty I know look at me I can't talk but really I do try to
08:29stay out of the sun that's for sure. Was he fun to work with? He was um yeah he sort of was sort of
08:33yeah very nice and you know elegant and lovely and I work with so many people the Neil Diamond
08:39was a gentleman too and Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Brown. Do you see much of those people when you're
08:44working with them? While you're in the studio yeah you liaise with them and work out what what you
08:51can do because that most of those people got me in to do a part where my voice would sculpt a part
08:57that's not already there it's not like I'm there with a bunch of girls I usually come in by myself
09:01and and do a thing and so you do get to work with them and Sting was that was a great experience
09:06because I'm on that we'll be together single so I love that too. Wonderful people to work with and
09:12also Chaka Khan. Yeah I went to Carolina with her she's fantastic. Just I'm trying to imagine your
09:21voice along with Chaka Khan well I that's an explosion. I sang backgrounds for her she one
09:27of her background singers was my background singer when I did some shows in LA and she asked me would
09:34I fill in the girl that did the low part of Chaka's singing group was sick and would I come
09:40to Carolina and do the low part so I did and it was I was the only white person on the whole stage
09:45and it was and in the whole auditorium because it was an all-black sort of it's a fantastic
09:50experience but it was funny being like one of the singers and I had to do all these steps and it was
09:56I think they sort of they were amused at my trying so hard to sort of fit in but it was really great.
10:03I mean what an honor. It was an honor she's great she's one of the greatest singers around.
10:08Absolutely and and so are you in fact with this this is the the best of Renee Gaia 7398 and Bruce
10:16Elder the you know the extraordinary person who writes about music this is what he says on you
10:22have you read your album notes? It's a bit like a eulogy. I know he says Renee Gaia she could sing
10:29the electoral roll and make it sound sexy. I've done that actually. What sung the electoral roll?
10:36It's not very sexy though. Well we've got Rowdy have we got a phone book over there? Rowdy the
10:42south floor manager do you want to have a crack at singing the phone book where do you want to
10:45start? Okay okay okay this is what you do. I mean he says you can sing it. Oh and it's open to dog
10:52trainers. For this show it's appropriate. Dog pro. Dog pro. Dog pro. Terminal. Oh my god. Fell my street in
11:09cola. Dog pro. I mean you know.
11:16Hello? Hello? Mum? I have no idea. I have no idea. Somebody's obviously playing a game that didn't work.
11:34Now I'm glad we didn't open up at Zed. No but isn't that great dog trainer I opened it up on
11:41dog trainer. What is all that about? I have no idea but I just you could actually sing the phone
11:46book and I would very happily sit there all night and listen to you go the A to Z. Well not a
11:50problem here you've always been one of my faves and I'm so glad to have you on the show and this
11:55is the album by the way it is the best of Renee Gaia 73 to 98. I hope the single just rips up
12:01the charts for you and thank you Renee Gaia ladies and gentlemen.
12:12You and me together forever.
