Floyd Thursby
Critically-acclaimed contemporary folk singer – intelligent, introspective, literary
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Name
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Floyd Thursby
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Genre(s)
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Folk, Americana, Country
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Content
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Covers and Originals
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Taking Bookings
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Australia Wide
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About Us
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The alter-ego of Melbourne, Australia-based film composer, singer and guitarist Paul Gillett, Floyd Thursby has been recording and releasing his original songs since 2005.
The child of award-winning poet Ross Gillett and successful author Melanie Guile, Gillett’s musical career started with the release of his first album in 1999 by the Ang Fang Quartet, an ensemble devoted to the performance of original music for silent films, live in the cinema. The Quartet released two further albums (Nosferatu, 2001; Anonymity, 2003). Thursby’s debut 2005 self-titled EP, recorded with funding from Arts Victoria, received strong support from Melbourne’s RRR. Thursby’s critically-acclaimed debut album ‘A Thief’s Journal’, produced by Marty Brown (Art of Fighting, Clare Bowditch), was released in 2007 on Ang Fang Industries through MGM. In 2008 Gillett formed the French gypsy jazz quartet La Mauvaise Réputation, with whom he sings vocals (in French) and plays rhythm guitar. The group has released two albums (Tours Eiffel en Plastique, 2011; Bad Reputation, 2014, and has performed at festivals and events across Australia, including Port Fairy Folk Festival, Cygnet Folk Festival, Blue Mountains Music Festival, Brunswick Music Festival, Palm Creek Folk Festival, Mossvale Music Festival, Melbourne International Jazz Festival and the Brisbane Festival. Thursby’s second album ‘Sinatra’s Bones’, recorded by Neil Thomason at Head Gap, was released in 2013. In 2016 he composed the score to the Australian feature film ‘The Death & Life of Otto Bloom’ (d. Cris Jones) and a soundtrack album was released the following year. The compilation album ‘Selected Works 2003-2011’, featuring acoustic re-interpretations of previously released tracks, was also out in 2017. Gillett has worked full time as a musician since 2017. A new Floyd Thursby album ‘To those in flames’ (Ang Fang Industries), produced by Marty Brown, is due for release mid-2019. |
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What We Bring
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"Floyd Thursby has a fascinating voice. But of course, all that would be insignificant without great songs as vehicles for that voice. Thursby has armfuls of them." (Rhythms magazine)
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Members
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Floyd Thursby - guitar/vocals
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Country
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Australia
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State / Region
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Victoria
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Home town
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Melbourne
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Artist Website
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'A Thief's Journal' ALBUM OF THE WEEK Radio Adelaide, May '07 ALBUM OF THE WEEK PBS FM, June '07 RRR TOP TEN, May '07 " "An intriguing sketch of brilliant songwriting… the band has delivered a masterpiece…. A Thief's Journal goes straight to the poolroom." - Rave Magazine (Bris), May '07 " "Striking voice and strong lyrics." - John Watson, Mar '06 |
" "Finally, a folk/country record where you can tell one song from another… Thursby writes with just enough ornament to trigger your imagination, never straying into pretension…This album is hard to fault." - Forte Magazine, May '07 " "Floyd Thursby has a fascinating voice... But of course, all that would be insignificant without great songs as vehicles for that voice. Thursby has armfuls of them. There’s not an uninteresting moment on this debut LP.... an endlessly rewarding recording." - Rhythms Magazine, May '07 " "Lyrics from Bob Dylan's new album? No, from Floyd Thursby's debut self-titled 5-track CD. Go see him and hear for yourself. A powerful new addition to Australia’s most original singer/songwriters." - Billy Pinnell, Jun '06 |
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Festival Workshop Session(s)
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Floyd Thursby’s Secret History of Song (60 minutes)
Everything we never knew about our favourite songs • What did Johnny Cash steal to end up in Folsom Prison? • Why is Louis Armstrong’s girlfriend in a leper infirmary that Henry VIII knocked down in 1532? • Why does Shirley Collins worship the Apocryphal Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew? • What do Neil Young and Rod Stewart have in common? Find out as Floyd Thursby reveals the historical texts that have influenced and inspired some of our favourite songs. From forgotten books of the Bible, Milton’s Paradise Lost, the Child Ballads and Baudelaire to Louis Armstrong, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Shirley Collins, Serge Gainsbourg and Nick Cave. |