In 1990, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds released a song that within 11 years was voted one of the Top 30 Best Australian Songs of the previous 75 years. That song was The Ship Song. Now, Sydney Opera House has married this iconic song with the world’s most famous building to celebrate the artists, architecture and interiors that together make Sydney Opera House intrinsic to Australia’s cultural fabric. The Ship Song can be viewed here www.theshipsongproject.com


Sydney Opera House CEO Richard Evans said today, “We set out to create a tribute to the House’s role in the global creative community – a love song to creativity if you wish. We wanted to give people everywhere the opportunity to experience the creative genius that makes this place tick, to get a taste of the artists, venues and other spaces that power the heart that beats beneath our soaring white sails.”

Over 12 months, artists and companies performing at Sydney Opera House were asked to join in The Ship Song journey under the lead of award-winning music video director Paul Goldman and music director and arranger Elliott Wheeler. The stature of the artists and companies who agreed to voluntarily perform in The Ship Song is testament to the House’s role in Australian performing arts.

The Ship Song features vocals by Neil Finn, Kev Carmody, Sarah Blasko, Angus and Julia Stone, Paul Kelly, Temper Trap, Martha Wainwright, Katie Noonan, Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Daniel Johns. The singers are joined by the Sydney Symphony, Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Bell Shakespeare Company and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Along with the music video, The Ship Song project includes a fly-on-the-wall documentary by leading filmmaker Greg Appel about the making of the video including conversations with the artists about the passions that fire their creativity.

The Ship Song will be released globally on the evening of 25 July 2011 and shared across traditional and social media channels. It can also be viewed on the Sydney Opera House website. The documentary, narrated by Guy Pearce, will screen on Foxtel.

Evans added, “It is my hope that The Ship Song will reach out to communities around the world with a promise to experience and witness the artists, performers and stages that together bring our great cultural landmark to life.”

The Ship Song
Sydney Opera House
In giving the world one of the 20th Century’s greatest buildings, Jørn Utzon changed the creative and cultural landscape of Australia forever. The Sydney Opera House vision is to continue the legacy of Utzon’s creative genius by creating, producing and presenting the most acclaimed, imaginative and engaging performing arts experiences from Australia and around the world – onsite, offsite and online. As the home of creative genius, Sydney Opera House’s key opportunity is to democratise this creativity so that people everywhere have the opportunity to join our journey and ignite their imagination.

Director: Paul Goldman
Award-winning director Paul Goldman has created music videos for artists including Kylie Minogue, Silverchair and Nick Cave. Paul was co-director of photography on the controversial and critically acclaimed film Ghost of the Civil Dead (1988). His first feature film Australian Rules had its world premiere in the World Cinema section of the Sundance International Film Festival in January 2002. His 2005 film Suburban Mayhem had its world premier in 2006 at Cannes where it was an Official Selection in Un Certain Regard. Most recently, Paul directed the feature documentary about infamous Australian Rules football player Ben Cousins called Such is Life: The troubled times of Ben Cousins.

Music Director and Arranger: Elliott Wheeler
Elliott Wheeler is a film composer and performer from Sydney and a founding member of a group called the Myrtle Street Connection. Elliott is well-known for his range of original soundtracks found in many commercials and has also released albums of his own songs.

Documentary Maker: Greg Appel
Documentary maker Greg Appel filmed the classic Australian documentaries Long Way to the Top and Bombora. For The ship Song, Greg filmed fly-on-the-wall footage of all aspects of the production of the music video and audio track, including the recording sessions in the studio.

Creative Agency: Three Drunk Monkeys
Three Drunk Monkeys has been called an ad agency, a collective, a branded content company, the business model of the future and a bunch of dreamers. They plan, write, direct and design projects including ads, short films, websites, books, webisodes, and TV shows. They are B&T Agency of the Year 2010, ranked No. 1 Australian Agency 2010 by Adnews and Australian Creative Hotshop of the Year.

The Ship Song: theshipsongproject.com
Media Release: sydneyoperahouse.com