News
Mark Holden will release his first full-length album, Now & Then & Shirley MacLaine, in decades on all digital platforms on the 28th of August through his own label, Dream Dealers, with MGM.
The album features Mark's next single, a cover of Tom Traubert’s Blues (Waltzing Matilda).
The song is a tribute to Matilda Bee Britvan, who was one of 15 people who lost their lives on the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah on Bondi Beach. Mark Holden grappled with the immensity of the tragedy along with millions of Australians. He found himself listening to Tom Waits’ song Tom Traubert’s Blues and its chorus, Waltzing Matilda, and ‘became’ Tom Traubert at Bondi. After receiving support and appreciation from her family in helping preserve Matilda’s legacy, the track was laid down. Mark chose to use AI to capture the emotion in the visuals to create a video.
About Mark
Mark Holden first caught the public eye way back in 1974. Now, more than fifty years later, the former teen heartthrob, hit songwriter, producer and Idol-judge has re-emerged with Now & Then & Shirley MacLaine - an extraordinary album of new and re-imagined songs.
It is indeed the kind of record only made possible by a lifetime in showbusiness – a triumphant document of dizzying highs and devastating lows, delivered by a voice of wisdom and experience that has maintained just enough of the innocence and optimism required to do it all over again.
The clues to this album’s contents are all in the title: Now refers to Mark’s recent creative burst, inspired by reconnections with old friends and spurred on by new cross-cultural and generational collaboration. Then, on the other hand, applies to the re-imagining of four unheard songs penned by Mark decades ago in his working-songwriter days. As for Shirley MacLaine, well, we’ll get to her later.
Eclectic is an understatement here. All of Mark’s choices on the record prioritise communicating feelings over conforming to genre norms and limitations. The narratives are sprawling and the tone assured. Somehow he has found a way to make a reworked Tom Waits classic and a haunting Anthony Callea cameo sit comfortably within a tracklist that includes disco remixes, neo-spirituals and beautiful love songs.
The result is a dynamic, evocative and contemplative ride through songs that cover grief and joy in equal measure, exploring exactly what it means to be fragile and strong at the exact same time. Electric and deep, a sprinkling of upbeat pop energy with raw soul power. The production is immaculate. Mark says “ At the core of it, this album is a postcard to my grandchildren ( who I’m yet to have), a box of photos, stories about family”
Of course, to fully grasp this record, it’s helpful to recap Mark’s storied (and yes, eclectic) career.
It’s fair to say that he’s come a long way since his days as the carnation-carrying pop star in the fledgling years of Countdown. His early Aussie success as a singer and soap star took him to the USA where he signed a major label deal whilst becoming a late night talk-show guest and a fixture on the glamorous Hollywood party scene. Songwriting stole his focus through the 80s and 90s, during which time he penned hits
for the likes of Motown legends The Temptations, dance-queen Kathy Sledge and pop- songstress Belinda Carlisle.
In the late 90s, Mark reinvented himself as the manager, producer and writing partner of Aussie teen sensation Vanessa Amorosi, once more scaling the charts with now-iconic songs such as Shine and Absolutely Everybody. This was followed by a return to Australian TV screens, which included a tumultuous but memorable tenure as a judge on the early seasons on Australian Idol and a bold, if ultimately unsuccessful stint
on Dancing with the Stars.
A retreat from television, a cancer diagnosis and a return to school (to finish a law degree in his 50s) punctuated the 2010s for Mark. He recovered, became a barrister and spent several years in and out of Melbourne courtrooms before returning to the stage with a one-man theatre show – a self-deprecating and autobiographical piece that drew rave reviews at The Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
It was that show, and particularly the research that went into it, which began Mark’s journey back to writing original music for himself – a journey that has culminated in this new album. In learning his family’s history as early European settlers, Mark was drawn towards Victorian Indigenous culture – where he was met with a welcoming embrace by activist, artist and Gunditjmara Elder Richard J Frankland. The process of co-writing and
producing Richard’s Discovering Leerpeen Mara album was transformative. A rejuvenated Mark reached out to old mates like LA songwriter Richard Feldman, and new ones like the furiously creative young producer Tyler Sunshine.
In fact, the cast of characters Mark put together to make this record was extensive – each individual tasked with helping to bring sensitivity and cohesion to Mark’s broad vision. It was lovingly pieced together in studios from Los Angeles to Northcote, and stands as a testament to Mark Holden’s status as a serious songwriter and producer.
As for the Shirley MacLaine in the title – yes it of course refers to the great American actress, though the two never met.
“I got talking to a bloke as we stood (legally) smoking marijuana in Hawaii” Mark explains. “It was 2025 and I was on my way to my daughter’s wedding. Anyway, this bloke said he was once Shirley MacLaine's tour manager on speaking tours – which mostly involved picking her up from the airport and taking her to the hotel for years. Shirley used to tell him the reason you got the blues is you’re a descendant of Genghis
Khan, and you're still paying the old man's dues. I loved that idea, and somehow I had the presence of mind to write it down before it disappeared into the ether. It became the song – and the album title. It just felt right”.
There’s no doubt Mark Holden has paid some dues, though whether or not they are Ghenghis Khan’s remains up for debate. There’s also no doubt that Now & Then & Shirley MacLaine is a remarkable piece of work – one that will surely redefine and reinvent Mark Holden yet again.
