Pete Denahy

Pete Denahy knew when he was 11 years old he wanted to be a country singer. At age 12 he taught himself guitar, started writing songs and at 13 years old saw Australia’s King of Country Music Slim Dusty in concert for the first time. Twelve years later he was in Slim’s band playing fiddle and doing a comedy spot on the show. While he has written some ridiculous comedy songs, he is no stranger to writing a heart wrencher, but he is fully aware that his “silly songs” are the ones that are closest to the hearts of his fans.
He cut his teeth in the mid nineties playing fiddle in Melbourne band Ploughboys before joining Slim Dusty on the road in 1998. As his songwriting began to mature, he turned his pen more often to the less serious side. As a result, his most requested songs are comedy, one of them being “Sort Of Dunno Nothin’”, a tuneless, storyless number that presents a teenager talking to an adult in the most boring manner possible. This song became something of a hit in 2008 when it was released in Australia.
His solo show has evolved into a blend of straight and comedy material interspersed with some solid fiddle playing. His onstage persona is a guy who is an enthusiastic money saver and is proud of the fact he is Yackandandah’s “multi award losing country singer” even though he has won five Golden Guitars at Australia’s Country Music Awards. However, he seldom mentions this because as he says, “There’s nothing funny about winning awards.”
His latest record “She Loves Me To The Moon” is not a comedy release but a traditional country album featuring his own fiddle playing, twangy guitars and wailing pedal steel. Produced by Simon Johnson at Hillbilly Hut Studio, it includes fine playing by some of Australia’s best and a collection of new tracks penned with help from the Wolfe Brothers, Mike Carr, Bill Whyte (Nashville) and Evan Murphy (Mile Twelve).