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Bertie Blackman’s first encounter with her artistic self came as a child sashaying across her mother and father’s paint strewn studio floor. The daughter of iconic Australian artist Charles Blackman, not many musicians can boast a foundation of emotional expression like Bertie.
Bertie first stepped onto the scene with ‘Headway’ (2004), her folk-inspired debut album. The single ‘Favourite Jeans’ became Bertie’s radio breakthrough and saw her dubbed “Australia’s underground queen”. On her second album, ‘Black’ (2006) Bertie returned armed with an electric guitar delivering a sexier, gritty rock sound. Bertie continued to develop her sound on ‘Secrets and Lies’ (2009) blending electronic influences with her signature vocal style and brutally honest lyrics in a modern exploration of pop music with the assistance of Sydney based UK producer Lee Groves (Goldfrapp, Gwen Stefani) and Francois Tetaz (Gotye, Architecture in Helsinki.)
The album Secrets and Lies was released on May 8, 2009 on Forum 5 Recordings and was presented as a Triple J Feature album. The album’s first single 'heart' was released in March 2009 and added to high rotation on Triple J and across the board on commercial radio network Nova. Altogether 'heart' was the 4th most added song on Australian radio in its premiere week of release. In April 2009 ‘heart’ was also one of the Australia’s most downloaded iTunes Singles of the Week of all-time. The album’s second offering ‘Thump’ was met with instant rotation on MTV Video Hits, Rage and Channel V who nominated Bertie for [V] Oz Artist of 2009. Hot off the heels of a 15-date sold out Australian tour Bertie released her intoxicating third single ‘Byrds of Prey’ and embarked on Parklife 2009, and extensive summer festival dates including Falls Festival, Sunset Sounds and Southbound.
In November Bertie entered a new international chapter in her young career, travelling to the UK for a promo tour sparking radio play on BBC 1, BBC 2 and XFM ahead of the UK release of Secrets and Lies. Upon her return Bertie was awarded the ultimate in Australian music industry accolades: an AIR Award for BREATHROUGH INDEPENDENT ARTIST OF 2009 and an ARIA Award for BEST INDEPENDENT RELEASE 2009.
In February 2010 Bertie returns to the UK for a string of showcase dates in London including a headline performance at Club NME. March 2010 sees Bertie returned to Australian soil for national dates as the main support act for La Roux’s Australian tour and the release of her new single Peek-A-Boo a cover of Siouxsie and The Banshees 1988 classic.
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