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About Mark Winter / Chicane

Cartoonist. Artist. Illustrator. Oh, and autograph hunter.

Drawing: Neil Diamond

Neil Diamon002

Neil Diamond is considered one of the greatest pop songwriters/performers of the modern age. ‘The Jewish Elvis’ has sold over 125 million records worldwide and is the third most successful adult contemporary artist ever on the Billboard Chart behind Barbra Streisand and Sir Elton John.

He originally wanted to be a Laboratory Biologist and find a cure for cancer, but in his senior year at New York University a music publishing company offered him $50 a week to write songs, and the rest, as they say, is history. Medicine’s loss was music’s gain.

The Solitary Man himself simply sums it up “I write these little songs and go and sing them in a recording studio and later, in front of a lot of people. It seems an odd way to gain an inner sense of acceptance of the self. But, it’s what I do.”

In March 1996 he broke a 3 year touring hiatus with a world tour, starting in New Zealand and signed my sketch after the Westpac Centre concert in Christchurch.

Drawing: Chris Isaak

Chris Isaak001

One of my favourite performers and all round good guys, Chris Isaak loved the the sketch and signed it at the Wellington Town Hall, New Zealand, in July 1995 as part of his Forever Blue Australasian Tour that year.

Drawing: Jimmy Barnes

jimmy barnes

James Dixon Swain was born in Scotland, fifty something years ago. He emigrated to Australia at an early age and became a music icon… better known as Jimmy Barnes. The ocker rocker songwriter has more hit alblums than any other Aussie entertainer, as a solo artist and as lead singer of the band ‘Cold Chisel’.

His career took a bit of a dive in the mid 1990s but began to revive by 1996. He embarked  on a six-gig ‘little New Zealand’ stint, playing smaller, more intimate venues. One of those was the Lake Hawea Motor Inn in Central Otago. I did this quick sketch to illustrate my review for The Southland Times. he signed the original backstage. It was called the Long, Hot, Summer Tour, but from memory, it was neither long (an hour and a bit), hot or felt like Summer, with the weather closing in. Hardly Barnes-storming, but it threatened! More importantly he was a decent bloke, with a ripper encore set.

Drawing: Oliver Stone

oliver stone

Three time Academy Award winner Oliver Stone has always focused on contemporary and controversial political and cultural issues. His feature length documentary ‘South of the Border‘ – the story of firebrand Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his leftie Latin American allies was no exception.

Oliver attended screening of the film at Mayfair’s Curzon Cinema in London in July 2010, followed by a Q+A session. I quickly drew this sketch and as you can imagine, he was a popular target for ‘graphers’.

As he walked down the cobble stoned street outside the theatre, a marauding band attacked him for his sig as he headed to a local constabulary for some hospitality.

He signed on the run, but I managed to stop him with the sketch. For some reason my kiwi accent made ‘Mark’ sound like ‘Max’, or maybe he only hears American accents. Either way, I was very happy he signed, as he zeroed in on a waiting entrée, which was probably only another hundred autographs away.

Drawing: Scarlett Strallen, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt and Leigh Zimmerman in A Chorus Line

leigh zimmerman scarlett strallen victoria hamilton-barritt

Marvin Hamlisch’s A Chorus Line is one of the most successful musicals of all time. The story of seventeen dancers auditioning for a spot on a chorus line, the action takes place on the bare stage of a theatre.

It opened in July 1975 and became a box office and critical hit, winning 9 Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It ran for 6,137 performances and a West End production started in 1976, winning the Olivier for Best Musical. A number of revivals have followed, the most recent at the London Palladium, which opened earlier this year to rave reviews. It was booked to continue into 2014, but posted early closing notices for the end of August.

The female leads – Scarlett Strallen (Cassie), Leigh Zimmerman (Sheila) and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt (Diana) all signed my sketches at the stage door and requested copies. I gave them redrawn originals. Leigh won this year’s Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.

Drawing: Dustin Hoffman in The Merchant of Venice

Dustin Hoffman001

Known for his versatile portrayal of antiheroes and vulnerable characters, two-time Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman took on the challenging role of ‘Shylock’ in Peter Hall’s production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in London’s West End. After a 13 week run at the Phoenix Theatre, mixed reviews and packed houses, the production transferred to The 46th Street Theatre on Broadway in December 1989, where it played till March the following year after 19 previews and 84 performances.

Dustin continued his role as the Jewish money lender with his thirst for revenge and ‘a pound of flesh’

Dustin was nominated for both a Tony and the Drama Desk Award. He signed my sketch at the theatre in New York in February 1990.

Drawing: Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus001

Jack Nicklaus is widely regarded as the most accomplished professional golfer of all time ‘The Golden Bear’ won 73 titles, including 18 majors – in a career that spanned 25 years. He won the Masters six times, the PGA Championship five times, the US Open four and the   British Open Championships three times.

I sent this sketch to Jack at his Palm Beach office in 1994 and he signed it for me. He is a frequent visitor to the UK and I saw him at this year’s Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

Drawing: Dame Shirley Bassey

shirley bassey Blog

Dame Shirley Bassey was the featured performer at the 1996 Mission Estate Winery Concert, in Napier New Zealand. She signed my sketch after the show.

Drawing: Olivia Newton John

Olivia Newton John

Olivia Newton John signed my sketch at the annual Napier’s Mission Estate Winery Concert in New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay in February 2006. She and Chris de Burgh headlined the show.

Drawing: Indira Varma, John Simms and Simon Russell Beale in The Hothouse

The Hothouse

Harold Pinter’s macabre tragicomedy The Hothouse returned to London’s West End in a production directed by Jamie Lloyd at the Trafalgar Studios. An excellent cast, headlined by Simon Russell Beale and John Simm opened to rave reviews.

“It’s Christmas Day in a nameless state-run institution where the inmates are subjected to a tirade of mindless cruelty. A maniacal and self-obsessed leader breeds a contagion of hierarchical savagery amongst his staff, who thrive on a noxious diet of delusion and deceit.”

Written in the 1950’s, Pinter’s biting political commentary on the perils of unchecked power proves as pertinent and subversive today.

Simon, John and Indira Varma (Miss Cutts) signed my sketch at the stage door on a variety of nights, depending on their exits during June this year.