F U Britain

When asked why he now lives in New York, Brisbane-raised Tyrone Noonan laughs at how he was “unceremoniously booted out” of London.

“Halfway through my stay in London the GFC happened and the home office had this kneejerk reaction and got rid of the Commonwealth citizens. I basically went 'F U Britain', and decided I'm going to New York. America welcomed me with open arms.”

While New York is his base now, Tyrone is enjoying being back in Australia, juggling family, friends, the beach and performing with a number of artists. He has a number of solo shows in the next month at the Elephant & Wheelbarrow where punters can expect some surprises. “I'm going to have some mates drop in here and there. It's pretty casual but I think it's cool I'm doing some gigs in the Valley while I'm home, you know, where it all started.”

The Tyrone Noonan Band will be playing the Gold Coast later this month, which is looking like a George coup, with four former members of his original band under one roof. “It'll be Geoff Hooton, the original bass player from George; his band is playing as well as my band, then Taylor who feature Nick Stewart and Geoff Green from George as well.”

The project that really has Tyrone excited is Sonic Lines, a collaboration with Anthony Garcia and William Barton. “The idea of the project is each of us drawing on our traditional heritages; Anthony with his Mexican influence, me with my Irish background and Will with his indigenous background. It's quite surprising that what's come out is sounding quite contemporary.”

None of these new projects should overshadow Tyrone's new album, 'I Believe', which is a mix of rock, pop, soul, funk and reggae. “I've always veered between the personal and the political when it comes to my songwriting and I guess the album is a continuation of that process.”

TYRONE NOONAN PLAYS SOLO AT THE ELEPHANT & WHEELBARROW JAN 20 AND FEB 5 & 19. Tyrone also plays the exchange jan 26. SONIC LINES PLAY THE BRISBANE POWERHOUSE  FEB 11.