Open Letter From Katie Noonan To Women Of The World

I still remember the drive into town on the 360 bus and the excitement of knowing that all the coins I had saved up in my little handbag were about to buy the album from that cool chick Annie Lennox and her band The Eurythmics. I remember listening to ‘Revenge' on the headphones in Rocking Horse Records on Adelaide Street [Brisbane] before I could afford to buy it but now I had the money! From the opening bars of 'Missionary Man', the love was real.

The '80s were an interesting time for women in music (we all remember Samantha Fox and Sabrina and the like and their lyrics and lack of clothing for inspiring young women!?). I had finally found a truly badass woman who I could aspire to.

I remember from an early age the sexualisation of women in music pissed me off – lyrically and visually and Annie Lennox was so much sexier than all those slurries put together! Don’t get me wrong I absolutely love seeing a woman own her sexuality – it is a thing of beauty and power and I will always applaud it but my little, young, feminist heart was beating hard for Annie.

I now realise how much she inspired me. I have always tried to present a strong image as a woman and to make it clear that image is not important – it is sound, intention and integrity that matters and that is all.

I remember many overweight, middle-aged alcoholic record company execs [who often cheated on their wives with young, impressionable promo girls after a few lines of charlie] suggesting to me that I should lose weight leading up to a film clip or photo shoot. It came up again and again and I always wondered why they didn’t mention that to the other boys in the band who weren’t so skinny themselves!

My belief in the equality in music was questioned many times but thankfully I had resolve. I reckon it was listening to women like Annie [and of course later Deborah Conway, Renee Geyer, Angie Hart, Tori Amos, Bjork, Ani di Franco] that gave me the self-belief to tell them to get fucked.

This same self-belief helped me when many would say I was a diva and/ or difficult because I had a clear opinion on my journey [as opposed to being ‘strong' if I was a man]. It helps me take a deep breath when the 1000th journalist asks me how hard it is to balance motherhood and music [although apparently it is not a question to be asked of Tim Rogers, Bernard Fanning, John Butler and all the other rad, dad musos].

It has also helped me when I explained to the promo team YET again that yes, breastfeeding was kind of important and couldn’t be rescheduled [I hoped that it might be a little easier for the next working Mum coming through in that situation].

So thank you ladies! Thank you for empowering me. Since releasing 'Special Ones' as a young woman and having so many women contact me telling me it had empowered them in some way, I have been amazed and humbled by the power of song and its ability to transform and educate. The only thing I can do is to just try and continue to be as honest as possible and not hide behind my lyrics.

I feel with my latest album 'Transmutant' (my 17th studio album – holy shitballs!), I have been the most transparent I have ever been and it’s a bloody scary thing. It's been incredible reading the messages from people who have resonated with my words.

It is the greatest gift as a musician to be told that your music matters to someone. At a time when the industry is barely able to keep up with itself and the monetary value of music continues to decline; I am so bloody grateful that I still get told that my music matters to someone.

Now as a mother and in my 20th year in the music industry, fostering and encouraging young women in the industry is more important than ever and I plan to continue to do so either through my lyrics, my imagery or through curating albums/ events like 'Songs That Made Me'.

One particularly badass chick, MKO SUN [previously MKO], will be joining me on my upcoming national tour – I look forward to people falling in love with her [like I remember they did with Missy Higgins when we took her on her first national tour] and showcasing my new hairdo, which I now realise is just me wanting to be like Annie Lennox basically.

- Katie Noonan xo