Maxine (Sharon O'Neill song)
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Maxine
| cover = Maxine by Sharon O'Neill.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Sharon O'Neill
| album = Foreign Affairs
| released = May 1983
| recorded = Sydney, New South Wales
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Pop
| length = 4:35
| label = CBS Records
| writer = Sharon O'Neill
| producer = John Boylan
| prev_title = Losing You
| prev_year = 1983
| next_title = Danger
| next_year = 1983
}}
"Maxine" is a song by New Zealand singer and songwriter Sharon O'Neill. The song was released in May 1983 as the second single from her fourth studio album, Foreign Affairs (1983). The song peaked at number 16 in Australia and New Zealand. It remain's O'Neill's highest charting single in Australia.
Background and release
Late in 1981, O'Neill moved from New Zealand to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia to pursue her music career.{{cite web|url=https://nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/twelve-questions-with-sharon-oneill/2WT2IQAASYIKJE5MJXYAWZWOOU/|title=Twelve Questions with Sharon O'Neill |publisher=The New Zealand Herald |date= 23 February 2016|accessdate=3 August 2023}} It was here that she wrote "Maxine", a song that chronicled the life of a Kings Cross prostitute.{{cite web|url= http://www.ngataonga.org.nz/collections/catalogue/catalogue-item?record_id=118583|title=SHARON O'NEILL. MAXINE |publisher=Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision |accessdate=8 March 2017}} In a 2016 interview, O'Neill said; "I was living in a hotel in Kings Cross when I got the inspiration to write "Maxine". She was always out there working at 3am when we'd get home bleary-eyed from a gig"
Two music videos were filmed: one in New Zealand{{cite web|url=https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/maxine-1983|title=Maxine|author=Sharon O'Neill|publisher=NZ On Screen }} for general audiences,{{cite web|url=https://www.villainesse.com/culture/nz-music-month-ode-maxine|title=NZ Music Month: An ode to Maxine|author=Lizzie Marvelly|date=2016-05-04|publisher=Villainesse}} and the other in Sydney with far more explicit themes.
Track listing
7" (BA 223082)
- Side A "Maxine" – 4:35
- Side B "All The Way Down" – 2:02
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Foreign Affairs.{{cite AV media notes|title=Foreign Affairs|others=Sharon O'Neill|year=1983|location=Australia|type=cassette liner notes|publisher=CBS Records|id=PC 7889}}
- Sharon O'Neill – lead vocals, OB-Xa, Wurlitzer
- Mike Baird – drums
- John Boylan – production
- Bob Glaub – bass
- Carmen Grillo – backing vocals
- Bobbye Hall – congas
- David Lindley{{NoteTag|name="lindley"|David Lasley is one of three credited backing vocalists on "Maxine." However, O'Neill stated in a 2001 interview that it was David Lindley who provided backing vocals.{{cite news|first=Murray|last=Cammick|date=6 May 2014|title= Sharon O'Neill: The 9/12 transcript |url=http://www.audioculture.co.nz/people/sharon-o-neill/stories/sharon-o-neill-the-9-12-transcript|newspaper=AudioCulture}}}} – backing vocals
- Arnold McCuller – backing vocals
- Tom Scott – saxophone
- Brent Thomas – electric guitar
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |
| Chart (1983)
!Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"|Australian Kent Music Report{{cite book|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, NSW|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6}} NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
| style="text-align:center;"|16 |
| {{singlechart|New Zealand|16|artist=Sharon O'Neill|song=Maxine|accessdate=8 March 2017|rowheader=true|refname=newzealand}} |
Cover versions
- In 1996, Lizzie Brennan recorded a version on her album, Statues in the Park.{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/au/album/statues-in-the-park/317598921|title=Statues in the Park|publisher=iTunes Australia|access-date=10 March 2017}}
- In 2006, Rietta recorded a version on her album, Cut Me Loose.{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/au/album/cut-me-loose/261365907|title=Cut me Loose|publisher=iTunes Australia|access-date=10 March 2017}}
- In 2016, Handsome Young Strangers recorded a version on their EP Battle of Broken Hill.{{Cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/au/album/battle-of-broken-hill-ep/1166818644|title=Battle of Broken Hill (EP)|publisher=iTunes Australia|access-date=10 March 2017}}
Notes
{{NoteFoot}}