Sarah McLeod
Birth name Sarah Yvette McLeod
Also known as Sammie Scream
Origin Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Genres
Indie rock alternative rock post-grunge rock
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Sarah Yvette McLeod (born 1 February 1973) is an Australian singer-songwriter/guitar player and front woman of rock band, The Superjesus. The group won three ARIA Music Awards and they shipped over 300,000 units during their career. McLeod’s debut solo album, Beauty Was a Tiger, was released in September 2005 and peaked in the top 40 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The album’s first single, “Private School Kid” , a duet with The Living End’s Chris Cheney (July 2005) also reached the top 40, on the related ARIA Singles Chart. In October 2007 McLeod was described as an “iconic Aussie rock chick” by Alison Stieven-Taylor.
Sarah Yvette McLeod, was born on 1 February 1973, to parents Don and Rosemary. She grew up in Adelaide with her older sister, Leah McLeod (born 1971), a former TV presenter.
McLeod attended St Peter’s Collegiate Girls’ School and started singing in her late teens. In 1990 she commenced a university course doing a bachelor of arts at Flinders University in Adelaide. 3 months into the course she went on a holiday with friends to Bali, where she was invited to join a Balinese band. Although being her first time on stage , she took to it like a duck to water and played with the band every night during her visit.
McLeod later remembered “I could already play a bit of guitar by then but did little more than sing and play to my buddies at home.” Upon her return to Adelaide , armed with a new passion for performing, she quit uni and formed her first group, Fallen Down Monster (FDM). She displayed her rock-chick characteristics and honed her vocal and guitar skills, and fun-loving, energetic stage presence. FDM performed indie band covers, McLeod wrote original tracks which were not recorded.
Late in 1994 she joined Chris Tennent to form an indie guitar rock band, Hell’s Kitchen, which later became The Superjesus. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described McLeod’s “captivating voice and melodic rhythm guitar.” In May 1996 the group issued their debut four-track extended play, Eight Step Rail, with all the tracks co-written by McLeod with her band mates. Jonathan Lewis of AllMusic noticed McLeod’s singing: “Sounding like a cross between Liz Phair and Catatonia’s Cerys Matthews, McLeod’s voice was a major drawcard; strong, confident and rarely lapsing into the girlishness that characterized some of The Superjesus’ contemporaries.”
At the ARIA Music Awards of 1997 the Superjesus won Best New Talent for Eight Step Rail and Breakthrough Artist – Single for “Shut My Eyes” / “Eight Step Rail”. Then released their first full length album, Sumo (June 1998), which won Best Rock Album at the 1998 ARIA Music Awards . The group released two more albums, Jet Age (October 2000) and Rock Music (May 2003), before they split in 2004.
In 2005 Sarah McLeod launched her solo career, she signed with Festival Mushroom Records, releasing her first single, “Let’s Get Together”, in May. Her debut solo album, Beauty Was a Tiger, followed in September that year; it was co-produced by McLeod with Matt Lovell. All the tracks on the album were written either by McLeod or with Chris Peters, bass player from the Detroit band, Electric Six. It peaked at No. 31 on the ARIA Albums Chart. For touring her backing band, the Black Diamond Express, consisted of Patch Brown (guitar), Grant Fitzpatrick (bass guitar), Stu Hunter (keyboards) and Mick Skelton (drums).
Following the release of another single, “Private School Kid” (July 2005) – a duet with Chris Cheney from The Living End – McLeod parted ways with Mushroom Festival Records. It peaked at No. 33 on the ARIA Singles Chart. During 2006 she released two more singles, “All But Gone” as an independent EP, and “He Doesn’t Love You”; both included remixes.
During 2006 McLeod performed acoustic gigs with drummer Mick Skelton ,which led to an Australian tour, playing tracks from Beauty Was a Tiger, some Superjesus material and a few cover versions. The amalgamation of this duo resulted in the release of a live album “Live And Acoustic”.
Discography
Albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
Beauty Was a Tiger
Released: 19 September 2005
Label: Naughty Mouse Ink / Festival Mushroom Records,
Format: CD, digital download
Live & Acoustic
Released: December 2006
Label: Naughty Mouse Ink
Format: CD
Extended Plays
List of extended plays, with selected details
Title Album details
Untitled
Released: 3 December 2010
Label: Roustabout Records
Formats: Digital download
96% Love Song Book
Released: 24 February 2013
Singles
Year Song AUS
AUS Club Album
2005 “Let’s Get Together” Beauty Was a Tiger
“Private School Kid” 33
2006 “All But Gone”
“He Doesn’t Love You” 99 1
2009 “Tell Your Story Walking” Single Release Only
2010 “White Horse” Untitled EP
“Double R” Madness
“Dancing in the Dark”
2011 “Love & Honour” 12
2014 “Man the Life Boats” (by Sarah McLeod and Jeff Martin) — — Single Release Only
“Scouts Honour” — — 96% Love Song Book