Australian pop singer, Col Joye, dead at 89

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col_Joye

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-06/ ... /105618188

Australian musician Col Joye dies aged 89

In short:

Australian musician Col Joye has died at the age of 89.

Joye was the first Australian pop performer to reach number one on the local charts.

Singer and songwriter Normie Rowe remembered Joye as a "guiding light".

Col Joye, the first Australian pop performer to reach number one on the local charts, has died at the age of 89.

Colin Jacobsen — known professionally as Col Joye — had enormous success in Australia in the early days of rock and roll with his band the Joy Boys.

He started his music career in his brother Kevin Jacobsen's band, The KJ Quintet, in Sydney in 1957.

They impulsively changed their name to Col Joye and the Joy Boys to secure a gig at the Manly Jazzerama and, joined by younger brother Keith on bass, the Joy Boys began performing regularly in Bankstown.

In 1959 their second single, Bye Bye Baby made the top spot on the Sydney charts and three further top 10 hits followed.

Along with his brother Kevin, in the 1960s Joye also established an influential management, publishing and recording business.

Joye saw the Bee Gees in Surfers Paradise in 1961 and signed them to Joye Music, with the Gibb brothers performing backing vocals as Joye's hit single Starlight of Love in 1963.

In 1973, his single Heaven Is My Woman's Love became a national number one.

Col Joye remembered as a 'guiding light'
Australian singer and songwriter Normie Rowe told ABC News Joye was an idol of his.

"Col was in my psyche right throughout my entire life. I watched him and I thought, 'If I'm going to be a singer, that's the sort of singer I want to be'.

"He was the true gentleman of the industry. I don't think anybody could have ever had a bad word to say about Col," he said.

In the early 2000s, Rowe and Joye joined the Long Way to the Top live concert tour, where more than two dozen Australian rock 'n' roll singers performed.

Rowe said Joye was "a guiding light" on the tour.

"He was almost like the den mother of the whole tour. And we all revered him so much. Every morning he would arrive at the bus to go on the next concert or to the airport and he would get on with his ukulele and start immediately strumming a little ditty, a different one every day.

"I think he carried it around with him wherever he went in the last 10 years."

In recent years, Rowe had been gifted Joye's guitar.

"I phoned him and said, 'Colin, there's a guitar here for me?' And he said, 'Yes, it's my guitar, it's my Maton guitar and I won't be going on stage anymore, so I wanted it to go to somebody who would play it'."

Rowe said he plans on eventually giving the guitar to a national museum so that it continues to be "beautifully cherished".

ARIA tribute
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) paid tribute to Joye, who was among the first inductees into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

"From music to TV, publishing to concert promotion, artist management and live performances, Col Joye made a remarkable contribution to Australian music for more than six decades," ARIA chief executive officer Annabelle Herd said.

"At a time when the local industry was dominated by US and UK artists, he proved that Australians would embrace local artists and local music.

"Our deepest condolences go to Col's family. He will be sadly missed."