Damien Leith on Winning Idol, Music, Songwriting & His Career as an Artist | Nick Egan Times

Damien Leith joins Nick Egan Times for a wide-ranging conversation about his remarkable career in music, songwriting, broadcasting, and entertainment.

Best known as the winner of Australian Idol 2006, Damien Leith has become one of Australia’s most successful and respected singer-songwriters. Since his breakthrough victory, he has sold more than 800,000 Albumbs, earned multiple chart-topping releases, and received numerous industry accolades, including ARIA Awards, a Golden Guitar, and recognition for his outstanding songwriting achievements.

In this episode, Damien reflects on his Australian Idol journey, the challenges and opportunities that followed his rise to fame, and the evolution of his career as a musician, author, playwright, radio host, and television personality. He also discusses songwriting, creativity, performing live, the Australian music industry, and the lessons he has learned throughout his decades in entertainment.

The conversation explores music, storytelling, artistic longevity, career reinvention, and what it takes to remain relevant in an ever-changing industry.

A fascinating discussion with one of Australia’s most accomplished entertainers, whose career continues to inspire audiences both on and off the stage.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:18

Hi everyone, thanks to this episode of Nick Eagle Times. On this episode, we have an amazing guest. We have the sensational artist, Australian singer, songwriter, producer, author, playwright, TV, and radio host, Damien Leaf. Damien has sold over 800,000 albums and has won many prestigious awards, including Aryas, a Golden Guitar, Songwriter of the Year, and many more. Welcome to the Multi-Talented Damien Leaf and thanks for coming on the podcast. You're welcome. All right. Let's just jump straight into it. Take us back from I guess obviously your island days, your life growing up, and yeah, everything and how I guess you've got to the point you are now.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Yeah, so you know, as a kid, actually, I have to be honest, I I didn't live in Ireland as much as you would imagine. I actually lived in Africa for about uh 12 years as a kid. So a lot of my earlier years uh growing up were actually in Africa because of my dad's work. We ended up in Libya and then later on ended up in Botswana and then South Africa. And we traveled a lot. So there was loads of traveling involved as a kid. Uh and it wasn't until I was about a teenager that I was back in Ireland. And uh and at that point, I hadn't really even got into music at that stage. But what I had done is I'd loved acting. So all through the years of of traveling, uh I I always had a real love for acting. And I I used to write plays and I used to put on little shows uh you know for next door neighbors or anything that that that we may have had of these little tiny plays that I had. Um but uh but when I eventually got back to Ireland, the school that I went to didn't do any um drama, they did musicals. So it was the musicals that kind of drew me into actually singing for the first time. I thought I wanted to act, so um uh I I'd have to sing for the first time, and uh and and I did. Um but that wasn't until I was about 16 years of age. So at 16, I sang for the first time for a musical in Ireland, and straight away my life kind of changed, everything transformed. I grew my hair long, I uh joined a rock band, I did all that sort of stuff, and uh and I've been doing it ever since, and I've had multiple strange hair days ever since.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

Incredible. And um, how did you how did you end up in Australia? So, how did that all transpire? How did you migrate to Australia?

SPEAKER_00 2:43

Uh came about my my wife's Australian, so I met my wife in Ireland uh uh about 23 years ago. Uh, we both had to be working in the same place. We were both working at a CD manufacturing company, and it was weird, I think we were meant to meet. It was it was just such a chance sort of meeting. Uh, myself, my two brothers, and my sister, we had a family band called Leaf. And we had just got a kind of a development deal in New York with a record label. Um, but there was a six-week gap before we'd be flying over, and we had no money whatsoever. So I thought, oh, I better get a part-time job to try and get some money to head over to New York. And at the same time, my wife Eileen happened to be planning to go back to Australia, so she got a part-time job in exactly the same place. And serendipity, or whatever you might want to call it, but we ended up working directly across from each other. And uh, and uh, as things would happen, the record deal that we had back then didn't work out, and her trip back to Australia didn't work out. And the next thing we knew, we met again in Ireland and fast forward three years, got married, and came over here on our uh on our honeymoon.

SPEAKER_02 3:53

Amazing, and um, all right, let's go back then or so let's go forward, should I say, to the Australian Idol. Um, that time obviously coming from Sydney with your wife to um Australian Idol. Tell me about how you got into it um initially into Australian Idol. Like what what like I guess obviously you're doing music, but how did that all transpire?

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Um, look, I honestly Australian Idol was never ever on my radar at all. I uh so once I got to Australia, I I've I'm a chemist uh by trade. So uh I was working a full-time job as an industrial chemist at a pharmaceutical place, and um I was gigging uh you know most weekends. So I love music, I was always gigging, I was always performing, I was always writing songs. And if you think about it, by the time I went on Australian Idol, I was 30 years of age. So I had already been singing and really trying hard from uh when I was about 17. So I had 13 years of pushing pretty hard. Uh I did every demo you can imagine. We had that little stint in New York with a record label. We did, you know, my family band in Ireland, we had done TV shows and everything prior to that, but nothing had ever really worked. We we tried everything, but it hadn't really worked. So when Australian Idol came along when I was 30, it was pure chance. It was uh I I was in a shopping center in in Bondi in Sydney, and we bumped into a couple of friends of ours and happened to talk about the auditions that were on that afternoon. And uh, and you know, they turned around and said, Well, why aren't you down there doing it? And I was like, Oh, I'm not gonna go down there. Like, geez, I'm uh you know, I'm too old for that. And you know, I don't think that's what they're looking for. I don't think they're looking for an Irish guy on the Australian Idol. And uh they convinced me there and then. And and one of my mates said, Here, come to our house, I'll give you my lucky leather jacket, you'll wear that, and I bet you it'll work out all right. So that afternoon I I left their house and went straight to the audition. And uh and and it went from there. It was pure chance, that it was absolute chance, wasn't planned, it wasn't, you know, wasn't part of some great idea that we had. It just was just a hot luck.

SPEAKER_02 6:06

Incredible. And um, what was it like? What was you know, obviously you got in, um, what was the experience like?

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Yeah, uh Australian Idol was it was an amazing experience, it was it was full on as well. Uh you know, so it I suppose Australian Idol for me had had two two sort of areas. Okay, they had that this incredible uh roller coaster ride of you're in the media and your people are knowing you, and you're you know, there's all that sort of stuff going on, and it's exciting, you're on TV, and you know, there's all of that which was really, really exciting and fantastic. Um, then there was the other side as well, which was constantly worrying about next week's song and constantly, you know, dealing with uh back then we obviously we we had forums, it didn't, there's no Facebook or anything like that. So people's comments on four forums and you know, suddenly taking it on board. You're reading these things and they're saying, oh, this and that, the other, and you're like, oh my god, how could they say that about me? So it was it was a massive, a massive leap in a very short space of time, uh, of all sorts of different emotions, all at the at the one time, you know, you you're kind of living for me, we were living our normal life, had the day job, we already had my wife and I already had our first son, we were kind of just ticking along, doing what we normally do, and then overnight suddenly thrust into this other zone, and uh and it was a lot to take in at first, but but it was it was it was a lot of fun, uh it was great, it was exciting, and um, and I've no regrets. It was definitely uh one of those things that uh I think I was meant to do, and and I love doing it. It's great.

SPEAKER_02 7:44

Sensational. And um, when you look back, I guess, in hindsight to where you are now as a person, how do you think that experience uh matured you as a person?

SPEAKER_00 7:57

Oh the I Australian Idol itself didn't mature me. Australian Idol, I think the fact that I was a little bit older going into it really helped me anyway. I think I went into it with a lot of life experience behind me. I already knew the industry pretty well because we we dealt with labels and we dealt with a lot of different people like that already at that stage. So when I went on, I had a pretty good grasp of it. Um obviously not at that level, but being in the industry, like the Damien Leith of 17 years ago versus the one who's here now, they're very different people, they really are. Uh, you know, I've matured so much. It's a lot you you kind of even at that stage at 30, I still had so much to learn. I really and truly had so much to learn. I thought I knew a lot, um, but there was so much more to learn. And the music industry as a whole is a very difficult place. It, you know, that that's why you hear a lot of stories about, oh, why do you think so-and-so didn't do well, or why didn't you think why why did it kind of work for you, but it didn't work for somebody else? And the bottom line is it's really hard. It's a it's a hard industry, and there's never there's no guarantees with it whatsoever. So you you you kind of you you gotta take take the great opportunities, run with them, but also realize that overnight those things may not be there again. Tomorrow you you've got to pick it up and carry on and and do something else again. And uh uh and I had to learn all that over the last 17 years that it's it it it is a long-term project. It really is not it's not it's not overnight even when it's overnight.

SPEAKER_02 9:36

Well, that's um yeah, you've done amazing, you've had such longevity. What would you put down to having such longevity? And especially it's it's truly amazing looking at all the certain parts of the media and music that you got basically your hands in, and you've had that over what 16, 17 years so long. It's truly um, yeah, it's wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

I I honestly I've I've been very fortunate that to create some really good relationships, definitely over the years, and and I think that's a really big part of well, I suppose of anything, you know, just try trying to be the best that you can with everyone you meet. Uh, you know, it's there's there's no egos or anything like that. I I think that's one thing I've learned. The the bigger the ego uh along the way, you know, it's obviously there's some big egos that make it through and do really, really well, but sometimes your ego can really get in your way. So uh I've always tried to just approach everything like, hey, it's a great, it's a new project, let's go and see what happens. Uh, you know, um, and and I've tried everything. I uh and if somebody comes to me and says, Hey, would how would you like to do a cabaret show? Do you want to write it? And I was like, Oh, yeah, okay, I'll give that a well, why not? I'll try it out. Uh so I've always been open to ideas, and I've never kind of thought, oh, that's not for me, or or or I'm I'm too good for that, or I'm not good enough for that. I've just always kind of thought, what are we gonna lose? Let's let's give it a go. I'll try that, I'll try that. Uh um, but uh over the years, uh probably the main thing that's helped me a lot is I've I've just tried a lot of different things. Uh, I've always had a lot of different interests. I love writing uh and I loved acting, so that was always there underneath, and and that kind of led to to books and even a little probably a little bit to the radio that I'm doing at the moment as well. Um, and I love playing different instruments and songs, so it's all just kind of melded together and uh and thankfully opportunities have come my way.

SPEAKER_02 11:36

Incredible. And is there anything you prefer doing? So if you had out of obviously all those things that um we've articulated, is there anything that you truly prefer over everything?

SPEAKER_00 11:45

Um, you know, I used to say uh writing. Writing was always writing was my first love, it really was. I loved writing because I had OCD as a kid. Uh I still have OCD, I've always had O C D. Um, you know, pretty bad O C D. And my main outlet for OCD has always been to write. So anytime the OCD had really flared up, I I'd spend time writing. And and once I was writing, whenever I'm really focused on something, the OCD always seems to go away. Um you know, so so writing that has always been that thing that's that's helped me through all that. So writing all definitely was always probably top of the list. But I think as the years have gone on, they've all just kind of had I love I love each thing in its own way. I love the radio, I love performing, I'll you know, it's it's I suppose it's just now I'm I'm getting a bit older, certain things are kind of drifting off, and other things are just stepping in above, just because uh you know stands the time. Uh really yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

Awesome. And um, what inspires you daily?

SPEAKER_00 12:51

Um I'm I'm inspired by a lot of different things. Uh that through when I'm writing, I I try to either be inspired by things around me. A lot of the stuff that I say songwriter, even story, stories or anything like that are normally something personal. Um, it's normally something in my own life or a variation of something in my own life. Um, but I do lots of co-writing as well. So when I do co-writing sessions, I find them really inspiring because you're sitting with somebody else and you're working off what they want to write about, and that's really cool because you end up going down a road that maybe you wouldn't normally go down, or maybe that's not how you normally think. And before you know it, you're writing in a style that you didn't think you would, and you like it, and you go, Oh, geez, I should do more of that. So I think writing with other people, working with other people is really inspiring, especially even with in music, working with somebody else and like musicians, there's so many talented people. Uh, I I sit in a room sometimes and I've got my guitar and I'm I'm banging away on the guitar, and there's our violinist is is absolutely insane, you know, and she can read anything, and and the ideas that she'll come up with, I would never think of in a million years, you know. It's things like that. Working with really talented people helps a lot, I think.

SPEAKER_02 14:07

Great. And um with the songwriting process, yeah, you've obviously written a bit. Um how hard is it writing a song? And what is the, I guess, briefly the process of it? Like, how difficult is it to write a song?

SPEAKER_00 14:22

To write a hit song is really, really difficult. Um, that's really, really hard. Uh, I mean, I I've had I've had certain certain songs that have kind of worked well, but that whole hit song, I mean, I'm still looking for the hit song as well. Where, you know, there's a lot of songwriters that are all looking for that song. Uh, and that's a real, it's a real art, and it's there's an element of look to it as well, you know, that even when you've written a song, doesn't anyone even get to hear it? Uh, you know, there's all those different factors. But for me, writing a song, um, I I've worked with a couple of different people and they've approached them very differently, but I I more more so now I try to find out what I'm what I'm writing about. I I went through a whole phase of working with sounds and production and this, that, and the other. Uh, but now I really just focus on what is it I want to write the song about. And once once I have an idea of what it's actually about, I'll sit down. For me, it's normally a guitar or the piano, and I'll sit down and I'll tinker with with some sort of melody. And once I have a kind of an idea where where the chords are gonna go, then I'll start putting the words together. Um, that's generally how I will do it. There'd be other times where I might actually, again, if I have the theme, if I have the story, I'll start writing the words first, and then I'll I'll come up with some music afterwards. But um, but I'm fine and definitely knowing what you write about makes a big difference. Oh, and the other thing is I try to write the chorus first. If I haven't got a good chorus, I don't have a good song. And uh I and that's it. It happens all the time. I've done so many writing sessions over the years for myself or for with other people, and we're all sitting there and going, Oh, that's so cool. We're playing these great verses and all the rest, and then we get to the chorus and the inspiration drops because no one can come up with a chorus that that tops the verse we just came up with, and and the session fizzles out. So I think sometimes just quit the chase, get your chorus down, then you then you've got a then you got a song.

SPEAKER_02 16:24

Tremendous. Thanks for sharing those insights. That's great. Um, tell me about the um your Roy Orb Roy Orbison should be shows you're gonna be doing, I guess, later in the year, like doing a lot of his uh music. Tell me about that and uh how did that all come about and yeah, elaborate.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Yeah, so my connection with Roy Orbison came about from being on Australian Idol. I saw him crying while I was on Australian Idol. Um, and Barbara Orbison, his wife, got in touch with the producers and said she liked the performance because it went up on YouTube and she just got wind of it. And and that was fine. Fast forward then about three years later, she got in touch with Sony music and then to me to say that she wanted to record an album to celebrate what would have been his 75th birthday, and and I was asked to be the person to sing the songs, so that was a a huge honor and really caught me by surprise. Uh, and I was pretty nervous about it as well. I was flown over to Nashville and I was hooked up with all these different people associated with Roy Orbison who would work with him or renew him, and it was uh absolutely amazing, it really and truly is. Uh, like that album that we released, that's that's definitely one of one of the best things that I was involved in in the last 17 years. Just a real honor, uh, amazing songs, you know, by an amazing artist. And that created a relationship with Joe Melson. So Joe Melson wrote Crying and Blue Bayou and Only Lonely. He wrote all those songs, and now he's a really good friend. We write together every single week via Skype between Nashville and where I am in Mullingong. Um, yeah, so so the whole Roy Orbison thing has just carried on, carried on, carried on. And then uh in the middle of last year, we decided, oh, we've gotta we've got to take it to a bigger level. Let's do something really special. So myself and and Emma, the violinist, sat down and said, Okay, how are we gonna do this? So we structured the whole show to have a full orchestra, but not just to do the original orchestral parts, to create something new. So we've got these beautiful segues that that join songs together. They're they're all original, they're all new, new pieces of music that that kind of tell the story rather than just getting up and singing the songs. So it's uh it's a pretty special show. Um, and you know, we're doing it at kind of specific areas because it because it's a big show, it's hard to travel around. But um, yeah, very, very proud of that show. I I think it's uh from from my side, it's a mussie of something that I do anyway.

SPEAKER_02 18:58

That's brilliant. It um sounds sensational. Yeah, it's that's exciting.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

They're great songs. They're the they really are. Roy Orbison, he's such a unique artist. Like, um, I know he's from an era that's a long time ago now, um, but he was so unique that it's weird. We look out into the audience and there's there's there's young people that pop up in the audience who are there because they've hit on Roy at some point, they've found some of his music online or uh like Wednesday Adams recently, one of his songs opened the first episode of that TV show. You know, there there's there's a Roy Orson song in its entirety, and then um, so it's things like that I think are still you know capturing the imagination of this younger audience coming through, which is which is awesome.

SPEAKER_02 19:48

Great. And what's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

SPEAKER_00 19:52

Um the the best piece of advice I've ever received uh was to actually get as much advice as possible. And I've I've actually received it from loads of people. It's it's happened quite a few times. Um uh I've I my mother used to always say it to me, and she still says it to me, but um so she was saying it long before anyone in the industry ever said it. But then as years went on, um, like the likes of Joe Melson, he he's a prime example of it. He he said it. It's so important to try and work with people who've been there and done that. Um, because you you just learn so much from it, they're always willing to help you out. It's it's uh there's almost this kind of perception that some of these guys are so big that you can't go near them, you can't ask for advice, but they're always keen because they've they've gone through the industry and no one wants to see somebody else hit the same uh roadblocks or pit balls, no one wants to see that. So everybody's always keen to say, you know, you know what, maybe you should avoid that, or maybe you should think about that. Um, the other bit of advice that uh I I seem to avoid, but is always correct. Listen to your gut. Your gut is always right. Anytime I've gone against my gut, I've always been wrong. Every single time, just for me anyway. Some so many times when my gut's telling me one thing and then go, ah, no, no, no, I'll I'll I'll go do it. And I tell you, almost every single time the gut was right. I should have I just should have stuck to my guns and just went, no, I'm not feeling that. Um and the last bit of advice, last frequency of advice, is don't be don't be afraid to say no as well. In a nice way, but you don't have to take everything. You know, uh it's not as urgent as you might think it is. You know, when when when you're a young artist, especially you think everything, everything is this is the every opportunity is life or death. This is it. If you don't take this one today, your career is ruined. And that's not actually true either. So um, so sometimes especially for younger artists, if you know, if you have a feeling it's not the greatest thing, say no. You know, just bide your time. You've got you've got plenty of time. I was 30 when I got my. So there's plenty of time.

SPEAKER_02 22:02

Great. And did you have you had any mentors, like personally or professionally, that have helped you?

SPEAKER_00 22:09

Yeah, well, Joe Melson, uh, the Roy Orkson songwriter, he's definitely a mentor. I mean, I I talk to him every week. And we uh we while we're writing songs, he'll stop the writing session and and tell me things. You know, he'll say, uh Damien, I just want to talk to you about something now. About the importance of being, he's he's really important about um being a unique artist. He talks about Roy Orbison all the time, how the what one of the strongest points about Roy in his career was that he was he was unique, he had a unique approach to singing and to writing and all the rest. And he said it's so important to to find out what makes you unique over the next artist. Um, and you know, so he's he's a great mentor. Uh and there's been other people as well, but I he'd be first that comes to mind.

SPEAKER_02 23:00

Right. And um, what are your future ambitions? What what are you uh what do you yeah, what are your future ambitions?

SPEAKER_00 23:08

Um I I'm in radio, I I do a radio show now as well, which which I do love doing. It's a breakfast radio show. So as the years go on, uh I I'd love to keep progressing that because I do I really do enjoy it. It's great, it's it's great. Uh, we have a lot of fun, but it's you know, it's it's a good challenge as well, being on radio. Uh it's a show every day and it's it's demanding and it's all on the spot. And um, so I'd love to see that develop more, but probably a big thing for me is is writing. Again, uh I have a new book coming out next year. It's uh it's a kids novel this time. Uh and well, it's kind of a young teens novel, but uh I do love writing and I'm gonna keep on writing. So uh over the next couple of years, I'm gonna make that a major priority to just start putting more time into it. Um, other than that, keep on touring, keep on writing, keep on. I I'm really my kids are obviously a huge priority for me. They're mad into music, they love performing, and and I'll do anything to help them to get wherever they want to go as well.

SPEAKER_02 24:14

Terrific. Um what are your uh um hobbies and passions? Obviously, you're very busy. Um, what do you like to do when you're downtime?

SPEAKER_00 24:22

Uh I'm a runner. I I I've always been a runner. Uh, I run in is when my mind is I mentioned OCD a short while ago. If if I can't write, then it's running. And I find sometimes when I've no ideas, if there's nothing in my head, and I'm just going, oh, what'll I what'll I write or what will I work on? I go out running and I always come back with something. I that's it's just always been for me. Running is the best, best way. I go off somewhere and I always come back with an idea or something that inspires me. So I run. I used to play loads of squash. Squash was always a big thing for me. Um, and that's that's about it. Oh, I love traveling. Um, my wife, myself, and the kids, that's a big priority. We we, you know, a lot of people go out and they get cars and houses and this, that, and the other. Our priority has always just been kind of experiences. So we we always go out of our way to try and save up for a trip here or something there, and you know, some sort of adventure. Um, yeah. And we we've been to a lot of different places and we we just make a big priority of it. It's just that's that's our thing, and and we make try to make sure it happens uh whenever we can.

SPEAKER_02 25:34

So but where where are your um favorite places to travel to?

SPEAKER_00 25:38

Um top top of the list, it's it's not a family, we didn't do this as a family, but my wife and I we did uh Nepal and India, and we absolutely love both of them. They were uh amazing, absolutely amazing. Um but with with the kids, we've we've been up to Sweden and in Norway, and uh and obviously I I lived all over Africa as well. And but uh I I like America, but it's never you know, a lot of people love to go over to America, it's never been top of the list. I I still love the places that have a lot of history, I love or a lot of culture that you can see everywhere, you know, that kind of idea where I think that's why I love Nepal so much. No matter where you looked, it was it was just different, it was just this beautiful, eclectic sort of country, a mix of everything. And I just I loved it. It's a really beautiful place.

SPEAKER_02 26:30

Wonderful. And if you're 18 again and you could change anything personally or professionally in your life, what would you change?

SPEAKER_00 26:40

Oh hey, you know what? I would have got my teeth done. I know, I know that I would have got braces. You know, it came up so many times when I was younger, but I never got it. I was scared of dentists. Um and I eventually got got some work done, but it took me a lot, long time, but I went around with a fang sitting there for so long that I never liked. Um, but um, but I think the main thing for me is uh I could change it. That's about the only thing I would change. I I I just everything kind of did what it was meant to do uh along the way. Yeah, there's things I look back and go, oh well, that was that was stupid, wrong decision there, or whatever. But they all kind of led to something else, or there was there was some reason why something happened. I had to learn something from it, or it led me to somebody else, or um, yeah, so I can't really be on that. Oh, I would have got I would have got piano lessons. I should have done that as well. Yeah, it it looks like it's it's my teeth and piano. I don't read music and I wish I did read music. I I wish I had sat down and I I played the piano, but I I I should have gone and at some point. I I say it to my kids all the time because they they all play different instruments, and I said, you know, are you sure you don't want to get actual lessons? You know, I said, because I I I know if I had my chance, I would I would definitely do it. I can tell you in years to come you you might be sitting there going, yeah, I wish I could just pick up that piece of music and and start playing it. Um but they're doing exactly like me, they're ignoring me. That's it. So uh yeah, that'd be about it.

SPEAKER_02 28:19

Yeah, that's great. Thanks for sharing. Um, yeah, Damien, thanks for coming to the podcast. It's been a pleasure. I do appreciate you coming on, and yeah, I really look forward to everything you still look like obviously done, but what you're doing in the future, even more.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

Uh no, my pleasure. Thanks million for having me. And yeah, you know, we'll we'll chat again sometime soon.

SPEAKER_02 28:37

Definitely. Take care.