Maybe Dolls were an Australian pop music band consisting of siblings Annalisse Morrow (bass guitar, lead vocals) and Chris Morrow (lead guitar, lead vocals).[1] The pair were former members of a power pop group, the Numbers.[1][2] They had issued a single, "A Five Letter Word", in mid-1980, which reached No. 40 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart.[1][3]
Maybe Dolls | |
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| Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 1991 (1991)–1993 (1993) |
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| Past members |
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The Morrows formed Maybe Dolls in 1991 in Sydney as a pop music trio with Paul Wheeler on drums (ex-Icehouse).[1] Tim Powles (ex-Venetians) later took over on drums.[4] In July 1992 Chris Morrow reflected on the differences between the two groups, "With our former band, The Numbers, I used to write most of the material. I tended to focus on lyrics and guitar riffs but being a singer Annalisse broadens the songs melodically. Now the voice is serving the lyrics and vice versa — the songs have got both form and content."[5] The Canberra Times' reviewer felt that "Annalisse's unique vocal style — equal parts pixie and banshee — has been enriched by stints singing jazz and blues in small clubs and even some techno-funk dabblings."[6]
Their debut single, "Nervous Kid", was released in August 1991, and reached No. 32 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[7] It was featured in the Australian TV soap opera, E Street. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1992 "Nervous Kid" was nominated for Breakthrough Artist – Single.[8]
A second single, "Cool Jesus", reached No. 31 in February 1992,[7] followed by their only album, Propaganda (2 March 1992), which reached the top 30.[7] To record the album the Morrows were joined in the studio by Paul Gray on keyboards (ex-Wa Wa Nee), Peter Kekel on keyboards (ex-Jimmy Barnes Band), Justin Stanley on keyboards (ex-Noiseworks), and John Watson on drums.[5] Annalise explained that "the songs were written over a three year period so they cover lots of ground. I guess lyrically they're all about applying personal politics to the world outside. A lot of them work on a number of different levels so they sort of keep people guessing what they may be about."[5]
After disbanding Annalisse left the music industry and Chris became a design teacher in northern New South Wales.[9] In January 2008 Annalisse told The Sydney Morning Herald's correspondent that "'The one thing I miss is singing,' she says, adding with a laugh, 'And I still can't get used to getting up in the morning... It got to the point where I couldn't listen to anybody singing for quite some time'."[9]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [7] | ||
| Propaganda |
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25 |
| Year | Title | Peak chart position |
Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [7] | ||||||||||||||
| 1991 | "Nervous Kid" | 32 | Propaganda | |||||||||||
| 1992 | "Cool Jesus" | 31 | ||||||||||||
| "Never Look Back" | 114 | |||||||||||||
| "Only Love" | — | |||||||||||||
| 1993 | "Goodbye" | — | non-album single | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart. | ||||||||||||||
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "Nervous Kid" | ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist - Single | Nominated | [11] |
