CLAIRE MORRISON

Claire Morrison was a vocalist/keyboard player with Xanadu, which was made up of her two brothers, Don and Barrie Morrison, Wayne Anderson and Chris Button. Moving from Bundaberg they finally ended up in Sydney where they quickly made a name for themselves, appearing on many Sydney TV stations as well as on the national entertainment show at that time, Brian Henderson's Bandstand. In May 1971 the band signed on for a seven-month tour of Allied bases in Vietnam. After Vietnam, Xanadu travelled to Thailand where they soon had a massive following, and even enjoyed their own television show on Bangkok TV3. In Europe the group enjoyed massive success in Germany, Holland and Belgium. Claire wrote a number of songs that were released as singles. 

For the next decade Xanadu toured, recorded or rubbed shoulders with many of the greats of that era - The Bee Gees, The Sex Pistols, Marc Bolan of T.Rex - who recorded his last hit record I Love to Boogie in the Xanadu-owned London studio, Decibel - The Seekers, The Osmonds and Leo Sayer. By 1982 the band had gone their separate ways and all had returned to Australia. In 2003 Claire was awarded the Vietnam Logistical and Support Medal by the Australian Government for her valued worked in Vietnam. In 1984 she released a single ''Australia My Homeland / Country Wind'' as Claire Atkin. Claire Morrison died in 2023.

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