b. 23 November 1952, Nelson, New Zealand. O’Neill is an established singer-songwriter in her native country. She first began performing in the early 70s, winning several ‘Queen Of Pop’ awards and appearing as vocalist/pianist with a number of soft rock bands, including Suitewater, Chapta and Shiner. She signed a recording contract with CBS Records in September 1978. Unlike other singer-songwriters her material was piano-based rather than guitar, but her music always involved a band. Her early albums quickly became popular with the public, culminating in platinum awards for Maybe and Foreign Affairs, plus several hit singles. Subsequent albums were not so successful and a dispute with her record company kept her unrecorded between 1984 and 1986. A new contract with Polydor Records saw the release of Danced In The Fire in 1987. This album garnered good reviews and radio support but generated poor sales. After one further album, 1990’s Edge Of Winter, O’Neill concentrated on her songwriting career.