Vance Joy

Vance Joy Artistfacts

  • December 1, 1987
  • Vance Joy was born James Keough in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He took his stage name from Peter Carey's 1981 novel, Bliss. He explained in an interview with Australian radio station Triple J: "The main character's name is Harry Joy and his grandfather is Vance Joy. He's the storyteller and a crazy old man. Plus, I thought it was a cool name."
  • Before pursuing a music career, Joy was an accomplished Australian rules football player, playing for the Coburg Football Club in the Victorian Football League and winning an award for best first year player in 2008.
  • Joy earned Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees from Melbourne's Monash University.
  • Joy released his debut EP, God Loves You When You're Dancing, on March 22, 2013. The record's second single, "Riptide," proved to be his breakthrough hit, peaking at #6 on his home chart in Australia, #10 in the UK and #32 in the US.
  • Most fans are shocked when they first meet Joy because of his height. "I'm 6 foot 3, and 6 foot 4 with heels," he says.
  • The title for his debut studio album, Dream Your Life Away, was inspired by John Lennon's posthumous hit "Watching The Wheels." He explains on his website: "He has that line 'People say I'm crazy, dreaming my life away,' and I love that idea. That title feels like a good reflection of my life recently. It's still all totally new to me. I still feel new as, which is good. I still feel like I'm just chipping away."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And Scandals

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And ScandalsSong Writing

Surprise exits, a catfight and some very memorable performances make our list of the most memorable Idol moments.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys

Mike Scott of The WaterboysSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Whole Of The Moon" and "Red Army Blues," and why rock music has "outlived its era of innovation."

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Michael Bolton

Michael BoltonSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde

Johnette Napolitano of Concrete BlondeSongwriter Interviews

The singer/bassist for Concrete Blonde talks about how her songs come from clairvoyance, and takes us through the making of their hit "Joey."