Bertie Blackman
Beatrice "Bertie" Blackman is an Australian singer, songwriter and guitarist. She rose to fame in 2004 with her debut album Headway, which came after years of prolific performances around Sydney's inner-city venues, where she developed a dedicated following.
Early life and influences
Bertie is the daughter of late, renowned Australian artist Charles Blackman, and grew up in the eastern Sydney suburbs of Bondi and Paddington. She attended International Grammar School in Ultimo. She began playing African percussion at the age of twelve and guitar at the age of fifteen.Career achievements
Bertie appeared on the Australian music scene in 2004 with the single "Favourite Jeans," taken from her debut album, Headway, a folk-inspired acoustic album featuring musicians Cameron Deyell, Laurence Pike, and Cameron Undy, and was co-produced by Richard Belkner. This album established her as an Australian headliner alongside contemporaries Something for Kate, Ben Lee and Alex Lloyd. She wrote music for Australian films, including the title track to the 2008 production Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger which saw her collaborate with prodigious Australian producer Paul Mac.After forming a new band with Neal Sutherland, Evan Mannell and Cameron Deyell, she made her second album Black and received positive reviews and high rotation on Triple J and demonstrated Blackman's move away from folk music to a focus on rock. This album was produced by well-known Australian producer, Paul McKercher
In 2008, Bertie signed with newly formed Australian management company Forum 5 and began working on her third studio album, Secrets and Lies, which was recorded between Sydney and Melbourne. Musicians involved included Neal Sutherland, Evan Mannell and Ben Hauptmann, with producers Lee Groves and Francois Tetaz
Her first single from the album, "Heart," was released on 10 April 2009. The song was added on high rotation on Australian radio station Triple J and nationwide on commercial radio network Nova as well as on regional and community stations across the country. Altogether, "Heart" was the 4th most added song on radio in the week of its release, and entered the Australian radio airplay charts at No. 67.
The album Secrets and Lies was the Triple J Feature Album for the week commencing 27 April 2009 Secrets and Lies entered the ARIA album charts at No. 72 and peaked at No. 49.
At the AIR Awards of 2009, Bertie Blackman received four nominations for 'Best Independent Single or EP', 'Breakthrough Independent Artist of the Year', 'Best Independent Album' and 'Best Independent Artist', winning 'Breakthrough Independent Artist of the Year'.
At the ARIA Music Awards of 2009, Blackman won the ARIA Award for Best Independent Release. In 2010, she released as a single a cover version of "Peek-a-Boo" from Siouxsie and the Banshees.
She has a son, Rumi, born in 2019. In 2022 she published a memoir, Bohemian Negligence, about her childhood experiences growing up with her father Charles Blackman, the Australian artist.