Marcia Hines: Fast Facts
• Born in Boston, of Jamaican heritage.
• She was raised by her mum, Esme.
• Her dad, Eugene, died a few months after she was born.
• She started singing in church. As well as singing,
the young Marcia wanted to be a mortician and a nurse.
• She suffered from asthma when she was young
and missed a lot of school.
• Her childhood friend was Linda Gaines,
who was Donna Summer's sister.
• Her first nickname was “Cupcake”
– given to her by her Godfather, Mr Evans.
• Marcia started her singing career
using the stage name “Shantee Renee”.
• She performed at a Boston talent quest in 1966,
but ditched the name soon after.
• One of her first serious boyfriends was J.Geils from the J.Geils Band,
who incidentally had a number #1 hit in Australia with Centerfold in 1982.
• She went to Woodstock in August 1969.
Seeing Jimi Hendrix was her highlight.
• In 1970, the director of the Australian production of Hair,
Jim Sharman, auditioned Marcia who lied about her age
(she was 16, but said she was 18).
• She flew to Australia, to star in Hair, in April 1970.
• She didn’t even know where Australia was
– she thought she was going to Austria.
She was also unaware that she was pregnant.
• Marcia’s fellow cast members included John Waters and Reg Livermore.
Hair, the classic hippie show, controversially challenged Australia’s
involvement in the Vietnam War and involved sex, drugs and nudity.
• Marcia’s daughter was born on September 4, 1970.
She was named Dohnyale Sharon (the first name was
a combination of “John” and Boston’s famous university).
The name was soon shortened to “Deni”.
• Hair ran in Sydney for nearly two years.
Melbourne and New Zealand seasons followed.
• From 1972 to 1974, Marcia starred as Mary Magdalene
in Jesus Christ Superstar. She was the world’s first black Mary.
The cast also included Jon English, Air Supply, Reg Livermore,
Robin Ramsay, John Paul Young and Stevie Wright.
Twenty-two years after Marcia took the role, Deni also starred as Mary.
• Marcia has had the same manager for more than 30 years.
Peter Rix was managing Hush when he met Marcia at
Sydney’s Paddington Town Hall in June 1974.
She was singing James Taylor’s Fire And Rain on an ABC TV show
called The Rock And Roll Ballroom Of The Air, hosted by Jon English.
In the crowd that night were Peter Rix, Tony Hogarth from Wizard Records,
and Michael Chugg. Peter became her manager, Tony signed her
to Wizard (also home to Daddy Cool and Rick Springfield),
and Chuggie became her tour manager.
• Peter Rix says: “There have been many fabulous singers,
but the ones you remember, the ones you care about the most,
take you on a journey. They open up their soul and show you
their weaknesses and that in itself becomes their strength.
Marcia does this without compromise”.
• She dedicated her 1981 album, Take It From The Boys,
to her elder brother Dwight who died at the age of 28.
• Many magazines have asked her to pose nude, but she always said no.
• During her career, she has done secret gigs under the name
“Monica Hindmarsh”. Many of her friends call her “Mon”.
She is also known as “The First Lady Of Song”.
• She has had 11 Top 40 hits, including the number one single,
1977’s You.
• She’s had hits in four decades, and was Queen of Pop
in 1976, 1977 and 1978.
• She also worked as a singing teacher,
coaching lots of stars including Peter Andre.
• Her daughter, Deni, has had seven Top 40 hits.
• In 1989, Marcia discovered she had diabetes.
• Marcia’s biography by Karen Dewey entitled "Diva", was released in 2001.
• When Australian Idol started, Marcia was asked about her idols.
She said: “My Godmother, Reg Livermore, Mahalia Jackson,
Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Jimi Hendrix and Aretha Franklin”.
• Ambassador for the Garvan Institute Fundraising Appeal
to assist with further research into a cure for diabetes.
• Ambassador and face of the Red Ribbon World Aids Day Appeal
in Australia in 2008.
• Received an AM in the Australia Day Honours for services to the
entertainment industry as a performer, judge and mentor, and
to the community through a range of charitable organisations.
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