Iain Shedden

Iain Shedden
Born(1957-01-06)6 January 1957
Lanark, Scotland
Died16 October 2017(2017-10-16) (aged 60)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
GenresRock, punk
OccupationDrummer
Years active1976–2017

Iain Shedden (6 January 1957 – 16 October 2017) was a Scottish-born Australian musician and journalist.[1]

Shedden was born in Lanark, Scotland. He worked for the local newspaper in his home town of Wishaw in North Lanarkshire while playing with his first band, The Jolt. In 1982 he was invited to play in Europe with the Australian band the Saints and drummed with them periodically through the 1980s.[2] as well as Snakes of Shake and Summerhill.[3]

In 1992 Shedden migrated to Australia, initially to seek work as a musician. With opportunities in the music industry limited, Shedden returned to journalism and was employed at The Australian — initially as a sub-editor and later as the music editor.[4] Shedden worked for The Australian until his sudden and unexpected death from haemopericardium, caused by a thoracic aortic aneurysm rupture, on 16 October 2017.

The ARIA Awards has since paid tribute to Shedden, naming their media suite in his honour. An award at the National Live Music Awards has also been named in his honour. Introduced for the December 2018 event, “The Sheddy” recognises the best Live Drummer in the country. Shedden earlier served as a judge for the awards.[5]

  1. ^ Fitzpatrick, Stephen (17 October 2017). "Iain Shedden: charm of a musical insider". The Australian. News Limited. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  2. ^ Holmgren, Magnus. "The Saints". hem.passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 20 December 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2019. 1982, 1984-1985, 1988-1990, 2002
  3. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 509-510
  4. ^ Wilson, Ashleigh (16 October 2017). "Iain Shedden: music writer, drummer dies at 60". The Australian. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  5. ^ Eliezer, Christie (24 July 2018). "Live awards adds photographer category, drummer award now The Sheddy after Iain Shedden". themusicnetwork.com. The Music Network. Retrieved 25 July 2018.