Melanie Shanahan

Melanie Shanahan (January 1964 - 11 December 2003) was an Australian world folk singer and songwriter. She was a member of the groups Arramaieda and Akasa, whose hits included "Tell Me Now", "She Will Not Lose", "Walk With Me", and "Human Zoo".^[1] She also collaborated with Coco's Lunch and Safara.

Melanie was influenced by political singer/songwriters, in particular Sweet Honey in the Rock, and decided to form her own female acapella band in Hobart. The band, Arramaieda, originally had nine or ten members, but reduced down to three. They released their debut album, "More Ways than One", in 1992, and more than half of the songs on the album were compositions of Melanie's. Unfortunately, it was her issues with mental health that led to the break up of the band.^[2]

She was invited to sing with Coco's Lunch, but the need to sing politically-relevant music led her to join Akasa, contributing songs to their first two albums. She also directed four choirs ^[3][4], including Living Out Loud and Yirriba.

Melanie committed suicide at the age of 39. A memorial concert was held soon after to commemorate the loss.^[5]

Persondata
Name	Shanahan, Melanie
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1964
Place of birth
Date of death	11 December 2003
Place of death

References

1. ^ Green Left Weekly
2. ^ Green Left Weekly
3. ^ Souls of Her Feet
4. ^ Hunter Workplace Choirs
5. ^ The Age