A well-known national media celebrity, who these days makes his home in Logan City, believes the city is a good breeding ground for up and coming artists of all genres.
Ian Maurice has had a stellar media career spanning 40 years. He was a regular on Channel Nine’s Wide World of Sports show for many years, before transitioning from television to radio and hosting the night slot on 4BC in Brisbane.
Maurice consistently rated #1 and was known colloquially as the ‘Nighttime King’ of radio.
He finished at 4BC in 2014 and since then has been devoting his time to music, entertainment and the arts in general.
“I’ve enjoyed everything that I’ve done, but am not unhappy that it’s over,” he told MyNewsFeed.com.au.
The media personality grew up in Sydney and started singing on radio at the tender young age of 3. Prior to getting into the media, he was a full-time musician and had guest appearances as a singer on the Midday Show and Bert Newton’s Good Morning Australia (GMA) show.
Maurice relocated to the Logan region in 2004 when he took up residence in Shailer Park, before moving to Tanah Merah. He feels that Logan City gets a bad wrap it doesn’t deserve.
(Photo: Courtesy Michelle Cop)
“Logan has such an unfair reputation,” he said. “The media is too willing to report the bad things and overlook the good.”
To illustrate his point about Logan City being a breeding ground for talent, Maurice said it is the place from where world class entertainers Savage Garden, and more recently, Dami Im hail.
He said he is amazed by the pool of talent in this city but they would benefit from having an outlet to perform. He sees the arts scene in the city as being good, although there is room for growth.
Maurice said the Logan Theatre complex is a top class facility, but there are not many other options.
“If you have a small group or band, you would probably be out of place in the Logan Entertainment Centre, so you really do need something a little bit smaller to show what you can do.
“There are few little theatres around, but they’re involved in the arts, drama and musicals and are rarely available for shows so Logan needs a small theatrical complex, or more restaurants need to open their doors to entertainment so that people can eat, drink and be merry and listen to some good music.”
Nowadays, Maurice likes to spend his time expanding on his background of being a jazz singer and middle of the road entertainer.
He has a band the ‘Ian Maurice 7’ and now also has a regular gig for his duo ‘Ian Maurice Unplugged’ with Red Lopez performing at the Emporium Hotel at South Bank.
You can catch them every Friday from 5pm-8pm.
“One thing I’ve never got tired of my whole life is music,” he continued. “I’ve been involved with music since I was young and it has been a constant in my life. If I couldn’t have music in my life, I don’t know what I’d do.”
