Queen’s birthdy honours 2016: Kate’s contribution to arts

The key to achieving enduring success in the music industry is knowing how to be a moving target, says Kate Ceberano.

Kate Ceberano has been made a member of the Order of Australia in recognition for her outstanding contribution to the Australian arts industry. Picture: James Croucher

According to Kate Ceberano, the key to achieving enduring success in the music industry is knowing how to be a moving target.

“I’m not certain every artist is prepared to make the kind of compromises that it takes to diversify and evolve,” she says. A multi-award-winning ­sin­ger-songwriter who has carved out a 35-year ­career in the Australian arts industry, she has been made a member of the Order of Australia in recognition of her outstanding contribution.

“I would never have imagined that I would ever in my lifetime ­receive such an honour,” she said.

“I sort of come with a stamp on me now that says, ‘She’s all right, she’ll show up, she’s a worker!’ ”

Melbourne-born Ceberano con­siders her relationship with music to be “a love affair that never quits”.

She began performing at 14 and was touring regionally by the time she was 16.

“I was very motivated and I clung on to it like a life raft,” she says.

“I figured that singing was the one single thing I was good at and so I worked very hard.”

She first found fame as the lead vocalist of 1980s funk band I’m Talking, and went on to release 24 solo albums including five ­platinum and five gold.

She has sung the national ­anthem at many sporting events, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge singing I Still Call Australia Home, directed the Adelaide Cabaret Festival (2012-14) and collaborated with the likes of Paul Kelly, Wendy Matthews and John Farnham.

She is at present touring with Daryl Braithwaite, Jon Stevens and John Paul Young for the APIA Good Times tour.

“The sheer act of being an artist in this country has afforded me some of the most amazing ­moments that you could ever wish for,” she said.

Her latest release, Anthology, is a 53-track celebration of that ­career. “I thought 35 years seemed like a huge benchmark,” she says. “It’s like ‘Woo-hoo, I made it!’ ”

She says it can be difficult for ­female musicians to achieve ­career longevity.

“The fact of my success actually happening at all is a miracle,” she says. “Unfortunately, every other woman I’ve worked with and had as my peers have been brought down at different intervals by different things in their careers.”

Ceberano, 49, says the Queen’s Birthday honour is good for Australian music.

“There’s lots you can do with that kind of platform, either to ­assist others mentorship-wise or create more opportunities for other artists.

“There are many challenges in the arts: huge highs, significant lows. But, for me, every opportunity, it’s like Pavlov’s dog — the bell rings and it’s on. That excitement never fades for me.”