Dick Hughes
Dick Hughes (1931–2018) was an Australian jazz pianist, singer and journalist. Hughes earned two ARIA Award nominations for Best Jazz Album, in 1987 for The Last Train For Casablanca Leaves Once In A Blue Moon and in 2010 alongside his daughter Christa Hughes with Twenty First Century Blues. He also contributed a track (with Dick Hughes' Famous Five) to Jazz Live At Soup Plus which was nominated for the same award in 1989.
Dick Hughes
- Name
- Dick Hughes
- Birth Name
- Richard Hughes
- Born
- 8 July 1931
- Birthplace
- Brighton, Victoria, Australia
- Died
- 20 April 2018
- Place of death
- Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia
- Occupation
- Pianist, singer, journalist
- Nationality
- Australia
- Fields
- jazz
- Education
- University of Melbourne
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In this article
Biography
Biography
Hughes was born in Melbourne in 1931, the only son of Richard Hughes, a journalist, and his wife, May Hughes née Bennett. He developed an interest in jazz early in life and became president of the Melbourne University Rhythm Club in 1950. In 1952 he relocated to London for three years where he started working as a journalist, working for ABC, Frank Packer, News Limited and Fairfax community newspapers before retiring in 2014. Hughes was a pianist and singer and played regularly around Sydney's jazz scene and played in multiple bands such as The Port Jackson Jazz Band and Ray price Quartet before first performing solo in 1973. He formed Dick Hughes' Famous Five and the released an album, Dick Hughes Looks Back & Around, in 1977. In 1997 Hughes started presenting a jazz show, Speak Easy and Swing Hard, on 2MBS-FM. Hughes married Fay in 1962 and together they had three daughters, Vashti, Christa and Stephanie.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Dick Hughes • Birth Name — Richard Hughes • Born — 8 July 1931 • Birthplace — Brighton, Victoria, Australia • Died — 20 April 2018 • Place of death — Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia • Genre — Jazz • Occupation — Pianist, singer, journalist
Albums
Albums
List of albums, with selected details • Title — Details • Piano Solos — * Released: 1973 * Format: LP * Label: Festival Records (L 25066) • Dick Hughes Looks Back & Around — * Released: 1977 * Format: LP * Label: 44 Records (6357716) • 45 Years In Jazz! Merv Acheson 60th Birthday Concert (as The Dick Hughes' Famous Five with Merv Acheson) — * Released: 1982 * Format: LP * Label: 2MBS-FM (MBS JAZZ-1) • The Last Train for Casablanca Leaves Once in a Blue Moon — * Released: 1986 * Format: LP, Cassette * Label: Larrikin (LRJ176) • Twenty First Century Blues (with Christa Hughes) — * Released: 2010 * Format: CD * Label: ABC Music (273 1076)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1931
Dick Hughes born at Brighton.
2018
Dick Hughes died at Vaucluse.
Places
Named by the record
Places
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Brighton.
Birth place
Vaucluse.
Death place
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Dick Hughes (musician), revision 1358565130 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
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References
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reference work
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Studied at
1- University of MelbourneOrganisation
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
Died at
1- VauclusePlace
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 05 October 2026.
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