NEWS Of The Area is excited to announce the arrival of former national Thomas Reuters editor Paul Fogarty to the reporting team.

A Queensland born journalist and singer-songwriter, Fogarty has been carving up the acoustic music circuit across Europe since 2008.

Advertise with News of The Area today.
It’s worth it for your business.
Message us.
Phone us – (02) 4981 8882.
Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au

In that time he played 800 solo shows to packed houses in Berlin, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Zurich, Brussels, Frankfurt and Innsbruck.

He played to crowds of 10,000 opening for Status Quo in the Black Forest, warmed up festival audiences for Joss Stone and David Gray in Switzerland and toured with two-time Grammy winners Arrested Development.

Fogarty also established himself in the film and TV industries in Europe placing 40 of his original songs in hit dramas, mini-series and movies.

Nowadays he is courted by major labels in the US and Japan and is currently working on a handful of songs for Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle.

A natural-born songwriter Fogarty wrote his first songs growing up on a farm on the Darling Downs.

“There was nothing ever going on on our farm,” Fogarty said.

“It was like living in a painting.

“Then suddenly during puberty all these songs just started coming into my head day and night,” Fogarty says. “I assumed that’s what everyone did when they turned 15.”

While studying journalism at the University of Southern Queensland Fogarty entered a campus talent show and won first prize.

Emboldened by the unexpected success he began playing gigs three nights a week at a nearby Mexican restaurant in Toowoomba.

“I wrote songs during the day and played them for people the same night. It was an awesome training ground,” Fogarty says.

For the next decade Fogarty juggled his twin careers in journalism and music – finding success in both fields in Brisbane, Sydney and finally the Sunshine Coast.

After working as senior journalist for Business Sydney newspaper Fogarty worked an 18 month stint as national editor for Thomson Reuters in Manly.

“Straight after the 8pm deadlines I would race across the arcade, grab my guitar and PA out of my car, and decompress at my Rimini’s Cafe gig a couple blocks away.”

In 2001 Fogarty released his debut album ‘Breathe’ to rave reviews and airplay on ABC Radio National.

He scored a publishing deal and a large enough advance to record his second album ‘Stagefright’ which opened doors for him across Europe.

In 2008 after his third album ‘Born Naked’ was released Fogarty sold his house at Cooroibah near Noosa and moved lock, stock and barrel to Germany.

After steadily building his career and notoriety in Europe for a dozen years Covid brought it all to a halt in March of 2020.

Fogarty’s touring schedule was decimated.

“I played seven shows in 2020,” he said.

“That was down about 90 percent from the previous couple of years.”

Fogarty then concentrated on composing and recording songs in his home studio for several television series with Constantin Film and Edition Meister productions in Berlin.

“Pretty soon even that work started to shrivel up,” Fogarty said.

“The uncertainty was the real killer.”

By St Patricks Day 2021 the writing was on the wall.

“I decided the only way to ensure the survival of my family was to get out of Europe and somehow get back home to Australia,” Fogarty said.

“I figured at least in Australia I could play outdoor gigs, beer gardens, festivals, fetes, farmers markets – whereas in Germany beginning in November it’s five months of sub zero and Covid was likely to stop all indoor gigs for the second winter in a row.”

Recently settled at Emerald Beach, Fogarty is building his career up from scratch again.

“I’m always focused on the basics,” he said.

“I work on the songs, make them bulletproof, I work on my stage show, my live performance, my guitar and piano playing, my studio performance.

“If you do your best work every single time people start to take notice.”

With fans on staff at Universal Music in New York, at Elektra Records in the USA, at Constantin Film in Germany, Pipeline Entertainment Group in Nashville and Sony Music in Tokyo whenever Paul Fogarty writes a new song people in the business take notice.

Based out of his new home studio Fogarty offers one-on-one guitar tuition, song doctoring, recording and engineering services, music mentoring and advice.

More info at www.paulfogarty.one or by phone: 0493208654.