Maxine (Sharon O'Neill song)

"Maxine" is a song by New Zealand singer and songwriter Sharon O'Neill. The song was released in May 1983 as the second single from her fourth studio album, Foreign Affairs (1983). The song peaked at number 16 in Australia and New Zealand. It remain's O'Neill's highest charting single in Australia.

"Maxine"
Single by Sharon O'Neill
from the album Foreign Affairs
ReleasedMay 1983
RecordedSydney, New South Wales
GenrePop
Length4:35
LabelCBS Records
Songwriter(s)Sharon O'Neill
Producer(s)John Boylan
Sharon O'Neill singles chronology
"Losing You"
(1983)		 "Maxine"
(1983)		 "Danger"
(1983)

Background and release

Late in 1981, O'Neill moved from New Zealand to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia to pursue her music career.[1] It was here that she wrote "Maxine", a song that chronicled the life of a Kings Cross prostitute.[2] In a 2016 interview, O'Neill said; "I was living in a hotel in Kings Cross when I got the inspiration to write "Maxine". She was always out there working at 3am when we'd get home bleary-eyed from a gig"[1]

Two music videos were filmed: one in New Zealand[3] for general audiences,[4] and the other in Sydney with far more explicit themes.[4]

Track listing

7" (BA 223082)

  • Side A "Maxine" – 4:35
  • Side B "All The Way Down" – 2:02

Charts
Chart (1983) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report[5] 16
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[6] 16

Cover versions
  • In 1996, Lizzie Brennan recorded a version on her album, Statues in the Park.[7]
  • In 2006, Rietta recorded a version on her album, Cut Me Loose.[8]
  • In 2016, Handsome Young Strangers recorded a version on their EP Battle of Broken Hill.[9]

References
  1. "Twelve Questions with Sharon O'Neill". NZ Herald. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  2. "SHARON O'NEILL. MAXINE". Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  3. Sharon O'Neill. "Maxine". NZ On Screen.
  4. Lizzie Marvelly (4 May 2016). "NZ Music Month: An ode to Maxine". Villainesse.
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
  6. "Sharon O'Neill – Maxine". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  7. "Statues in the Park". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  8. "Cut me Loose". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  9. "Battle of Broken Hill (EP)". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 10 March 2017.


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