Biography
Deni received her education in the entertainment industry sitting to the side of the stage watching her legendary mother, Marcia Hines, belt out a string of Top 10 singles in the heady days of the 1970’s music scene. Growing up, she began her own career singing back up vocals for acts like Wa Wa Nee, Peter Blakely and Kylie Minogue. She first gained mainstream public attention while fronting the Sydney based act The Rockmelons.
The group, with Deni as the front-woman, notched up several Australian hits in 1990, including “Aint no Sunshine”, “That Word (L.O.V.E.)” and “It’s Not Over”. Not long after this, Deni spent time performing on-stage with a production of Jesus Christ Superstar prior to pursuing a solo career. Her initial single, “It’s Alright” became a Top 10 smash in Australia in 1996, as well as charting in Japan and France.Her full-length debut “Imagination” soon made her an international star. On the back of this success, she moved to the U.K. in order to properly promote the album “Pay Attention”. There she toured with Lighthouse Family and Earth, Wind and Fire – performing at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall.
A highlight of her stays in the U.K. was performing to members of The Royal Family in a private performance for Prince Andrew. Since returning to Australia, Deni has continued working at a cracking pace on projects including performing with jazz guru James Morrison on the album “The Other Woman” and being the first Australian artist to write a song for Beyonce Knowles with “Bienvenue” with French Hip Hop act IAM.
She has performed in “Dusty the Musical” across Australia in hundreds of locations and for thousands of people, earning herself a Helpmann nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Deni then released her independent album “Water for Chocolate”. Deni has enjoyed appearing in film and television, landing roles in “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” and in Bruce Beresford’s film, “Mao’s Last Dancer”. She has dedicated much of her time to charitable work with performances for the Oasis Africa Australia, Lifeline, Sydney Street Choir among others.
2016 saw the release of Deni’s latest studio album, “The Soul Sessions”, which included the singles “What About Love”, “I Got Your Back” & her sublime cover of Anita Baker’s “Been So Long”. The album was hugely successful in Japan and received rave reviews in the international soul/funk press & communities.
Deni’s connection with her audiences has seen her sustain almost 30 years in the entertainment industry. Deni is currently working on a new album.