Killing Heidi

History

Killing Heidi began in Violet Town in 1996 as an acoustic folk duo comprising siblings Ella Hooper (lead vocals) and Jesse Hooper (lead guitar). Their parents were music, English and drama teachers in the small Victorian country town, which had a population of 1084 in 2011. In 1996, when Ella was 13 and Jesse 15, they performed at the Violet Town Arts Festival, supported by future C.A.S Hawker Scholarship recipient Stephen Michelson. Ella described the group at that time as an 'acoustic, folky duo with an edge.'

The name Killing Heidi was devised from two lists—one of soft words (Heidi) and one of harsh words (Killing)—before their first gig, chosen partly to fill in an Unearthed entry form. Jamie Durrant of Bent Records offered them studio time after seeing the festival performance. With schoolmates Aaron Hart on drums and Rowen Murphy on bass guitar, they recorded 'Morning' and 'Kettle'. The latter won the Goulburn Valley region of Triple J's Unearthed competition in 1996, was re-recorded at ABC's Southbank studios, and placed on high rotation by Triple J. Paul Kosky, an engineer-producer who had worked with Crowded House and Rage Against the Machine, heard 'Kettle' on the radio and checked them out at the Melbourne Push Over concert in 1996.

He signed them to his management company in 1997 and his label Wah Wah Music in 1998. By the end of 1997, the rhythm section had been replaced by Warren Jenkin on bass and Adam Pedretti on drums. Reflector was recorded throughout 1998 and 1999, with Kosky meticulously shaping the debut. The first single 'Weir' reached No. 6 on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified platinum.

'Mascara' hit No. 1 on 30 January 2000—Ella's 17th birthday—and stayed there for three weeks, also going platinum. Reflector debuted at No. 1 in March 2000, spent seven weeks at the top, and was certified 4× platinum by the end of 2001. From mid-2001, momentum slowed when a cyst was found on Ella's vocal cords; she underwent throat surgery late that year, and her voice was slow to recover. The second album Present peaked at No. 12 in October 2002.

The band disbanded in 2006, with Ella and Jesse forming the acoustic folk duo The Verses. In 2016, the band announced a reformation to celebrate its 20th anniversary and have continued to tour since.

Awards and nominations

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2000, Killing Heidi received seven nominations and won four: Album of the Year, Best Group, Breakthrough Artist – Album, and Best Rock Album for Reflector. The other three nominations were Single of the Year for 'Mascara', Best Cover Art for Paul Kosky's work on Reflector, and Highest Selling Album for Reflector. At the APRA Music Awards of 2001, Ella and Jesse Hooper won Songwriter of the Year.