Aussie music icon reveals why he suddenly quit music and worked for the local council after his popular 70s band broke up

Australian music icon Daryl Braithwaite soared to huge fame and scored countless hits with his iconic band Sherbet.

But after the popular 70s band split in 1984, Daryl, 75, decided to turn his back on music and has now revealed why he briefly decided to shun the limelight.

After first attempting to go solo in his music career, the singer went on the dole and found an everyday gig as a council road worker.

He revealed he found it disheartening trying to secure gigs in clubs without his former bandmates Tony Mitchell, Garth Porter, Alan Sandow and Clive Shakespeare.

‘When the break came, it was more or less just like, I didn’t want to prostitute myself doing clubs and that with a fellow musicians, so I pulled back,’ Daryl told the Courier Mail.

He said he only rediscovered his motivation for music after stepping back from fame and working in his council job, which prompted him to pick up the mic again. 

‘And I guess the motivation [to play music again] then came by not singing and being on the dole, and working manual work,’ he explained.

‘And then, finally, I started probably thinking to myself, ”this is really buggered”.’

Australian music icon Daryl Braithwaite soared to huge fame and scored countless hits with his iconic band Sherbet, but he has revealed why he briefly decided to turn his back on fame  

Daryl eventually made his big music comeback in 1988 with his number one album Edge. 

In 1991, he had another hit with the single The Horses, a cover version of the Rickie-Lee Jones tune which was first recorded in 1989.

Now, the veteran performer has no plans on retiring any time soon and still loves to belt out a tune.

‘It’s the same thing as when I started out. You hear something that moves you, and it draws you in. I remember that explicitly from being 10, 12, 15 years old,’ he recently told Daily Mail Australia.

‘The same applies now. If you’re not passionate about it, you wouldn’t do it.’

After his popular band broke up in 1984, the singer went on the dole and found an everyday gig as a council road worker, saying he found trying to secure club gigs disheartening  

While recording has never been his favourite part of the process, live performances still give Daryl a thrill.

‘I love the live aspect. You relate to people instantaneously. It’s either going to work or it won’t, and that excitement never gets old,’ he gushed.

As for his iconic hit The Horses, Daryl said he still likes to perform it now, even after more than thirty years. 

‘No, I don’t get tired of singing it. It’s been very popular over the years, and it still connects with people in a way that amazes me,’ he said.

‘We played it last weekend up in Parkes to about 7,000 people, and they sang it like there was no tomorrow. It’s not over yet, that’s for sure.’

Daryl added that performing the hit with global pop superstar Harry Styles during his Australian tour in 2023 was a career high.

‘It was unbelievable. I couldn’t believe it when I got the call,’ he recalled.

‘Harry’s such a massive star and to be invited to sing with him was just surreal. Leading up to it, I kept thinking “Is this really going to happen?” And then we got out there and it was magnificent,’ he gushed.

He said he only rediscovered his motivation for music after stepping back from fame and working in his council job, which prompted him to pick up the mic again and he went on to have huge success with his cover of The Horses 

Daryl first rose to fame in the 1970s as the frontman for popular Aussie pop group Sherbet. 

Formed in 1969, the band went on to turn out number one Australian hits Summer Love (1975) and Howzat (1976).

By the 80s, the band had morphed into the Sherbs following a series of line-up changes and scored another hit I Have the Skill in 1981.

Daryl also launched a solo career during his time with Sherbet and had several number one hits including You’re My World (1973) and Calvary (1975), Old Sid (1976).

In 2017, Daryl was honoured by the music business when he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

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