Penny Flanagan facts for kids

Penny Flanagan is an Australian singer, songwriter, and author. She is known for her folk-pop music and for writing books for both children and adults. Penny has been making music and writing since the late 1980s.

About Penny Flanagan

Her Music Journey

Penny Flanagan started her music career in 1989. She was part of a folk-pop duo called Club Hoy. They released an album named Thursday's Fortune in 1991. After that, Penny began her solo career.

Her first solo album was called Bravado. The first song from this album, "Lap It Up," was very popular. It even made it to No. 52 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1994 list. A famous drummer, Paul Hester from the band Crowded House, played drums on this album.

Penny also gained attention for her cover song "When You Were Mine". This song was originally by Prince. She released it on her own music label, Penny Dreadful Records.

In 1997, Penny recorded a unique version of Kylie Minogue's song "Better the Devil You Know". This song was featured in an Australian movie called Dust Off The Wings. A music video for her version was also shown on MTV and Rage.

Her album Light Sleeper was released later. Rolling Stone Australia magazine praised it as a very good album. This album included a duet with Steve Kilbey from the Church on a song called "Into the Sun". After Light Sleeper, Penny took a break from performing. She wanted to focus on raising her three children.

Her Books

Besides music, Penny Flanagan is also an author. In 1994, she published a children's book titled Changing The Sky.

She has also written novels for adults. These include Sing to Me, which came out in 1998, and Surviving Hal, published in 2018.

Family Life

Penny Flanagan comes from a talented family. Her father is John Flanagan, a well-known Australian author. He is famous for writing the Ranger's Apprentice book series.

Penny's sister is Kitty Flanagan, who is a popular actress and comedian. Since 2010, Penny has toured with Kitty. She writes original music and performs songs as part of Kitty's stand-up comedy shows. Penny also has a brother who is a chef. He runs a coffee shop in the snowy mountains of Japan.

Penny's Music Releases

Penny Flanagan has released several albums and extended plays (EPs) during her career.

• Bravado (1994)
• Seven Flights Up (EP, 1996)
• Light Sleeper (1999)

Some of her popular singles include "Lap it Up" (1994) and "The Sky" (1995).