More Questions Than Answers · Episode 4 · 6 September 2026

Marcia Hines on Loyalty, Reinvention, and 50 Years of Never Slowing Down

Episode notes

A special episode of More Questions Than Answers, in conversation with Marcia Hines.

Marcia Hines is an Australian music icon and a bona fide national treasure. She moved from Boston to Sydney in 1970 at just sixteen years old to star in the Australian production of Hair, then became the first Black actress in the world to play Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar. She was crowned Queen of Pop three years running by TV Week readers in the 1970s, and became the first Australian female artist to score a platinum album. Over a career spanning more than five decades, she has released 22 albums and sold 2.8 million copies. She was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2007 and appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2009. Beyond music, her theatre credits include Shrek, Saturday Night Fever, Grease the Musical, Jerry's Girls, and Big River. She has judged Australian Idol on and off since 2003, including the 2024 reboot alongside Kyle Sandilands and Amy Shark. In 2026, she opens Velvet Inferno at the Sydney Opera House, on her actual birthday.

Ron Haryanto has been touring and performing alongside Marcia for more than a decade, sharing the stage with her across more than one hundred shows as her tour manager and backing vocalist. Ron also co-wrote Marcia's 2014 comeback album Amazing alongside producer Tom Diesel, an album Marcia herself calls one of the best she's ever recorded. This is the conversation only that access gets you: the real version, not the TV version.

Inside the episode

• Why fifty-plus years in, there's still no plan to retire, and no reason to
• The relationship with manager Peter Rix, and what real loyalty actually looks like after decades in each other's corner
• Why nobody stays number one forever, and how reinvention has kept her relevant across five different eras of Australian music
• What touring life actually looks like behind the TV version, from 44 shows in four months to two hour meet and greets done for free, every single time
• The work ethic she learned from her Jamaican parents, and why she still calls performing a blessing, not a job
• Writing the album Amazing together, and what it taught both of them about trust and creative process
• The bucket list collaborations she still wants, from George Michael to Nile Rodgers to Pharrell
• Her advice to a sixteen year old just starting out, and why she's never been scared of anything on stage

Frequently asked

How long has Marcia Hines been in the music industry?

Over five decades, since her debut in the Australian production of Hair in 1970.

Is Marcia Hines still performing?

Yes. She continues to tour nationally and is starring in Velvet Inferno at the Sydney Opera House.

Who manages Marcia Hines?

Peter Rix has managed Marcia Hines for her entire career, a relationship of over fifty years.

What awards has Marcia Hines won?

She was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2007 and appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2009.

More Questions Than Answers is a monthly podcast where Ron Haryanto sits down with Australian artists, songwriters, producers and industry leaders to talk honestly about creative careers. Powered by The Mentor Academy.

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