Super musician Alan Mansfield passes away

Renowned musician Alan Mansfield passed away peacefully, aged 72 in Sydney on October 16th, 2024, with his partner of 40 years, Sharon O’Neill, and family by his side.

He had bravely battled cancer and initially won the fight, but succumbed to complications following his treatment.

Mansfield was a prolific musician and producer with an impressive career spanning decades. He spent twenty years as a member of the iconic Australian/New Zealand rock band Dragon and simultaneously twenty-seven years in the Robert Palmer Band. Together with Sharon O’Neill, he co-wrote songs for both Dragon and Robert Palmer, as well as for Sharon O’Neill’s albums ‘Danced into the Fire’ & ‘Edge of Winter’

His studio work was equally impressive. He played guitar on the “Johnny and Mary” single from Palmer’s album “Clues” and worked with Bette Midler, first coming to Australia in 1979 with Bette Midler’s band. Alan loved Australia and decided to make it his home. By 1982, Alan Mansfield was living in Sydney, producing Doug Parkinson’s ‘Heartbeat to Heartbeat’ album and then producing tracks for Marc Hunter’s solo album. Hunter convinced Mansfield to also produce Dragon’s single “Rain.”

Alan Mansfield produced ‘Rain’ which became a smash hit and went on to join Dragon, meeting his partner Sharon O’Neill, who was opening on the highly successful Dragon ‘Body and the Beat Tour’ in 1984.

A multi-instrumentalist with a deep musical foundation, Mansfield was a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music in the United States.

One of his career highlights was performing in Robert Palmer’s band with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Others included touring and recording with the love of his life, Sharon O’Neill.

His time with Dragon was particularly memorable, including their ‘Body and the Beat’ Australian Tour and ‘Dreams of Ordinary Men’ tour of Europe opening for Tina Turner in 1986.

Alan was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame as a member of Dragon in 2008 and received a Legacy award with Dragon at the NZ Music Hall of Fame in 2011.

Alan Mansfield’s contributions to the Australian music industry were significant. He was greatly respected as a top Australian musician and will be sorely missed by those who knew him.