Previously Unreleased Renée Geyer Song Landing This Week

Renée Geyer was one of Australia’s most distinctive, beloved and celebrated soul singers. She collaborated with generations of artists, and Cruel Or Kind, coming out of the vault, is one of those surprise songs.

Tomorrow, the single – in which Geyer collaborated with Filthy Lucre – will be released via Valiant Records. And, it’s been endorsed by the singer’s estate.

Cruel Or Kind was originally demoed in 1997. The result of writing sessions between Geyer and her longtime collaborator, John Clifforth, the pair workshopped numerous songs at the time, with the initial version of the single intended for an S&M-themed film project.

The song never heard the light of day, and in 2023, Geyer sadly passed away. However, before her passing in 2023, Geyer had listened to an early rendition of the song and gave it her full blessing.

In recent years, Melbourne outfit Filthy Lucre – comprising Robert Goodge and Gavin Campbell – visited Clifforth’s studio and dug through his archive from 1997, in the hopes of discovering unheard Geyer tracks.

No stranger to Renée Geyer, Filthy Lucre’s Paul Main collaborated with the singer and Clifforth on the house track, I Need Love, in the 90s.

After hearing the powerful vocals from Geyer on Cruel Or Kind, Filthy Lucre took the track to Goodge’s studio and put their own spin on it. Filthy Lucre then teamed up with The Journey – Tom Evans and Jacob Malmo – for a remix.

Both Renée Geyer with Filthy Lucre and The Journey’s versions of the song will be released tomorrow.

“Renée had this timeless vocal power. It’s always been in the back of my mind to finish something from those early sessions,” Gavin Campbell said. “When we found Cruel Or Kind, it just clicked - and she loved the idea of it living in a dancefloor space.”

Discussing the remix, Campbell added, “We wanted something deep and sleazy to suit Renée’s vocal, yet with enough power and energy to mingle with current club sounds, and The Journey remix really hits the mark.”

Renée Geyer passed away in January 2023, aged 69. The trailblazing singer died peacefully, surrounded by family and friends, from complications following hip surgery. While in the hospital, it was discovered that she also had inoperable lung cancer.

Her influence on Australian music was incomparable. When Mushroom Group founder Michael Gudinski inducted Geyer into the ARIA Hall Of Fame in 2005, he called her “the greatest female singer of my lifetime in Australia... yes, you’re a difficult woman, but you’re bloody fantastic”.

You can read The Music’s obituary to Renée Geyer here.