Joe Matera is an Italian-Australian singer/songwriter, guitarist, recording artist, music journalist and author. Over the course of his illustrious performing career, he has played guitar for famed British music legend Steve Harley (Cockney Rebel fame), performed on the festival stages in Europe and earned a Top 20 hit on Radio Berlin in Germany.
He has also been the support act for the likes of Mental As Anything, Brian Cadd, Russell Morris, Renée Geyer, Karise Eden (The Voice), Peter Criss (KISS), Bay City Rollers, Canned Heat, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, The Animals and many others in concert as well as, recorded several solo albums which have received release, via European record labels.
As a music journalist, his writings and interviews appear in music magazines across the globe, from Guitar World, Guitar Player and Goldmine in the USA to Record Collector and Sound On Sound in the UK. He is also music columnist for regional newspaper, Shepparton News.
In late 2022, he signed to Australian record label Possum Records who released his all instrumental ambient album, ‘The Lone Runner’ in March, 2023. The album debuted on the Australian ARIA Jazz and Blues Chart at #4 and spent three weeks in the Top 10. The album was given a digital reissue via Mercury Fire Music in April, 2025.
In May, 2023 his first two instrumental rock albums, ‘Slave To The Fingers’ (2011) and ‘Creature Of Habit’ (2012) were reissued by US record label Renaissance Records as a 2-on-1 CD album with new liner notes, revised artwork and new bonus material.
He also collaborates with legendary English pop-rock group The Korgis, (of "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime" fame) co-writing and recording material together, with three singles released thus far: "Always A Sunny Day" (2022), "Letter To Geelong" (2024) and "Red Flag Day" (2024). In November, 2024, he toured the UK with the group. Here's a live video of The Korgis + Joe Matera performing their song, "Red Flag Day" at Arts For Hungerford in Hungerford, England on November 9, 2024.
As an author, he has written two semi-memoir books, 'Backstage Pass: The Grit and The Glamour' (2021) and ‘Louder Than Words: Beyond The Backstage Pass’. His third book, ‘The Making of ABBA: The Story Behind The Band’s 1975 Breakthrough Album' was published worldwide by UK publishing house Sonicbond Publishing in January, 2026.
Swedish quartet ABBA released their third, self-titled album in 1975. It was a record that led the group to their international breakthrough and eventual domination of the 1970s pop music world. ABBA also provided a blueprint for everything that defined the group, cementing once and for all the band's musicality and approach. It presents a unique and timeless sound that still resonates fifty years on, remaining as fresh as the day this remarkable recording was released. This is the story of the album, from its inception to its triumphant commercial breakthrough and all in between, including ABBA's first live tour outside of their native Sweden. It is written from a perspective of not only a fan, but from that of a musician who has recorded with some of ABBA's inner circle, as well as spending time in Stockholm. Along with in-depth analysis of the music, it also includes new and exclusive interviews with many of the original musicians who were there in the studio, recording the album's now classic tracks. These include bassist Mike Watson, plus guitarists Janne Schaffer and Finn Sjöberg, and the book features a foreword by author Carl Magnus Palm. It's a story retold like never before.
