Billy Field, born William Bruce Field, is an Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
He was born on January 20, 1953, in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. His 1981 single Bad Habits reached number one on the Australian charts.
Who is Billy Field?
Billy Field built his career as a singer, songwriter, and record producer in Sydney. He is best known for his breezy jazz-pop sound and husky vocal style. His debut album Bad Habits topped the Kent Music Report in June 1981.
He also owned and ran Paradise Studios, a recording facility in Woolloomooloo and later Gosford. Major Australian acts including Cold Chisel, INXS, and Air Supply recorded there. The studio helped shape decades of Australian rock and pop music.
Field still performs live today with his band across New South Wales. He mixes jazz, blues, and rock and roll standards with his own classic hits. More about his career appears on his official website.
Early Life of Billy Field
Billy Field grew up on Widgiewa Station, a sheep and cattle property near Urana in the Riverina. His father managed the family’s group of pastoral stations. The family later moved to Sydney when Field was a boy.
At age eight, he was enrolled in a Sydney boarding school. During school holidays, he worked on the station doing mustering, shearing, and cattle work. At fourteen, an older schoolmate taught him to play bass guitar.
Soon after, he joined a group of schoolboys who formed the band King Fox in 1967. The band won a competition and scored an early hit with Unforgotten Dreams.
Billy Field Age
Billy Field is 73 years old as of 2026, born on January 20, 1953. His zodiac sign is Capricorn. He launched his solo recording career in his late twenties, right before Bad Habits made him a national name in 1981.
Billy Field Ethnicity and Nationality
Billy Field is Australian by nationality. His specific ethnic background has not been publicly detailed. He was raised in a Riverina pastoral family whose station work shaped much of his early life.
Billy Field Musical Style and Influences
Field’s sound blends jazz, rock, and rhythm and blues. His songwriting favors swing arrangements layered with horn sections and piano. Musicologist Ian McFarlane once called him a husky voiced singer and piano player.
Reviewers in the 1980s often noted his jazz and big band leanings. The Canberra Times described his gravel edged voice as ideally suited to jazz. That jazz foundation still shapes his live shows today.
Billy Field Education
Field attended Cranbrook School in Sydney for his secondary education. He later studied Business Administration and Commerce at Mitchell College of Advanced Education, now Charles Sturt University. He left his studies after his father died.
Following that loss, he returned to full time work on Widgiewa Station. Much of his early songwriting came from evenings spent there.
Billy Field Career
Early Career
Field replaced Chris Pokorny on bass in the Sydney band King Fox in 1967. The group also featured Dave King, Paul Radcliffe, and Andy Evans, later joined by Peter Muller.
King Fox released the EP Unforgotten Dreams on the Du Monde label in 1969. The band also issued a single, I Think You’re Fine, on Festival Records in 1972. After King Fox split, Field played in various pub bands around Sydney.
In 1979, he opened his own recording studio in Woolloomooloo. He first called it Canteen Studios before renaming it Paradise Studios. The studio later moved to Gosford by 2003.
Breakthrough Album and Hit Song
Field released his debut solo album Bad Habits in June 1981. WEA issued it in Australia and Europe, while CBS released it in the United States. The album reached number one on the Kent Music Report.
It also peaked at number four on the Official New Zealand Music Chart. Tom Price arranged the record and co-produced it with Field. The title track hit number four in Australia and number one in New Zealand.
His follow up single, You Weren’t in Love with Me, reached number one in Australia in July 1981. It also charted at number 67 on the UK Singles Chart in June 1982. Field won the APRA Award for Most Performed Australasian Popular Work in 1982.
Both singles earned gold discs in Australia for selling over 50,000 copies. Artists including David Lee Roth and John Farnham later covered his songs.
Recent Work
Field’s second album, Try Biology, arrived in 1982 and produced the hit True Love. He released a third album, Say Yes, on the Agape label in 1989. His fourth album, Western Light, followed in 1992 on Jade Records.
Interest in his catalogue grew again in 2004 after Australian Idol contestant Courtney Murphy performed You Weren’t in Love with Me. Judge Ian Dickson praised the song on air.
That moment led to a 2005 compilation, The Best of Billy Field. Field continues to perform with his band across New South Wales today. He has also been developing a project called Artists With Empathy.
Billy Field Discography
Field released four studio albums between 1981 and 1992. His catalogue also includes a career spanning compilation released in 2005.
Studio albums:
- Bad Habits (1981)
- Try Biology (1982)
- Say Yes (1989)
- Western Light (1992)
Bad Habits remains his best selling record.
Compilations:
- The Best of Billy Field: You Weren’t in Love with Me (2005)
Billy Field Awards and Recognition
Field won the APRA Award for Most Performed Australasian Popular Work in 1982. Bad Habits also earned him a Gold single and a Triple Platinum album award from ARIA. You Weren’t in Love with Me earned him a Gold single as well.
He also won a Gold Prize for Live Performance at the Tokyo Music Festival. Paradise Studios received numerous Ampex Golden Reel Awards during the 1980s under his ownership.
Bad Habits was also nominated for Best Debut Album at the 1981 TV Week Countdown Awards.
Billy Field Tours and Concerts
Field has performed across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Europe. He has also toured the United States, New Caledonia, and Japan over his career.
He appeared on Australian TV shows including Countdown and Hey Hey It’s Saturday.
Today, he still tours with a band ranging from trio to eight piece lineups. His shows mix original hits with jazz, blues, and rock and roll standards.
Billy Field Wife
Field married Prue Bell in 1983. The couple later divorced, reportedly around the time he moved Paradise Studios to Gosford in 2001. His current relationship status has not been publicly confirmed.
Field has largely kept his personal life away from the media. Public details about his family life beyond his marriage to Bell remain limited.
Billy Field Net Worth
Billy Field’s estimated net worth is $3.2 million as of 2026. His income comes mainly from music royalties, live performances, and his work as a recording studio owner.
Decades of songwriting royalties from covers by other artists have also added to his earnings.
Billy Field Social Media
Field maintains an official Facebook page under Billy Field, where he posts updates about live shows. He also shares his music through his page on Bandcamp. Fans can follow both platforms for updates on his current performances.
The Bottom Line
Billy Field’s 1981 album Bad Habits reached number one on the Kent Music Report. The record made him one of Australia’s most recognized pop voices that year.
Field grew up mustering sheep on a Riverina station before turning fully to music. That rural background shaped the plainspoken warmth in his songwriting.
He still performs live across New South Wales and continues developing his Artists With Empathy project. Field also keeps his catalogue alive through Paradise Studios’ recording legacy.
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