John Paul Young at the 2014 ARIA Music Awards, Sydney. Photo: Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Every wedding DJ in the country owes John Paul Young a beer. Put on ‘Love is in the air’ after the speeches and the floor fills with aunties, uncles and the groom’s mates who swore they don’t dance.
Before that song, JPY had already sung in a rock opera, fronted a Sydney band and worn a sailor suit on national television. To Molly Meldrum he was just “Squeak”.
Quick facts
- Born John Inglis Young in Glasgow on 21 June 1950. He’s 76 in 2026.
- Nicknames: JPY and Squeak
- Producers: Harry Vanda and George Young at Albert Productions
- Biggest hit: ‘Love is in the air’ (1978)
- Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame: 27 August 2009
- Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM): 2012, for service to the performing arts
Annas, Elm Tree and the long way round
Young started out with a band called Elm Tree, formed with schoolmates in late 1967. They managed one single, a cover of Marmalade’s ‘Rainbow’, in November 1970, and got as far as the Sydney finals of Hoadley’s Battle of the Sounds in 1971.
Theatre gave him his real start. He won the part of the high priest Annas in Harry M. Miller’s Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which opened in Sydney on 4 May 1972. He stayed until it closed in February 1974, according to his biography. So a fair few Sydneysiders heard that voice from a theatre seat long before it was on every radio.
Squeak, the sailor suit and Countdown
He’d signed with Albert Productions back in 1971, and ex-Easybeats Harry Vanda and George Young wrote and produced most of his records until 1980. No relation to George, by the way. Same surname, same home town, pure coincidence.
Being on Albert meant recording at Albert Studios in Sydney with the same crew who’d later make AC/DC records. Vanda and Young knew exactly what they wanted from a singer, and JPY had the range and the good humour to give it to them.
‘Pasadena’ reached number 16 in 1972. Then ‘Yesterday’s hero’ came out in February 1975 and made number eight, and ‘I hate the music’ got to number two in April 1976. Both went to number one in South Africa.
From 1975 to 1987 he was a regular performer and guest host on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) Countdown. Molly would introduce him as “Squeak” or “JPY”. And then there was the blue and white sailor suit, which Nostalgia Central rightly calls one of the great fashion statements of the seventies. In October 1978 TV Week readers voted him King of Pop.
For live work he put together a backing band, the Allstars, in 1975. Over the years it included some very handy session players, guitarist Kevin Borich among them. His friendship with Molly was a big part of the fun whenever he turned up on Countdown.
The song that won’t go away
Young later said ‘Love is in the air’ was aimed at the German market, where dance music was booming. Vanda and Young gave it the full disco treatment, and in 1978 ‘Love is in the air’ reached number three in Australia, number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number five in the UK.
It should have faded into the bargain bin with a thousand other disco records. Instead Baz Luhrmann put it in Strictly ballroom in 1992, and the new ballroom mix went straight back to number three at home and number two in New Zealand. The film also used a new version of his earlier song ‘Standing in the rain’, which had been a top ten hit in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany in 1977.
He sang it at the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the biggest crowd of his life. In 2017 the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) added the original to its Sounds of Australia registry. And Scottish football club Dundee United adopted it as an unofficial anthem, which must please a Glasgow boy.
Still at it
In 2019 he told his own story in the autobiography JPY. In 2022 he released ‘Felt like love’, his first new song in 15 years, and announced a 50th anniversary tour.
The honours had arrived well before that. He’d become an Australian citizen on 4 November 1994, went into the ARIA Hall of Fame on 27 August 2009 and received the OAM in 2012. For a kid from Glasgow who started out in a school band called Elm Tree, that’s a decent haul.
If seventies Aussie rock is your thing, have a read about Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs or the life of Jon English, another singer who came through Jesus Christ Superstar. Or request a song and we’ll see about getting Squeak on the show.
Frequently asked questions
Is John Paul Young still alive?
Yes. There are no credible reports of John Paul Young’s death as of September 2026. He was born in Glasgow on 21 June 1950, which makes him 76. In 2022 he released ‘Felt like love’, his first new song in 15 years.
Why did Molly Meldrum call John Paul Young Squeak?
On Countdown, Ian “Molly” Meldrum usually introduced him as “Squeak” or “JPY”, and fans picked up both names. We haven’t found a reliable source that explains where Squeak came from, so if you know the story, tell us in the comments.
Who wrote ‘Love is in the air’?
Harry Vanda and George Young, the former Easybeats team at Albert Productions in Sydney. They wrote and produced it, along with most of John Paul Young’s records up to 1980.
How high did ‘Love is in the air’ chart?
In 1978 it reached number three in Australia, number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number five in the UK. The 1992 ballroom mix from Strictly ballroom went back to number three in Australia and number two in New Zealand.
Is John Paul Young related to Angus and Malcolm Young?
No. They share a surname and a Glasgow birthplace, but there’s no family link. The connection is professional: George Young, older brother of the AC/DC pair, co-wrote and produced JPY’s biggest hits.
What role did John Paul Young play in Jesus Christ Superstar?
He played the high priest Annas in Harry M. Miller’s Australian production, which opened in Sydney on 4 May 1972. He stayed with the show until it closed in February 1974, just before his solo career took off.
What was John Paul Young’s first hit?
‘Pasadena’, a Vanda and Young song, was his first charting single. It reached number 16 in Australia in 1972. His run of big hits started in February 1975 with ‘Yesterday’s hero’, which made number eight.
Did John Paul Young sing at the Sydney Olympics?
Yes. He was a featured performer at the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, singing ‘Love is in the air’. It was the biggest audience he ever played to.
Where were you the first time you heard ‘Love is in the air’? Wedding, school disco, Countdown? Tell us in the comments.
Discover more about John Paul Young and your other favourite artists on Jukebox Saturday Night.
Disclaimer: The information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, music history is often based on available documentation and interpretation.
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