Mark Holden

Mark Ronald Holden (born 27 April 1954) is an Australian singer, actor, TV personality, record producer, songwriter, and barrister. He was a pop star in the 1970s and had four top 20 hit singles, "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" (May 1976), "I Wanna Make You My Lady" (September), "Last Romance" (November) and "Reach Out for the One Who Loves You" (October 1977). Holden regularly appeared on national pop music show, Countdown. Holden is remembered for his clean-cut image, his white dinner suit and his penchant for handing out carnations to girls on the set of the popular television show Countdown – he was nicknamed "The Carnation Kid". In the 1980s he worked as a songwriter in Los Angeles providing material recorded by Meat Loaf, Joe Cocker, Gladys Knight, Bob Welch and Steve Jones. He was one of three original judges on the TV series Australian Idol (2003–07) and the first season (2005) of The X Factor.\n', ' Mark Ronald Holden was born on 27 April 1954 to Helen (née King) and Ron Holden at Calvary Hospital, North Adelaide. His father\'s family were involved with the Holden and Sloggetts Travelling Circus; although Ron became an architect and Helen was a teacher.\n', ' In the mid-1960s, Holden became involved in music after inheriting a guitar from his older brother Craig. Holden attended Westminster School in Adelaide and formed a school band. Holden began writing songs and took classical vocal lessons with Lewis Dawe. In a 2010 interview with the ABC, Holden said the band was encouraged; "I remember we were given a room under a stairwell to rehearse our band." In 1972, Holden enrolled at the University of Adelaide where he studied law for three years.\n', '