What is the full name of Powderfinger's foundational bass guitarist?
Fanning first met Powderfinger guitarist Ian Haug in a University of Queensland economics class in 1989. At the time of the meeting, Haug had recently formed Powderfinger with high school friends John Collins and Steven Bishop, who would become the band's foundational bass guitarist and drummer, respectively. Haug was the lead guitarist and lead singer. On discovering Fanning's singing abilities, Haug replaced himself with Fanning as lead singer and frontman. Haug stated that "It was a big thing to convince the others that we needed a singer. They were like, 'You're OK,' and I was like, 'No I'm not. We can do better than that.'"In 1992, current guitarist Darren Middleton was invited to join Powderfinger by Fanning and Haug, after they were impressed by his work in Brisbane band Pirate. Middleton accepted the offer and became the fifth member, joining Jon Coghill who had replaced Bishop as drummer. The line-up of Fanning, Middleton, Haug, Collins, and Coghill then remained unchanged.Throughout the late 1990s, Powderfinger rose to prominence throughout Australia, receiving several accolades and achieving highly successful record and concert ticket sales. As the most vocal and prominent member of the band, the popularity for the group elevated Fanning as a powerful individual in the public view of the Australian music industry. Fanning was called upon by film-maker Gregor Jordan in 2003 to perform the folk song "Moreton Bay" (named after the bay of the same name in the Brisbane area) and his own original composition "Shelter for My Soul" in Jordan's film Ned Kelly. Fanning then enlisted Jordan to film Powderfinger's first live DVD, These Days: Live in Concert.
John Collins