Perth-raised Luke Steele — lead singer for Empire of the Sun — and wife Jodi have sold their first home, accepting an offer this week on their modest Mount Lawley unit.
The sale sadly severs property ties between the State and the man who has become the voice of WA.
His signature song, Walking on a Dream, is the theme of Tourism WA’s $15 million international campaign.
Around the time the ethereal lyrics were conjured up, he was “pretty much homeless.”
According to comments he made in a previous report in The West Australian, he spent some time living with Jodi in a caravan parked out the front of his parent’s home in Yokine.
Funds appear to have improved after he released the famous song in 2008.
And it may well have helped buy the one-bedroom unit two years later, which cost the pair $300,000.
It appears the pair lived in the home — which is close to his former Mount Lawley High School — for two years before listing it on the rental market.
![SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 21: Luke Steele of Empire of the Sun poses during the Playstation Vita Launch at Sydney Harbour on February 21, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)](https://timesofsydney.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/628b7853d491a1e1be8bb751458181aeafe24c35.jpg)
Like many great vocalists claim as our own, the Perth-raised musician was born in New Zealand, and it is understood he selling up to spend more time in his birth country, as well as his base in California.
While he no longer owns any bricks and mortar in Perth, Steele has been a great ambassador for the State, often speaking of his early gigs in Katanning and Walpole with his first band The Sleepy Jackson as well as surf trips to Margaret River.
Locals are likely to see more of the talented musician, with his family, including musician father Rick and vocalist sister Katy, from Little Birdy, still living in Perth.
The home has not settled yet, but other units in the complex have recently sold for about $340,000.
Steele declined to comment. The home was sold through real estate agent Simon Pigliardo.