Australian Music

[cdnvic]

Does anyone know where I can find a definitive website dealing with the history of Australian music, and if possible all time top songs/bands? So far I can only find yearly charts and the few "all time" lists are full of mis-identified New Zealand bands. Looking for mostly rock, blues, and country stuff.

Thanks

cv

[Mighty Mouse]

I don't know of any such web site.

My memory goes back to Johnny O'Keefe, Col Joye etc for the pop music.

Chad Morgan for country, Renee Gayer for blues.

This book may provide more information:

http://www.pinewoodrecords.com.au/pioneersofrnr.htm

[Connor McCloud]

Good Aussie music ?

You must be joking

[Neeranam]

I found a great band called the datsuns.

[chonabot]

I found a great band called the datsuns.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

From NZ?

Edited October 26, 2005 by chonabot

[taxexile]

the datsuns ? , didnt they reform as the nissans ?

[Neeranam]

All ex-datsun drivers are driving Toyota pick-ups now.

[Youbloodybeauty]

Good Aussie music ?

You must be joking  

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ha ha ...there's always one in a group!

Cheers YBB

[eddie11]

The Vines

[LindsayBKK]

Aria Webpage

[steveromagnino]

Great Australian Musicians

- Crowded House

- The Finns

- Exponents

- Supergroove

- Nathan Haines

- Concord Dawn

Oh hold up, they are all Kiwis.

You guys can keep:

- Rolf Harris

- Kevin Blaady Wilson

- That useless pop idols band

- INXS

I will admit that Pendulum are awesome. But that is it.

[Eric Davis]

Midnight Oil

Kylie

Jason

Kylie and Jason

Danni

AC/DC

Ok,here ya go Vic:

http://www.hitsquad.com/monolith/aus_art/pop-ak.html

[mrbojangles]

Where "Men at work" Aussies or NZ? Either way, they where &lt;deleted&gt;

[TizMe]

The Easybeats

The seekers,

Jet

Skyhooks

The Bee Gees

Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs

The Masters Apprentices

AC / DC

Max Merrit and the Meteors

Ariel,

Daddy Cool,

Blackfeather,

The Ted Mulry Gang (TMG)

Midnight Oil

Cold Chisel

Richard Clapton,

Ol'55,

Jon English,

Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons,

The Angels,

Sports,

The Radiators,

Australian Crawl,

Dragon,

Rose Tattoo,

Mondo Rock,

Marcia Hines.

Renee Geyer ,

The Saints,

Radio Birdman,

Little River Band,

Peter Allen,

Olivia Newton-John,

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

The Church,

Hunters & Collectors,

Hoodoo Gurus,

Dead Can Dance,

Yothu Yindi

Mental As Anything,

Boom Crash Opera,

The Go-Betweens,

I'm Talking,

Do Re Mi,

The Reels,

The Stems,

The Triffids,

Icehouse,

Redgum,

Goanna,

1927,

Noiseworks,

Gang Gajang,

The Black Sorrows,

Powderfinger,

Custard,

Savage Garden,

The Vines

[Merlin]

... and I've supported, or worked for, probably 75% of those...

[Mighty Mouse]

TizMe,

Great list of muso's.

One of my favourite female singers in the old days was Laurel Lee. I think she only cut one record, but boy, was she easy on the eye.

Ian McFarlane's book "Encyclopedia of Australian Rock" is another source of early pop star information.

[Old Croc]

The Easybeats

The seekers,

Jet

Skyhooks

The Bee Gees

Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs

The Masters Apprentices

AC / DC

Max Merrit and the Meteors

Ariel,

Daddy Cool,

Blackfeather,

The Ted Mulry Gang (TMG)

Midnight Oil

Cold Chisel

Richard Clapton,

Ol'55,

Jon English,

Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons,

The Angels,

Sports,

The Radiators,

Australian Crawl,

Dragon,

Rose Tattoo,

Mondo Rock,

Marcia Hines.

Renee Geyer ,

The Saints,

Radio Birdman,

Little River Band,

Peter Allen,

Olivia Newton-John,

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

The Church,

Hunters & Collectors,

Hoodoo Gurus,

Dead Can Dance,

Yothu Yindi

Mental As Anything,

Boom Crash Opera,

The Go-Betweens,

I'm Talking,

Do Re Mi,

The Reels,

The Stems,

The Triffids,

Icehouse,

Redgum,

Goanna,

1927,

Noiseworks,

Gang Gajang,

The Black Sorrows,

Powderfinger,

Custard,

Savage Garden,

The Vines

Great list Tiz

It's very hard to seperate the NZ influence from Oz music as they are deeply intermixed. Most made their names and had their careers in Australia, but the Kiwis are always quick to check birth certificates and make claims. (I always like to point out to these people that the oscar nominated actress in Whalerider, Keisha Castle-Hughes was born in Oz)

Similarly, there are a lot of 10 pound tourists from the Old Blighted who came to Australia as kids and are claimed by the Poms when they become famous. (BeeGees)

[Connor McCloud]

Now I think of it Kylie Minogue and Natalie Embrulier (???) are both scortching hot babes and they get my vote.

[mrbojangles]

Where "Men at work" Aussies or NZ? Either way, they where &lt;deleted&gt;   

Well seeing as no one answered and they never got a mention on TizMe's list, i did a google.

Source:- http://members.aol.com/babsjdonne/menatwrk/general.htm

"History

Here, let me give you a brief synopsis of Men at Work's history, to free a few cobwebs, if you cannot remember them. Men at Work was an Australian band whose debut album, Business As Usual, hit the U.S. Charts in late 1982 and stayed there until mid 1983, when their second album, Cargo came out. Business As Usual was a complete success, going multiplatnum, with the aforementioned songs "Who Can It Be Now" and "Down Under." Men at Work had come out just at the right time, as people tuned into music videos, making virtual unknowns into overnight superstars. By the time Business As Usual had hit the top ten, Cargo was already completed, and it too was very successful. Unfortunately, differences of opinion plagued the group, and by the time their delayed third album, Two Hearts, hit the shelves in 1985, two of the men had left, and the American public was no longer interested"

[stumonster]

nick barker and the reptiles

tism

the porkers

baby animals

candy harlots

screaming jets

died pretty

dave graney and the coral snakes

screamfeeder

the celibate rifles

front end loader

george

spy vs spy

have a look at the triple j website

http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/

you will find some lists with a bit of searching - but I doubt any of it will be country

[Old Croc]

Now I think of it Kylie Minogue and Natalie Embrulier (???) are both scortching hot babes and they get my vote.   

The prognosis on Kylies breast cancer is not good apparently. It has spread to the lympth glands with surgery being a likely outcome.

[Old Croc]

Where "Men at work" Aussies or NZ? Either way, they where &lt;deleted&gt;   

Well seeing as no one answered and they never got a mention on TizMe's list, i did a google.

Source:- http://members.aol.com/babsjdonne/menatwrk/general.htm

"History

Here, let me give you a brief synopsis of Men at Work's history, to free a few cobwebs, if you cannot remember them. Men at Work was an Australian band whose debut album, Business As Usual, hit the U.S. Charts in late 1982 and stayed there until mid 1983, when their second album, Cargo came out. Business As Usual was a complete success, going multiplatnum, with the aforementioned songs "Who Can It Be Now" and "Down Under." Men at Work had come out just at the right time, as people tuned into music videos, making virtual unknowns into overnight superstars. By the time Business As Usual had hit the top ten, Cargo was already completed, and it too was very successful. Unfortunately, differences of opinion plagued the group, and by the time their delayed third album, Two Hearts, hit the shelves in 1985, two of the men had left, and the American public was no longer interested"

When you described the group as &lt;deleted&gt; right off the bat the presumption was you weren't really interested in an answer to the question

I saw the lead singer on tele not long ago. He still performs and records with his very sexy S.American wife accompanying on pan flute. He is very into S. American music and lives there most of the time.

[Old Croc]

A few more Australian acts not mentioned above;

Sherbet

Helen Reddy

Divinyls

Air Supply

John Paul Young

[Judge]

I forgot about Dead Can Dance. Kasey Chambers is wonderful too!

[tuky]

The Screaming Jets were one of my favourites.

Silverchair

V Capri

John Williamson does some interesting stuff.

[chonabot]

I actually like Men at work , decent understaed lyrics and some nicely crafted songs , ACDC and Jet rule , also Jimmy Barnes, Nat Imbruglia,Mental as Anything, Midnight Oil are all cool.

[TizMe]

I've got a DVD set that was a 6 part series shown on ABC in Aus, its called "Its A long way to the top".

Its even got a short bit of film showing a concert that I went to in about 1974 that was held in the Kirribilli Park next to the Sydney Harbour Bridge (north side). It was the only time that I saw AC/DC while Bon Scott was still alive.

The bands were playing on a pontoon that was moored in the harbour. I remember when Sherbet came on to play, a few young girls decided to swim out and climb up on the stage. It was quite funny that after a 50 metre or so swim, they hauled themselves out of the water and as soon as the got to the stage a couple of bouncers were there just tossing them back into the water.

* Episode 1:

Bed Of A Thousand Struggles 1956-1964 (66:36 including bonus interviews) - which covers the birth of Australian rock and roll and the pioneers who strove to give it an Australian feel. We get to see a lot of the early big names like the great Johnny O'Keefe, Col Joye, Judy Stone, Betty McQuade, the Bee Gees and The Atlantics amongst a whole lot of other people, both in interview and performance. We see the emergence of shows like Brian Henderson's Bandstand and Six O'Clock Rock on that new-fangled invention, the television. We also get to hear the little tricks of the radio trade of the era from Stan Rofe, and how records were privately imported from the USA and the Australian talent got to pick from them to do their own covers - before the foreign versions got to Australia.

* Episode 2:

Ten Pound Rockers 1963-1968 (64:52 including bonus interviews) - which covers the emergence of Australian rock under the influence of the wave of migrants from principally Britain and the rest of Europe under the sponsored migration scheme. This is the period that saw many English migrants arrive here and emerge as forces in the industry here, such as the Young brothers, Harry Vanda and Billy Thorpe and the emergence of the first wave of truly great Australian bands - Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs, The Easybeats, The Masters Apprentices and The Seekers. This was the first wave of bands that headed to Britain for fame and fortune. The fact that not even The Easybeats, arguably the best Aussie rock band of all time, succeeded just illustrates how difficult the task was. Indeed, only The Seekers managed any lasting success in Britain, and they are hardly a rock and roll band!

* Episode 3:

Billy Killed The Fish 1968-1973 (70:06 including bonus interviews) - which covers the emergence of the true Australian rock and roll era, with the development of a genuine Australian sound - through the blues. This boils down basically to the emergence of one album - Toward The Blues by Chain. I would still argue for this being one of the best Aussie rock and roll albums of all time, and Matt Taylor remains a legend to my mind. This was the emergence of the Aussie pub scene as the driving force of Aussie rock and the emergence of such legendary venues as the Bondi Lifesaver - the place where Billy did indeed kill the fish in one legendary gig. This was also the era of the big outdoor shows and Sunbury was the mecca in Australia. Hippies, peace, love and all that stuff were the rage overseas but to a large extent the phenomenon was avoided in Australia as we went down the pub scene route with heavy rock and roll. Still, the reaction to the times was the emergence of another great Aussie rock and roll icon in Daddy Cool.

* Episode 4:

Berserk Warriors 1973-1981 (71:40 including bonus interviews) - which covers the advent of colour television as a force in Australian rock and roll thanks to some television show called Countdown, fronted by the insufferable Ian "Molly" Meldrum, and the way it changed music in this country forever. Okay, you can own up now - you rushed home every Sunday evening to sit down in front of the brand new colour TV to watch the show, like millions of others, didn't you? I know I did. It was a ritual in many a home across the nation. This was the emergence of the second great wave of Australian rock and roll as the pub scene bands came to the larger marketplace provided by TV. This was the era that saw the emergence of bands like AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, The Angels, Skyhooks and Cold Chisel, with their genuinely Australian sounds, as the new wave of assault upon the world music markets. They all had success of some description on the world scene, none more so than AC/DC, and a lot of this was due to the phenomena that Countdown became. Heck, Molly Meldrum was everywhere!

* Episode 5:

INXS, In Exile 1976-1988 (68:45 including bonus interviews) - otherwise known as the doldrums where some Aussie bands were forsaking their own directions and pandering to the American-driven market, whilst others were leading the emergence of new music, like punk. Some excelled in that pandering of course and bands like Little River Band managed to eke out quite a successful career in the USA. This was the period of Aussie bands being ignored in their own country yet doing quite nicely overseas. Despite being the doldrums, there were some genuinely good, albeit ignored, bands that emerged in the period, like The Go-Betweens, The Triffids, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and The Saints. These headed to Britain to seek fame and fortune - the former two found fame all right but probably not much fortune, whilst the latter band had neither. This period saw the emergence of the big wave of Aussie talent assaulting the world marketplace, with bands as diverse as Men At Work and INXS having enormous success on the world market.

* Episode 6:

Gathering Of The Tribes 1984-2000 (70:58 including bonus interviews) - with the death of punk and new wave, and the decline of rock, just about anything goes to fill the void. The biggest emergences were grunge and dance. Grunge came to the world scene courtesy of The Scientists and dance saw any number of contenders. But the paucity of real quality of music in the period is highlighted by the fact that very little on offer here is of really great quality. That the like of silverchair can emerge from their bedroom onto the top of the world scene is a pretty good indication of that. But this period has seen unprecedented Aussie assaults on the world scene, including that of one of the most successful artists of the period: the singing budgie, Kylie Minogue. Continual reinvention has seen her stay at the top of the tree for many a year.

[cdnvic]

Thanks for the info everyone. I have alot of reading ahead of me now.

cv

[skylar]

Tina Arena, The Veronicas, Shakaya, Ben Lee, Rogue Traders (now with Neighbours' Natalie B.....), Thirsty Merc, The Living End, The Cat Empire, Delta Goodrem, Keith Urban, George, Killing Heidi, Holly Valance, Silverchair, Gina G, Peter Andre and if you like all of the Australian Idol contestants.... Guy Sebastian, Ricki Lee, Shannon Noll, Casey Donovan, Paulini, Cosima de Vito, Anthony Callea, etc... and apparently Mark Holden was a heart throb in his day, according to himself. Olivia Newton-John.

and MISSY HIGGINS. Winner of 5 ARIAs at this year's awards.

Oh, and maybe you'd like to check out the Big Day Out website - http://www.bigdayout.com/

[jackr]

The Easybeats

The seekers,

Jet

Skyhooks

The Bee Gees

Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs

The Masters Apprentices

AC / DC

Max Merrit and the Meteors

Ariel,

Daddy Cool,

Blackfeather,

The Ted Mulry Gang (TMG)

Midnight Oil

Cold Chisel

Richard Clapton,

Ol'55,

Jon English,

Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons,

The Angels,

Sports,

The Radiators,

Australian Crawl,

Dragon,

Rose Tattoo,

Mondo Rock,

Marcia Hines.

Renee Geyer ,

The Saints,

Radio Birdman,

Little River Band,

Peter Allen,

Olivia Newton-John,

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

The Church,

Hunters & Collectors,

Hoodoo Gurus,

Dead Can Dance,

Yothu Yindi

Mental As Anything,

Boom Crash Opera,

The Go-Betweens,

I'm Talking,

Do Re Mi,

The Reels,

The Stems,

The Triffids,

Icehouse,

Redgum,

Goanna,

1927,

Noiseworks,

Gang Gajang,

The Black Sorrows,

Powderfinger,

Custard,

Savage Garden,

The Vines

Great list Tiz

It's very hard to seperate the NZ influence from Oz music as they are deeply intermixed. Most made their names and had their careers in Australia, but the Kiwis are always quick to check birth certificates and make claims. (I always like to point out to these people that the oscar nominated actress in Whalerider, Keisha Castle-Hughes was born in Oz)

Similarly, there are a lot of 10 pound tourists from the Old Blighted who came to Australia as kids and are claimed by the Poms when they become famous. (BeeGees)

Yeah, but you lot could hardly claim the Bee Gees as they were only there for a few years, were born in the Uk and made their name in the UK. Kylie on the other hand was Aussie born and bred and had to come to Blighty to further her career and kick off her musical prowess. She is therefore a Brit, too