Goanna was an Australian rock group which formed in 1977 in Geelong as The Goanna Band with mainstay Shane Howard as singer-songwriter and guitarist. The group integrated social protest with popular music and reached the Top 20 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart with "Solid Rock" (1982) and "Let the Franklin Flow". Their debut album, Spirit of Place peaked at No. 2 on the related albums chart. They disbanded in 1987 and briefly reformed in 1998.
Eurogliders are a band formed in 1980 in Perth, Western Australia, which included Grace Knight on vocals, Bernie Lynch on guitar and vocals, and Amanda Vincent on keyboards. In 1984, Eurogliders released an Australian top ten album, This Island, which spawned their No. 2 hit single, "Heaven ". "Heaven" also peaked at No. 21 on the United States Billboard Mainstream Rock charts and appeared on the Hot 100. Another Australian top ten album, Absolutely, followed in 1985, which provided two further local top ten singles, "We Will Together", and "Can't Wait to See You". They disbanded in 1989, with Knight having a successful career as a jazz singer. Australian rock music historian Ian McFarlane described Eurogliders as "the accessible face of post-punk new wave music. The band's sophisticated brand of pop was traditional in its structure, but displayed the decidedly 'modern veneer' ". The band reformed in 2005 releasing a new album followed ten years later by their sixth album.
Ross Andrew Wilson is an Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is the co-founder and frontman of the long-standing rock groups Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock, as well as a number of other former bands, in addition to performing solo. He has produced records for bands such as Skyhooks and Jo Jo Zep & the Falcons, as well as for those of his own bands. He appeared as a judge on celebrity singing TV series It Takes Two from 2005. Wilson was individually inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 1989 and again as a member of Daddy Cool in 2006.
The Dynamic Hepnotics were an Australian soul, blues and funk band which formed in 1979 and disbanded in 1986. Mainstay, lead vocalist and front man, "Continental" Robert Susz formed the group in Sydney. They had chart success on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart with a top 5 single, "Soul Kind of Feeling" in 1984. It was followed by "Gotta Be Wrong " which reached the top 20 in 1985. Their album, Take You Higher, reached the top 20 on the related Albums Chart in June. In 1986, "Soul Kind of Feeling" won the APRA Music Award for 'Most Performed Australasian Popular Work'.
Redgum were an Australian folk and political music group formed in Adelaide in 1975 by singer-songwriter John Schumann, Michael Atkinson on guitars/vocals, Verity Truman on flute/vocals; they were later joined by Hugh McDonald on fiddle and Chris Timms on violin. All four had been students at Flinders University and together developed a strong political voice. They are best known for their protest song exploring the impact of war in the 1980s "I Was Only 19", which peaked at #1 on the National singles charts. The song is in the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) list of Top 30 of All Time Best Australian Songs created in 2001.
Jimmy and the Boys were an Australian shock rock and new wave band, active from 1976 to 1982.
"State of the Heart" is a song recorded by Australian rock group Mondo Rock and released in October 1980 as the lead single from the band's second studio album, Chemistry (1981). The song peaked at number 6 on the Australian Kent Music Report. The song was written by Mondo Rock's guitarist Eric McCusker.
The Party Boys are an Australian rock supergroup with a floating membership commencing in 1982. Created by Mondo Rock's bass guitarist, Paul Christie with founding member Kevin Borich(ex-The La De Das, Kevin Borich Express) as a part-time venture for professional musicians with downtime from their other projects, the group had temporary members from acts such as Status Quo, The Angels, Sherbet, Skyhooks, Rose Tattoo, The Choirboys, Australian Crawl, Divinyls, Models, Dragon and Swanee plus international stars including Joe Walsh, Eric Burdon, Alan Lancaster and Graham Bonnet. In March 1983 their debut album, Live at Several 21sts, peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. In June 1987 they had a number-one hit on the related Singles Chart with a cover version of John Kongos' hit, "He's Gonna Step On You Again". It also peaked at No. 10 on the New Zealand Singles Chart.
MEO 245 were an Australian pop rock, new wave band which formed in 1978 in Tasmania with Paul Brickhill on keyboards, guitar and vocals; Campbell Laird on drums; Paul Northam on guitar and vocals; and Mick Wilson on bass guitar. Wilson was replaced on bass guitar by Mark Kellet, who in turn was replaced by Anthony Moore. The group issued a sole studio album, Screen Memory, which reached the top 100 of the Kent Music Report Albums Chart.
Dear Enemy was an Australian indie pop band formed in Melbourne in 1980. The band released a studio album, Ransom Note, in 1984 on EMI and Capitol Records that featured its best known single, "Computer One", a No. 15 hit on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart in January 1984. "Computer One" also reached #59 on the Billboard US Mainstream Rock chart in March, 1984. Dear Enemy disbanded in 1988.
Paul Adrian Christie is an Australian rock music bassist and vocalist. He was a member of various groups including Kevin Borich Express (1978–79), Mondo Rock (1980–82) and the Party Boys. As a member of Mondo Rock he performed on the tracks, "State of the Heart", "Cool World", "Summer of '81", "Chemistry", "No Time", "The Queen and Me" and "In Another Love".
The Aliens were an Australian new wave band which formed in April 1978. They were one of the first local bands of the late 1970s to adopt a "uniform" of "black clothes and skinny, white ties". Two of their singles, "Confrontation" and "Follow that Girl", appeared on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart top 50. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, noted their "sound embraced guitar-oriented pop rock with the emphasis on 1960s melodies".
QED were an Australian New Wave trio, whose lead singer, Jenny Morris, went on to achieve commercial success as a solo artist. The band had a top twenty hit single, "Everywhere I Go", on the Australian Kent Music Report in 1983.
The Monitors were an Australian pop band of the early 1980s. They were primarily a studio group which involved a collaboration between Terry McCarthy on vocals and keyboards, and Mark Moffatt on guitar, bass guitar and keyboards. They used various guest vocalists. Their debut single, "Singin' in the '80s", was released in 1980 and reached No. 16 on the Kent Music Report singles chart. A second single, "Nobody Told Me", peaked in the top 40. The Monitors issued a sole album, Back from Their Recent Illness, for which Ricky Fataar had joined on drums, percussion, guitar and keyboards. The group disbanded in 1982.
The Best of Dragon and Mondo Rock is a collaborative compilation album by Australian rock band Mondo Rock and New Zealand band Dragon, released in June 1990. The album peaked at number 47 on the ARIA Charts.
"Cool World" is a song by Australian rock band Mondo Rock, released in March 1981 as the second single released from the band's second studio album Chemistry (1981). The song became the band's second top ten single, peaking at number 8 on the Kent Music Report. The song was written by Mondo Rock's lead vocalist Ross Wilson.
"Primitive Love Rites" is a song by Australian rock band Mondo Rock, released in October 1986 as the second single from the band's fifth studio album Boom Baby Boom (1986). The song peaked at number 34 on the Kent Music Report. The song became the band's only song to peak within the Billboard Hot 100, at 71. In New Zealand the song peaked at number 40 on Recorded Music NZ.
Rule of Threes is the seventeen single by Australian band Mondo Rock, released in 1986. It was released as a first single from Mondo Rock's fifth studio album Boom Baby Boom. The song reached at number 58 on the Kent Music Report. The song was written by Mondo Rock's guitarist Eric McCusker.
