Bird Noises is the first extended play by Australian rock group, Midnight Oil, which was released on 24 November 1980 under the band's own independent label, Powderworks Records / Sprint Music. It was produced by Leszek Karski and manufactured and distributed by CBS/Columbia. Bird Noises reached the Top 30 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.
Species Deceases is an extended play by Australian rock music group, Midnight Oil, which was released on 26 November 1985 under the CBS record label. Species Deceases debuted at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart for six weeks from December 1985 to January 1986. It was the first Australian single and/or EP to reach the number-one spot on its chart appearance and remains Midnight Oil's only No. 1 on the national singles chart.
Kim Leith Salmon is an Australian rock musician and songwriter from Perth. He has worked in various groups including The Scientists, Beasts of Bourbon, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists, Kim Salmon and the Business, and Darling Downs. Australian rock musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described Salmon as one of the first Australians to "embrace wholeheartedly the emergent punk phenomenon of the mid-to-late 1970s" with The Scientists. He declared that Beasts of Bourbon were "masters of uncompromising gutbucket blues and hard-edged rock'n'roll". In 2004 Salmon was inducted into the West Australian Music Industry Association Hall of Fame and in 2007, into the Music Victoria Awards Hall of Fame.
Melanie Susan Oxley is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and primary school teacher. Oxley was a member of the dance pop group, The Sparklers, which in October 1988 issued their debut album, Persuasion. Since 1989 Oxley teamed with keyboardist, Chris Abrahams, to perform and record as a soul pop duo, Melanie Oxley & Chris Abrahams. They have released four studio albums, Welcome to Violet (1992), Coal (1994), Jerusalem Bay (1998) and Blood Oranges (2003). At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993 Welcome to Violet was nominated for Best Independent Release.
Rebecca's Empire were an Australian indie pop-rock band formed in 1994. Their mainstay members were Rebecca Barnard on lead vocals and her then-domestic partner, Shane O'Mara on lead guitar. They released two full-length albums, Way of All Things (1996) and Welcome (1999) before disbanding in 2000.
Michael Sheridan is an Australian guitarist. Having played and recorded with an array of artists his versatility in original music spans the styles of rock, jazz/punk, industrial, metal, and sonic art including glitch & noise. He has released solo works such as Scaleshack,Digital Jamming and collaborations with Nicholas Littlemore and associates. He has been a member of several bands since 1975 including No (1987–1989) with Ollie Olsen and Marie Hoy, which were described as "One of Australias most compelling stage acts incorporating speed metal, hip hop and electro funk". In 1989 he followed Olsen to join Max Q with Michael Hutchence of INXS on vocals. He runs the label Zenith Wa Recordshttps://zenithwarecords.bandcamp.com/
Leonardo's Bride were an Australian pop band that formed in 1992. It consisted of Abby Dobson on lead vocal and acoustic guitar; Dean Manning on electric guitar, piano, wurlitzer and hammond; Jon Howell on drums; and Patrick Wong on bass guitar, backing vocals and cello. They released two EPs, Debut and Temperamental Friend and two albums, Angel Blood and Open Sesame, before disbanding in 2001.
Grant William McLennan was an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter-guitarist. He co-founded the Go-Betweens with Robert Forster in Brisbane in 1977. In addition to his work with the Go-Betweens, he issued four solo albums: Watershed (1991), Fireboy (1992), Horsebreaker Star (1994) and In Your Bright Ray (1997). He also undertook side-projects and collaborations with other artists. McLennan received a number of accolades recognising his achievements and contributions as songwriter and lyricist. In May 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association listed "Cattle and Cane" (1983), written by McLennan, as one of their top 30 Australian songs of all time. McLennan died of a heart attack at the age of 48 and was survived by his fiancée, Emma Pursey.
For the American band with a similar name, see Blackeyed Susan.
The Celibate Rifles were an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1979 with a line-up that included mainstays Dave Morris on rhythm guitar and Kent Steedman on lead guitar, within a year they were joined by Damien Lovelock on lead vocals. They released their first album, Sideroxylon, in April 1983 on the Hot Records label. The band has toured both America and Europe extensively, and released their ninth studio album, Beyond Respect on 19 July 2004. In 1985 the group's style was described as post-Radio Birdman sound which is "a combination of fast, guitar-driven, hard rock and power pop". In November 1987 Sounds magazine's Roger Holland described their album, Roman Beach Party as showing the group's "sawn off rock potential all the way down to the bleached white of the bone, the lyrics reveal all the anger, insight and humour that makes [them] one of the most powerful rock bands in the world today". In April 1994 The Celibate Rifles issued Spaceman in a Satin Suit which according to Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane "was [their] best studio album since Blind Ear". Lovelock undertook a solo career and issued two albums as well as becoming a TV sports presenter prior to his death in 2019.
Jim Ronald White is an Australian drummer, songwriter, and producer. In 1992 he formed Dirty Three, an instrumental rock band, with fellow mainstays Warren Ellis on violin; and Mick Turner on guitar. In Dirty Three, White sometimes shares songwriting duties with Ellis and Turner.
Conway Victor Savage was an Australian rock musician. He was a member of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, providing piano, organ and backing vocals from 1990. From 1993, Savage had a solo career and released albums, Nothing Broken (2000), Wrong Man's Hands (2004) and Rare Songs & Performances 1989–2004. He also collaborated with other artists for their albums, such as Soon Will Be Tomorrow and Quickie for Ducky.
James Kevin Hocking otherwise known as Jimi the Human is an Australian musician. He has been a member of hard rock groups, The Angels (1988) and The Screaming Jets. As a solo artist he has fronted various backing bands playing hard rock, electric and acoustic blues by providing lead guitar, vocals, mandolin and keyboards. In 2005 he won the Solo/Duo category at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee.
Stephen Vert Balbi is an Australian musician and record producer. He was the founding bass guitarist in pub rockers, Noiseworks in 1986 and formed a psychedelic pop group and production duo, Electric Hippies in 1993 with fellow Noiseworks member, Justin Stanley. He joined Mi-Sex in 2011. Balbi issued his debut solo album, Black Rainbow, in October 2013.
Charles Lothian Lloyd "Charlie" Owen is an Australian multi-instrumentalist and producer. He has been a member of The New Christs (1987–90), Louis Tillett and His Cast of Aspersions (1990), Tex, Don and Charlie, and Beasts of Bourbon. His solo album, Vertigo and Other Phobias, appeared in 1994 on Red Eye/Polydor.
Monique Brumby is an Australian Indie pop/rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. Her debut single, "Fool for You", peaked into the top 40 in the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) ARIA Singles Charts, and provided an ARIA Award for 'Best New Talent' in 1996. Her single, "Mary", won an ARIA Award in 1997 for 'Best Female Artist'.
Mr Floppy were an Australian alternative rock, punk rock and oi! band formed in 1989 by Tim Aylward on guitar, Mick Carroll on guitar, Paul Johnson on bass guitar and vocals and Joseph Kennedy on drums. They issued three studio albums on Zombie Penis Death Records, which were distributed by Waterfront Records, Breakfast (1991), Gratuitous (1992) and The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Dickhead (1993). They enjoyed a cult following; however, the band broke up in 1994. They were compared to TISM throughout their career, with some people actually claiming Mr Floppy were a TISM side project, although the band members hated such comparisons.
Tlot Tlot were an Australian pop rock band formed in 1986 as Man in the Wood. The original line-up was Owen Bolwell on bass guitar and lead vocals, Andrew Briant on lead guitar, and Stanley Paulzen on drums and lead vocals. Briant left in 1991 and the band name was changed to Tlot Tlot. Their 1995 single, "The Girlfriend Song", reached the ARIA Singles Chart Top 100 and was nominated for Best Pop Release at ARIA Music Awards of 1995. The group issued four albums, A Day at the Bay (1991), Pistolbuttsa'twinkle (1992), The Live Set - Volume 1 (1993) and Fashion Takes a Holiday (1995), before disbanding in 1997.
Harem Scarem were an Australian blues rock group which formed in 1982. They issued two studio albums, Pilgrim's Progress on Au Go Go Records (1986) and Lo & Behold on Citadel Records (1988) before disbanding in 1989. The early line-up was fronted by Christopher Marshall on lead vocals and included his brother, Charlie Marshall first on bass guitar, then rhythm guitar and, when fronting the group from 1987, was also on lead vocals. By September 1985 they had been joined by Peter Jones on drums and percussion; Barry Palmer on lead guitar; Glen Sheldon first on rhythm guitar and then on bass guitar; and Chris Wilson on harmonica and saxophone. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, felt that "Few alternative bands of the day could ever hope to match that line-up for muscular bravado and sheer instrumental firepower". On 18 May 2012 Peter Jones died of brain cancer, aged 45.
Signal Hill is the second studio album by Australian singer songwriter, Monique Brumby, which was released in October 2002. It was co-produced by Brumby with Paul McKercher, Stephen Moffatt and Simon Polanski.
