Skyhooks were an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1973. Their classic lineup (1974–1977) comprised Graeme "Shirley" Strachan (vocals), Greg Macainsh, Red Symons, Bob "Bongo" Starkie, and Imants "Freddie" Strauks (drums).
Mark Whitmore Evans is an Australian musician, the current bass guitarist for rock band Rose Tattoo, and also a member of hard rock band AC/DC from March 1975 to June 1977. His playing featured on their albums T.N.T, High Voltage, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and Let There Be Rock. Evans has played for numerous other groups, sometimes on lead guitar, including Finch, Cheetah, Swanee, Heaven and The Party Boys. Evans' autobiography, Dirty Deeds: My Life Inside/Outside of AC/DC was released in December 2011.
The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band, also known as Soapbox Circus or Matchbox, were an Australian jug band formed in 1969. It centred on Mic Conway on lead vocals, washboard and ukulele; and his brother, Jim Conway, on harmonica, kazoo and vocals. They issued four studio albums, Smoke Dreams, Wangaratta Wahine, Australia and Slightly Troppo (1978), before they disbanded in September 1980. The Conway brothers reformed the group in 2010 as Captain Matchbox Reignited and disbanded again two years later.
Garth Ivan Richard Porter is a New Zealand-born Australian multi-instrumental musician, songwriter and record producer. He was a member, on keyboards and backing vocals, of the pop group, Sherbet (1970–84), and co-wrote both of their number-one singles, "Summer Love" and "Howzat". Porter is a co-writer and producer for country music singer Lee Kernaghan.
The Riptides were an Australian power pop group which was formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 1977 as The Grudge. Their founding mainstay was Mark Callaghan on lead vocals, bass guitar, rhythm guitar and as principal songwriter. Former member Michael Hiron died in 2001.
Tarney/Spencer Band were a rock band formed in London in 1975 with Trevor Spencer on drums and Alan Tarney on lead guitar, bass guitar and lead vocals. Both had been in Australian bands, including James Taylor Move, prior to relocating to the United Kingdom, where they formed the duo. The group issued three albums, Tarney and Spencer (1976), Three's a Crowd (1978) and Run for Your Life (1979). Their single, "No Time to Lose" (1979), received airplay in the United States on album-oriented rock radio stations. It charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in both 1979 and again in 1981 upon re-issue. By the end of 1979, Tarney/Spencer Band had broken up and both founders undertook careers as songwriters, session musicians and record producers.
Rabbit were an Australian glam rock band from Newcastle, which formed in 1973 by Jim Porteus on bass guitar, Phil Screen on drums and Mark Tinson on guitar and vocals. In October 1974 they were joined by Dave Evans (ex-AC/DC) on lead vocals. The group relocated to Sydney and released two albums, Rabbit (1975) and Too Much Rock n Roll (1976), before disbanding in late 1977. Porteus, Screen and Tinson returned to Newcastle where they formed a hard rock band, Heroes, with Peter de Jong on guitar and vocals. They issued a self-titled album in October 1980 and disbanded in 1982.
The 69'ers were an Australian rock, pop, jug and country band formed in 1969. They released two albums, The 69er's Album (1971) and Francis Butlers 69er's Live (1974). The group toured Australia and appeared at the Sunbury Pop Festival in 1973 and 1974. The ensemble went through numerous different members, including two competing line-ups, before finally disbanding in February 1976. According to rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, they played a "good-time mix of vintage rock'n'roll, jugband music and country-swing" and were able to "capture the humour and downright silliness of the form in such a boisterous, zany and garrulous fashion".
Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons are an Australian blues and rock band that features the singer, songwriter and saxophonist Joe Camilleri. The band was active in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and had several Australian chart hits including "Hit and Run", "Shape I'm In" and "All I Wanna Do". The Falcons dissolved in 1981 and the group's biggest Australian hit, 1982's "Taxi Mary", as well as the New Zealand top ten hit "Walk on By", were both credited simply to "Jo Jo Zep". In 1983, Camilleri and other members of the Falcons formed the Black Sorrows.
The Ferrets were an Australian pop band. They are best known for their song "Don't Fall in Love" and album, Dreams of a Love which were both released in 1977.
Ayers Rock were an Australian rock band which formed in August 1973. Ray Burton, Mark Kennedy (drums), and Duncan McGuire (bass), members of Leo de Castro and Friends, left to form the eponymous trio of Burton, McGuire & Kennedy. They added a guitarist, Jimmy Doyle, changed their name to Ayers Rock and invited Col Loughnan to join. The group signed with independent label Mushroom Records in December 1973. Burton left the following March, and he was replaced by Chris Brown. With live appearances, coverage in print media and word of mouth, the group had a high national profile despite little radio airplay, and journalists praised their musicianship, music, and live energy.
Sebastian Hardie were Australia's first symphonic rock band. They formed in Sydney in 1967 as Sebastian Hardie Blues Band but dropped the 'Blues Band' reference when they became pop-oriented. By 1973 they developed a more progressive rock style, and later performed as Windchase, but disbanded in 1977. An early member of Sebastian Hardie was Jon English, who starred as Judas Iscariot in the Australian version of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar in 1972 and subsequently had a solo career as a singer, actor and playwright. A later member, Mario Millo became a multi-award winner for his television and movie music.
Tim Gaze is an Australian rock and blues guitarist, songwriter, singer, and producer. He was a member of several Australian groups from the 1960s to 1990s including Tamam Shud, Kahvas Jute (1970), Ariel (1973–74) and Rose Tattoo (1985–87). He also had a solo music career and released the albums, Band on the Run, Rough Trade (1992), Blue Sierra (1996) and Blues Remedy (1998). In April 2008 he issued a retrospective compilation covering both his group and solo work, Reckless Love: the Tim Gaze Anthology.
Graham Leslie "Buzz" Bidstrup is an Australian musician, songwriter, music producer and talent manager. He was a member of the Angels (1976–1981), the Party Boys (1983–1984) and Gang Gajang. He has managed Jimmy Little, Nathan Cavaleri and Diana Ah Naid. He was the CEO of the Jimmy Little Foundation from 2005 to 2015 and is the founder and Managing Director of associated Uncle Jimmy Thumbs Up Ltd.
Russell James Dunlop was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer-engineer. From the late 1970s he collaborated with Bruce Brown in a production company for albums and singles by Australian performers including Mental As Anything, The Reels and Machinations. As a musician he was a member of various groups such as Aesop's Fables (1968–70), Levi Smith's Clefs (1971), Southern Contemporary Rock Assembly (SCRA) (1971–72) and Ayers Rock (1976).
Stars are an Australian country rock band formed in Adelaide, South Australia in 1975 and disbanding in 1979, before re-forming in 2019. Founding members were Glyn Dowding on drums; Malcolm Eastick on guitar and vocals; Mick Pealing on vocals; and Graham Thompson on bass guitar. They were joined by guitarist, songwriter, Andrew Durant in 1976 and relocated to Melbourne. Thompson then left and was replaced by a succession of bass guitarists including Roger McLachlan and Ian McDonald.
Philip John Manning is an Australian blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. Manning has been a member of various groups including Chain and has had a solo career. As a member of Chain, Manning co-wrote their January 1971 single "Black and Blue" which became number one on the Melbourne charts and also Judgement, which reached number two in Sydney. The related album, Toward the Blues followed in September and peaked in the top 10 albums chart.
Hot City Bump Band were an Australian soul, funk band which formed in late 1973 by Chuck McKinney (vocals), his wife, Margaret McKinney (vocals), John Adolphus (guitar), David McMaster (organ), Robert Ellis (congas), David Green (bass) and Mick Holden. They released a studio album, Come Together (1975), that peaked at No. 11 on Melbourne album charts. They broke up in 1976. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, they were "one of the first soul/funk bands ever assembled in Australia, and local audiences took a while to warm to the band's dance-oriented sound." Chuck McKinney died in September 1994.
Ronald Robert Peel, who also performed as Rockwell T. James, was an Australian guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a member of numerous bands starting with the Missing Links and the Pleazers in the mid-1960s; then the La De Da's from 1972 to 1975 and in various backing bands for John Paul Young. He released a solo album Shot of Rhythm and Blues in 1977 under the James pseudonym, which provided his only top 40 single, "Roxanne". He co-wrote "Rock Me Gently" for Sherbet with its band members, which is a top 10 hit for that group. Peel died in 2020 due to an unspecified cancer.
"All My Friends Are Getting Married" is a song by Australian band Skyhooks, released in June 1975 as the second and final single from the band's second studio album, Ego Is Not a Dirty Word. It is written by the group's bass guitarist, Greg Macainsh and was produced by Ross Wilson. The song peaked at number two in Australia.
