Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as "Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", "Be Good Johnny", "Overkill", and "It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is Colin Hay, who performs on lead vocals and guitar. After playing as an acoustic duo with Ron Strykert during 1978–1979, Hay formed the group with Strykert playing bass guitar and Jerry Speiser on drums. They were soon joined by Greg Ham on flute, saxophone, and keyboards and John Rees on bass guitar, with Strykert switching back to lead guitar. The group was managed by Russell Depeller, a friend of Hay, whom he met at La Trobe University. This line-up achieved national and international success during the early to mid-1980s.
The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout its existence. Drummer Lindy Morrison joined the band in 1980, and its lineup would later expand to include bass guitarist Robert Vickers and multi-instrumentalist Amanda Brown. Vickers was replaced by John Willsteed in 1987, and the quintet lineup remained in place until the band split two years later. Forster and McLennan reformed the band in 2000 with a new lineup that did not include any previous personnel aside from them. McLennan died on 6 May 2006 of a heart attack and the Go-Betweens disbanded again. In 2010, a toll bridge in their native Brisbane was renamed the Go Between Bridge after them.
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'.
Alphabravocharliedeltaechofoxtrotgolf is the first album by Australian new wave group Models. The title alludes to the first seven letters of the NATO phonetic alphabet. The title also refers to the designations of the natural divisions in the 12-note Western music scale in the key of 'C'. The LP album cover claimed it was produced by no-one, in fact, it was recorded independently by engineer Tony Cohen and the group, prior to signing with Mushroom Records. It was released in November 1980, but no singles were released commercially from the album, although "Two People Per km²" and "Uncontrollable Boy" were on a 12-inch disc released to radio stations, and a music video was made for "Two People Per km²".
Jimmy and the Boys were an Australian shock rock and new wave band, active from 1976 to 1982.
Ol' 55 were an Australian band specialising in retro, 1950s-era Rock 'n' Roll. They formed as Fanis in 1972 in Sutherland, Sydney. Drummer Geoff Plummer was working with Glenn A. Baker at the NSW Department of Media and invited Baker to hear his part-time band, including Patrick "Meatballs" Drummond, Rockpile Jones and Jimmy Manzie. In 1975, Baker took on their management, renamed them as Ol' 55 for the Tom Waits song, and recruited front man Frankie J. Holden and, later in the year, saxophonist Wilbur Wilde.
John Martin Armiger was an Australian musician, record producer and composer. He was one of the singer-songwriters and guitarists with Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from August 1978 to late 1981, which had Top 30 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart with, "Don't Throw Stones" (1979), "Strangers on a Train" (1980) and "How Come" (1981); and Top 20 albums with Don't Throw Stones, Suddenly and Sondra (1981).
Little Heroes were an Australian band formed in 1980, by founding mainstay Roger Hart on lead vocals and guitar. They released three studio albums, Little Heroes, Play by Numbers and Watch the World. Their highest charting hit, "One Perfect Day", which was released in 1982, reached No. 12 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart. Their other charting singles are "Young Hearts" (1982), "Watch the World" and "Bon Voyage". They disbanded in June 1984.
Douglas John Parkinson was an Australian pop and rock singer. He led the bands Strings and Things/A Sound (1965), the Questions (1966–1968), Doug Parkinson in Focus, Fanny Adams (1970–1971), the Life Organisation (1973), Southern Star Band (1978–1980) and Doug Parkinson Band (1981–1983). Doug Parkinson in Focus's cover version of the Beatles' track "Dear Prudence" peaked at No. 5 on the Go-Set National Top 40. The follow-up single, "Without You" / "Hair" (October), also reached No. 5. Parkinson released solo material and performed in musical theatre productions.
David Hirschfelder is an Australian musician, film score composer and performer. As a musician he has been a member of Little River Band and John Farnham Band. He has composed film scores for many films, including Strictly Ballroom, Australia, The Railway Man, The Water Diviner and The Dressmaker. He was nominated for Academy Awards for his scores for Shine and Elizabeth.
Finch was an Australian hard and pub rock band, initially forming as Stillwater in 1972. In 1973, they changed to Finch and in 1978 they changed their name to Contraband. The band disbanded in 1979.
Rose Tattoo is the debut self-titled album by Australian hard rock band Rose Tattoo released in November 1978 on the Albert Productions label. It was produced by the famous Vanda & Young team who have worked with AC/DC, The Angels and Stevie Wright. The album was released as Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw in some markets. Eight bonus tracks were added for the 1990 CD edition for Repertoire Records.
Madder Lake are an Australian progressive rock band formed in Melbourne in 1968 as San Sebastian. They were one of the first bands signed to the Michael Gudinski co-owned Mushroom Records which released their debut single, "Goodbye Lollypop" in February 1973, followed by the album Stillpoint in August. This contained their most recognisable single, "12lb Toothbrush". Their second album Butterfly Farm was released in April 1974, they left Mushroom after their last single, "I Get High" appeared in July 1976. A compilation album The Best of Madder Lake was released by Mushroom Records in 1978.
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).
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.
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.
Streetlife is the debut album by Australian rock group, Geeza. It was released in mid-1977 by Laser Records / RCA Records and was produced by Mario Millo. The first single, 'Run 'n' Hide', peaked at number 56 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, while the second single, 'Song to Warilla', failed to chart.
"Comin' Down" is a song by Australian hard rock band The Angels, released in March 1978 as the lead single from the band's second studio album, Face to Face. The song first peaked at number 80 on the Australian Kent Music Report. It was co-written by band members, Doc Neeson, John Brewster and Rick Brewster.
It's a Long Way There (Greatest Hits) is the first compilation album by the Australian group Little River Band, released in Australia and New Zealand in September 1978. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart and No. 12 in New Zealand. The album sold over 200,000 copies in Australia. Retitled It's a Long Way There (1975–1979) it was re-issued in Germany for the European market in 1979.
