Great Wall (song)

Last updated
"Great Wall"
Great Wall (Single Cover).jpg
Original 1986 cover
Single by Boom Crash Opera
from the album Boom Crash Opera
Released1986
Recorded1986
Genre Rock
Length3:46
4:59 (extended mix)
Label WEA Records
Songwriter(s) Dale Ryder, Richard Pleasance, Greg O'Connor
Producer(s) Steve Brown
Boom Crash Opera singles chronology
"Great Wall"
(1986)
"Hands Up in the Air"
(1986)

"Great Wall" is a song by Australian rock band Boom Crash Opera. [1] It was the first single from their self-titled 1987 album, [2] and reached number five on the Australian music charts. [3] [4] Great Wall's lyrics reference the New South Wales Hume Weir (Dam).

Contents

At the 1986 Countdown Australian Music Awards the song won Best Debut single. [5] [6]

Track listing

7" single (7.258695)
  1. "Great Wall" (Dale Ryder) - 3:46
  2. "Caught Between Two Towns" (Peter Farnan) - 3:23

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1986)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [7] [8] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (1986)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [8] 39

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dynamic Hepnotics</span>

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'.

Boom Crash Opera are an Australian pop rock band formed in late 1984. Initially based around the songwriting partnership of Richard Pleasance and Peter Farnan, the band was later joined by Dale Ryder (vocals), Peter ‘Maz’ Maslen (drums) and Greg O’Connor (keyboards). Pleasance developed tinnitus from constant exposure to loud live music and left in 1992 to pursue a solo career as an artist and producer. O’Connor departed in 2017.

Mondo Rock are an Australian rock band, formed in November 1976 in Melbourne, Victoria. Singer-songwriter Ross Wilson founded the band, following the split of his previous band Daddy Cool. Guitarist Eric McCusker, who joined in 1980, wrote many of the band's hits, and along with Wilson formed the core of the group. They are best known for their second album, Chemistry, which was released in July 1981 and peaked at number 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report. Their song "Come Said the Boy" peaked at number 2 in Australia in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onion Skin (song)</span> 1989 single by Boom Crash Opera

"Onion Skin" is a song by Australian band Boom Crash Opera. The song was released in June 1989 as the lead single from their second studio album, These Here Are Crazy Times! (1989), and reached number 11 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. The following year, the song was released in the United States and reached number eight on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart that July.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Before Too Long</span> 1986 single by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls

"Before Too Long" is a song by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, released as the first single from their debut double album, Gossip. It was released in June 1986 on the original White Label Records, a subsidiary of Mushroom Records. It reached No. 15 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, remaining for 19 weeks. The track was a surprise hit for Kelly at a time when chart success had eluded him and provided increased interest for the release of Gossip, which would become his biggest mainstream success to that date.

<i>These Here Are Crazy Times</i> 1989 studio album by Boom Crash Opera

These Here Are Crazy Times! is the second studio album by Australian rock group Boom Crash Opera, released in October 1989. The album was the breakthrough album to the lucrative U.S. Market for the band & was released in the United States by Giant records. This release had 2 new reworked versions of the songs "Talk About It" and "The Best Thing". Both songs were re-recorded with producer Jimmy Iovine of U2 fame, after Bono from U2 became a fan of the band during the U2 Love Town tour of Australia in 1989.

Richard Arnold Pleasance is an Australian rock musician and producer. He was a founding member of Boom Crash Opera on guitar, bass guitar, vocals and as a songwriter in 1985; they released three albums before Pleasance left in 1992. Their hit Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) singles, "Great Wall" and "Onion Skin" were co-written by Pleasance, who also co-produced their second album, These Here Are Crazy Times. His debut solo release, Galleon received four nominations at the ARIA Music Awards for 1992. Pleasance composed the theme music for Australian television series, SeaChange (1998–2001), for 2006 feature film Kenny and more recently he composed the theme music for the prison drama series Wentworth. Pleasance is married to Michelle and, as from May 2009, he was living in Hepburn Springs, Victoria where he has a recording studio.

<i>Boom Crash Opera</i> (album) 1987 studio album by Boom Crash Opera

Boom Crash Opera is the first album by Australian rock band Boom Crash Opera, released in 1987. Singles released from the album include two which reached the top 20 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, "Great Wall" and "Hands Up in the Air".

<i>Look! Listen!!</i> 1990 remix album by Boom Crash Opera

Look Listen! is the first remix album by Australian rock group Boom Crash Opera, released in 1990. Look Listen! peaked at number 47 on the ARIA Charts.

<i>The Essential Boom Crash Opera</i> 2007 compilation album by Boom Crash Opera

The Essential Boom Crash Opera is the third compilation album by Australian rock band Boom Crash Opera, released in April 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hands Up in the Air</span> 1986 single by Boom Crash Opera

"Hands Up in the Air" is a song by Australian rock band Boom Crash Opera. It was released in 1986 as the second single from their self-titled studio album.

"City Flat" is a song by Australian rock band Boom Crash Opera, released in 1987 as the third single from their self-titled studio album. It was written by the band's two main songwriters: guitarist Peter Farnan and bass player Richard Pleasance. The song peaked at number 42 in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Her Charity</span> 1987 single by Boom Crash Opera

"Her Charity" is the fourth single by Australian band Boom Crash Opera, released in 1987. It was the fourth single to be released from the band's self-title album. It peaked at number 32 on the Kent Music Report. The song is about Miss America Beauty pageants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tongue Tied (Boom Crash Opera song)</span> 1995 single by Boom Crash Opera

"Tongue Tied" is a song by Australian pop rock band Boom Crash Opera, written and produced by founding member Peter Farnan. The song was released in January 1995 as the second single from their fourth studio album, Born (1995), and peaked at number 25 on the Australian Singles Chart. As of 2023, it is their most recent top-50 hit in Australia.

<i>Born</i> (Boom Crash Opera album) 1995 studio album by Boom Crash Opera

Born is the fourth studio album released by Australian rock group Boom Crash Opera. The album was released in February 1995 and peaked at number 37 on the ARIA Charts.

<i>The Best Things</i> (1998 album) 1998 greatest hits album by Boom Crash Opera

The Best Things – The Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits released by Australian rock band Boom Crash Opera. The album was released in August 1998 and includes tracks from all of Boom Crash Opera's five studio albums as well as non-album single "Soundtrack" and unreleased track "Radio".

<i>The Best Things</i> (2013 album) 2013 greatest hits album by Boom Crash Opera

The Best Things – The Greatest Hits is the fourth compilation album and third greatest hits released by Australian rock band Boom Crash Opera. The album was released in Australian on 18 October 2013. The album was launched on 25 October 2013 at the Flyer Saucer Club in Melbourne. The album includes tracks from the group's first four studio albums as well as two new tracks recorded in 2012, "I am" and "You Can't Stop the Sun".

<i>Dancing in the Storm</i> (album) 2009 studio album by Boom Crash Opera

Dancing in the Storm is the sixth studio album by Australian rock band Boom Crash Opera. The album was released in Australia on 1 May 2009 as part of the Liberation Music "Blue Acoustic" series. The physical version came with a bonus live DVD, recorded in June 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Me to Death</span> 1988 single by Boom Crash Opera

"Love Me to Death" is a song by Australian rock band Boom Crash Opera, released in 1988. It is the fifth and final single to be released from Boom Crash Opera's debut album Boom Crash Opera. It peaked at number 72 on the Kent Music Report.

Serious Young Insects were a short lived Australian pop rock band formed in 1980. The group released one studio album and three singles.

References

  1. Watt, Andrew (16 May 1986). "Crashing their way to success". The Age . Fairfax Media . Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  2. Stuart Coupe (4 October 1987). "Boom Crash Opera on the way". The Sydney Morning Herald . Fairfax Media . Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  3. Winstead, Kathleen (19 November 1990). "New band injects energetic musical jolt into pop". Kingman Daily Miner . Western News & Info . Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  4. Australian Music Database
  5. "Australian Music Awards". Ron Jeff. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  6. "Final episode of Countdown". 1970scountdown. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992: 23 years of hit singles & albums from the top 100 charts. St Ives, N.S.W, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 42. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  8. 1 2 "National Top 100 Singles for 1986". Kent Music Report . No. 650. December 1986. Retrieved 24 January 2023 via Imgur.