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 Stems are a garage punk band formed in Perth, Western Australia in late 1983. They were founded by Dom Mariani in late 1983. The Stems are heavily influenced by 1960s garage rock and 1970s power pop. The band initially broke up in August 1987 and reformed in 2003, releasing a new album in 2007. Although the group disbanded in October 2009, as of 2013 The Stems are an ongoing live concern.
The Saints were an Australian rock band, originating in Brisbane, Queensland in 1973. The band was founded by Chris Bailey, Ivor Hay (drummer), and Ed Kuepper (guitarist-songwriter). They were initially labeled a punk band because, like American punk rock band the Ramones, the Saints were employing the fast tempos, raucous vocals and "buzzsaw" guitar that characterised early punk rock – although this only reflects a portion of their overall sound. With their debut single "(I'm) Stranded" in September 1976, they became the first punk band outside the US to release a record, ahead of better-known acts the Damned, the Sex Pistols and the Clash. They are considered one of the first and most influential groups of the genre, particularly within Australia.
The Dingoes are an Australian country rock band. They were initially active from 1973 to 1979, and reformed in 2009. Initially based in Melbourne, the band relocated to the United States from 1976. The most stable line-up comprised John Bois on bass guitar, John Lee on drums, Broderick Smith on vocals and harmonica, Chris Stockley on guitar, and Kerryn Tolhurst on guitar. Mal Logan on keyboards joined after Stockley was hospitalised when shot in the stomach by Melbourne drug-dealer, Dennis Allen, who was attempting to gate crash a party. The Dingoes' debut single, "Way Out West", was released in November 1973, and peaked in the top 40 of the Australian Kent Music Report singles chart. Subsequent singles were "Boy on the Run", "Smooth Sailing", and "Into the Night", which did not reach the top 50. They had three top 40 albums, The Dingoes in 1974, Five Times the Sun in 1977, and Orphans of the Storm in 1979.
Sherbet was one of the most successful Australian rock bands of the 1970s. The 'classic line-up' of Daryl Braithwaite on vocals, Tony Mitchell on bass guitar, Garth Porter on keyboards, Alan Sandow on drums, and Clive Shakespeare on guitar provided their teen-oriented pop style. In 1976 Shakespeare left and was soon replaced by Harvey James. Sherbet's biggest singles were "Summer Love" (1975) and "Howzat" (1976), both reaching number one in Australia. "Howzat" was also a top 5 hit in the United Kingdom. The band was less successful in the United States, where "Howzat" peaked at No. 61. As The Sherbs they also reached No. 61 in 1981 with "I Have the Skill". The group disbanded in 1984. Subsequent re-unions have occurred since 1998.
Goanna is an Australian rock band 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.
The Choirboys is an Australian hard rock and Australian pub rock band from Sydney formed as Choirboys in 1979 with mainstays Mark Gable on lead vocals, Ian Hulme on bass guitar, Brad Carr on lead guitar and Lindsay Tebbutt on drums. In preparation for their second album Big Bad Noise in 1988, the band changed their name to The Choirboys. The band line-up saw many changes from 1983 to 2007, while releasing 8 studio albums. Their 1987 single "Run to Paradise" remains their biggest commercial success.
Gossip is the double LP debut album by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls. Produced by Alan Thorne and Paul Kelly, it was released on Mushroom Records in September 1986, which peaked at No. 15 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart, and achieved gold record status. There was commercial success for "Before Too Long" which peaked at No. 15 and "Darling It Hurts" reached No. 25 on the related Singles Chart. Gossip was released in different forms, initially as a double album with 24 tracks, it was edited down to a single 15-track LP for North American and European release on A&M Records, when released on CD in North America, it featured 17 tracks.
Under the Sun is the second album by Australian rock group Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls and was originally released in December 1987 by Mushroom Records. In the North American and European markets, it was released by A&M Records in 1988 with the band credited as Paul Kelly & The Messengers, with a different track order and listing.
The Screaming Tribesmen were an Australian rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 1981 by mainstay Mick Medew on lead vocals and lead guitar. With various line-ups they released three studio albums, Bones and Flowers, Blood Lust (1990) and Formaldehyde (1993), before disbanding in 1998. They reformed in 2011 for performances until June 2012. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described how they, "fashioned a memorable brand of 1960s-inspired pop rock that combined equal parts existential lyric angst, melodic inventiveness and strident guitar riffs."
Boom Crash Opera are an Australian pop rock band formed in early 1985. Initially they were based around the songwriting partnership of Richard Pleasance on guitar, bass guitar and vocals; and Peter Farnan on guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, and vocals. Pleasance developed tinnitus from constant exposure to loud live music & left in 1992 to pursue a solo career as an artist & producer. The group also included Dale Ryder on vocals, Peter Maslen on drums, percussion and vocals; and from 1992 Ian Tilley on bass guitar and vocals.
Things of Stone and Wood or ToSaW are an Australian folk rock band which formed in 1989. The original line-up was Michael Bruce Allen on bass guitar and backing vocals; Greg Arnold on lead vocals and acoustic guitar; Justin Brady on violin, mandolin and harmonica; and Tony Floyd on drums and percussion. Two of their albums, The Yearning and Junk Theatre peaked at No. 8 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Their 1992 single, "Happy Birthday Helen" reached No. 9 on the ARIA Singles Chart, which was written by Arnold for his then-girlfriend, whom he later married. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993 the group won ARIA Award for Best New Talent for "Share This Wine". Arnold won 'Songwriter of the Year' at the 1993 APRA Awards.
Roxus were an Australian hard rock band which existed between 1987 and 1993. Members included Juno Roxas - lead vocals, Dragan Stanić - guitar, Darren Danielson - drums, John 'Stones' Nixon - bass guitar and Andy Shanahan - keyboards. Their debut album, Nightstreet was released in August 1991 and peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Their most successful single, "Where Are You Now?", reached No. 13 on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified gold.
Gregory Charles Arnold is an Australian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and academic. Arnold won the APRA Songwriter of the Year award in 1993 and performs regularly as a solo artist and with his folk rock band, Things of Stone and Wood.
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.
West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum is the third studio album by British indie rock band Kasabian, which was released on 5 June 2009. It was the band's first album not to feature Christopher Karloff, the band's lead guitarist and songwriter who departed during the writing stages of Empire (2006). Rhythm guitarist Sergio Pizzorno became lead songwriter and co-producer for the band. It is also their first album to feature guitar contributions from Tim Carter, who would become the band's touring guitarist in 2013 and a full-fledged member of the band in 2021.
"The Loved One" is a song by Australian R&B, rock band The Loved Ones and was released in May 1966 as the debut single ahead of their extended play, The Loved Ones, which appeared in December. The song also featured on their debut long play album, Magic Box, in October 1967. "The Loved One" reached No. 2 on the Australian Top 40 singles charts in 1966.
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.
"(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" is a song by British synth-pop band Heaven 17. It was their debut single, released on 6 March 1981, also acting as the lead single from their debut studio album, Penthouse and Pavement (1981). It was a minor hit in the UK in 1981, despite being banned by the BBC. It was also a minor dance hit in the US. It developed from an instrumental, "Groove Thang", that Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh created earlier that year for Music for Stowaways, an album they released under the British Electric Foundation name.
"Leaps and Bounds" / "Bradman" is a double A-sided single by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls released in January 1987. "Leaps and Bounds" is from their debut double album, Gossip (1986). "Bradman" did not appear on a studio album until the international version of Under the Sun (1988). The single reached top 100 in the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. Due to possible racist connotations the band changed its name, for international releases, to Paul Kelly and the Messengers. In 1997, Kelly was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, at the ceremony Crowded House paid tribute to Kelly and performed "Leaps and Bounds". In October 2003, Xanthe Littlemore covered "Leaps and Bounds" for the tribute album, Stories of Me – A Songwriter's Tribute to Paul Kelly. In 2005, rock music writer, Toby Creswell described two of Kelly's songs: "Leaps and Bounds" and "From Little Things Big Things Grow" in his book, 1001 Songs. For the former, Creswell observed "The grand themes of [his] work are all there – Melbourne, football, transcendence and memory... [he] is a detail man – the temperature, the location, foliage". On 26 March 2006 Kelly performed at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony in Melbourne, singing "Leaps and Bounds" and "Rally Around the Drum". In February 2009 Patience Hodgson, Glenn Richards and Kelly performed "Leaps and Bounds" at the Myer Music Bowl for SBS-TV's concert RocKwiz Salutes the Bowl. On 29 September 2012 Kelly performed "How to Make Gravy" and "Leaps and Bounds" at the 2012 AFL Grand Final although most of the performance was not broadcast on Seven Network's pre-game segment.
