The Crystal Set were an Australian indie rock group formed in March 1983. By 1987 the line-up was Russell Kilbey, Phillip Maher, Davey Ray Moor and Tim Seckhold (drums). In April 1988 Moor was replaced by Craig Hooper, who was replaced in turn by Luke Blackburn, in May 1989. The group issued two studio albums, From Now On and Almost Pure, before disbanding later that year. Russell Kilbey is the younger brother of the Church's mainstay, Steve Kilbey.
Steven John Kilbey is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and bass guitarist for the rock band the Church. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter. As of 2020, Kilbey has released 14 solo albums and has collaborated on recordings with musical artists such as Martin Kennedy, Stephen Cummings and Ricky Maymi as a vocalist, musician, writer and/or producer. Ian McFarlane writes that "Kilbey's solo recordings [are] challenging and evocative. They ran the gamut of sounds and emotions from electronic and avant-garde to acoustic and symphonic, joyous and dreamy to saturnine and sardonic".
The Cruel Sea are an Australian indie rock band from Sydney, New South Wales formed in late 1987. Originally an instrumental-only band, they became more popular when fronted by vocalist Tex Perkins in addition to Jim Elliott on drums, Ken Gormly on bass guitar, Dan Rumour on guitar and James Cruickshank on guitar and keyboards. Their albums include The Honeymoon Is Over (1993), Three Legged Dog (1995) and Over Easy (1998). Some of their best-known songs are "Better Get a Lawyer", "Takin' All Day", "The Honeymoon Is Over" and "Reckless Eyeballin'" – an instrumental track from their debut album Down Below that became the theme of Australian TV police drama, Blue Heelers. The band has won eight ARIA Music Awards including five in 1994 for work associated with The Honeymoon Is Over.
Lubricated Goat are an Australian noise rock band which originally formed in 1986 by multi-instrumentalist Stu Spasm. They achieved brief notoriety in November 1988 for appearing nude on the ABC TV program Blah Blah Blah, wearing only their instruments and shoes. Mainly influenced by the Stooges and the Birthday Party, they are credited for playing a grimy, confrontational style of rock, which preceded grunge. They have issued five studio albums, Plays the Devil's Music (1987), Paddock of Love (1988), Psychedelicatessen (1990), Forces You Don't Understand (1994) and The Great Old Ones (2003).
Ollie Olsen is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound designer. He has performed, recorded and produced rock, electronic and experimental music since the mid-1970s. His post punk groups included Whirlywirld (1978–80), Orchestra of Skin and Bone (1984–86) and No (1987–89). Olsen joined with Michael Hutchence to form a short-term band, Max Q, which issued an album in 1989. He co-founded the alternative electronic music record label Psy-Harmonics with Andrew Till in 1993. In 2014 he formed Taipan Tiger Girls.
Beasts of Bourbon were an Australian blues rock band formed in August 1983, with James Baker on drums, Spencer P. Jones on guitar, Tex Perkins on vocals, Kim Salmon on guitar and Boris Sujdovic on bass guitar. Except for mainstays Jones and Perkins, the line-up changed over time as the group splintered and reformed several times. Their debut album, The Axeman's Jazz was released in July 1984. Their debut single, "Psycho", was a cover version of the Leon Payne original. The group disbanded by mid-1985 and each member pursued other musical projects.
Missing Link Records was an Australian-based independent record label established in 1977. The Missing Link label was created by Keith Glass and David Pepperell who were the owners of a Melbourne record store of the same name. The name was taken from a 1960s Australian rock band, The Missing Links. The label's initial releases were two retrospective 7-inch singles, "The Ultimate Garage Band" by The Union and "Living in the 60's" by Cam-Pact, both of which band from the 1960s that the owners had respectively performed with. Following a few more releases Pepperell departed and the label took on a new contemporary release program to reflect the punk-new wave movement of the late 1970s. According to rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, "[it] was a cornerstone organisation on Melbourne's independent scene of the late 1970s". The label became influential through the release of both Australian and overseas material, scoring a top 20 hit single with the local release of The Flying Lizards kitchen electronic version of "Money" (1979), when it was passed over by Festival Records.
Anthony Lawrence Cohen was an Australian music record producer and sound engineer. He worked with Nick Cave's groups the Birthday Party, and then the Bad Seeds from 1979 to 2001. In mid-1986 he had followed Cave to London and then onto Berlin, in January 1987, to continue to work on their material. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1994 Cohen won Producer of the Year for The Cruel Sea's second album, The Honeymoon Is Over. At the 1995 ceremony he won Producer of the Year and Engineer of the Year for the Cruel Sea's Three Legged Dog. Cohen had been a long-term alcohol and drug user, his health deteriorated in the 2010s and he died in 2017 at Dandenong Hospital, aged 60. In November 2017 he was posthumously inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame.
The Bhagavad Guitars were an indie-rock band which formed in 1985 as Inner Circle in Canberra by Jeremy Butterworth on guitar and vocals, Kynan Hughes on bass guitar and Matt Kerr on drums and John Kilbey on guitar and vocals. Hughes was replaced successively by Adrian Workman and then by Tony Locke. They recorded three 12 inch extended plays for Red Eye before recording a studio album, Introversion, in 1991 which was shelved due to record company disputes until July 1996. Meanwhile, they issued their first album, Hypnotised, in May 1992 via Karmic Hit/Shock, and disbanded in 1998. The group reformed in 2008 to record a new album, Unfamiliar Places, released in May 2011.
Caroline Frances Kennedy-McCracken is an Australian musician and visual artist. Kennedy-McCracken has been a singer-songwriter and guitarist in several bands, including The Plums (1992–1995), Deadstar (1995–2001) and The Tulips (2002–2006). In 2013, she appeared as a vocalist on Don't Tell The Driver, a solo album by the Dirty Three's Mick Turner. Kennedy-McCracken is also a visual artist, working primarily as a painter and sculptor.
...ish is the debut album by Australian pop rock band 1927, released on 14 November 1988, which peaked at number one for four weeks in early 1989 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The album remained in the top 50 for 46 weeks and reached No. 2 on the 1989 ARIA Year End Albums Chart. The album was awarded 5× platinum certification – for shipment of more than 350,000 copies. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989, 1927 won 'Breakthrough Artist – Single' for "That's When I Think of You" and 'Breakthrough Artist – Album' for ...ish. At the 1990 ceremony the group won 'Best Video' for "Compulsory Hero", which was directed by Geoff Barter. In 1999 rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, described the album as "brimful of stirring, stately pop rock anthems". As of 2002, it was in the top 10 of the most successful debut albums by Australian artists.
James Lawrence Baker is an Australian musician, best known as the drummer of various rock and punk rock groups, including the Victims, the Scientists, Hoodoo Gurus, Beasts of Bourbon, and the Dubrovniks. In 2006 Baker was inducted into the West Australian Music Industry Hall of Fame. The following year, Hoodoo Gurus were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
Grudge Records was the Australian record label for Universal Music Australia that mostly promoted Australian rock artists, such as Grinspoon, Skunkhour, and Powderfinger. Other artists include H-Block 101 and Sean Ikin.
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 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.
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, Tendrils (1994–99) and Beasts of Bourbon. His solo album, Vertigo and Other Phobias, was released in 1994 on Red Eye/Polydor.
Spencer Patrick Jones was a New Zealand guitar player and singer-songwriter from Te Awamutu. From 1976 he worked in Australia and was a member of various groups including The Johnnys, Beasts of Bourbon, Paul Kelly and The Coloured Girls, Chris Bailey and The General Dog, Maurice Frawley and The Working Class Ringos, and Sacred Cowboys. He also issued ten albums as a solo artist. In May 2012 Australian Guitar magazine rated Jones as one of Australia's Top 40 best guitarists.
Duncan Hazlett McGuire, was an Australian musician, songwriter, recording engineer and producer. McGuire was a founding member of the jazz fusion band, Ayers Rock from 1973 until he left in 1976. As a bass guitarist he appeared in several of Parkinson's groups including the Questions (1965–1968), Doug Parkinson in Focus (1968–1969) and the Southern Star Band (1978–1981). He went into music production in the early 1980s, in October 1980 he co-produced and engineered the debut self-titled album by Australian rock band, INXS. Duncan McGuire was diagnosed with lung cancer; and died in July 1989 of an associated brain tumour, aged 46.
Peter Richard McCracken is an Australian composer, guitarist and singer-songwriter, living and working in the Melbourne area. He has been a member of indie band The Plums (1992–1995), pop-rock band Deadstar (1997–2001) and country-tinged duo The Tulips (2002–2006). He married visual artist and bandmate Caroline Kennedy-McCracken. By 2005, the couple had two children.
The Honeymoon Is Over is the third studio album by Australian indie rock band The Cruel Sea, which was released in May 1993. The album was produced by the band, Tony Cohen and Mick Harvey for Red Eye Records. It peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart and has sold over 140,000 copies. Its lead single, "Black Stick" was released ahead of the album in March 1993 and peaked at No. 25 on the related Singles Chart. The title song, "The Honeymoon Is Over", was released in July 1993 as a single and reached the Top 50. It was followed by a cover of Tony Joe White's 1969 song, "Woman with Soul", in October which peaked at No. 64. The final single from the album, "Seems Twice", was issued in February 1994 and peaked at No. 90.
Curious (Yellow) was a pop, alternative rock band formed in 1987 by Swedish-born Karin Jansson, a singer-songwriter and guitarist, formerly of feminist punk band Pink Champagne. Curious (Yellow) had releases on Red Eye Records – an EP, I Am Curious and an album Charms and Blues. Both were produced by Steve Kilbey of The Church, who was Jansson's domestic partner. The band's name and that of their first release are references to the 1967 Swedish cult film I Am Curious (Yellow).
