Pseudo Echo are an Australian new wave band that formed in 1982 by founding mainstay Brian Canham on vocals, guitar and keyboards. Other original members were Piero Gigliotti on bass keyboards and bass guitar, and Tony Lugton on keyboards. Later members included Anthony Argiro on drums, James Leigh on keyboards and his brother, Vince Leigh on drums. In the 1980s Pseudo Echo had Australian top 20 hits with "Listening", "A Beat for You", "Don't Go", "Love an Adventure", "Living in a Dream" and their cover of "Funky Town", which peaked at No. 1 in 1986. In 1987 it reached No. 1 in Canada, No. 1 in New Zealand, No. 6 in the United States, and No. 8 in the United Kingdom.
Pat Wilson is an Australian singer and journalist. Wilson wrote for Go-Set, a 1960s and 1970s pop music newspaper, under the pen-name "Mummy Cool" during 1971–1972. Wilson released several singles in the early 1980s including the hit single "Bop Girl". The song was written by her then husband Ross Wilson of the bands Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock.
Ross Andrew Wilson is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is the co-founder and frontman of the long-standing rock groups Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock, as well as a number of other former bands, in addition to performing solo. He has produced records for bands such as Skyhooks and Jo Jo Zep & the Falcons, as well as for those of his own bands. He appeared as a judge on celebrity singing TV series It Takes Two from 2005. Wilson was individually inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 1989 and again as a member of Daddy Cool in 2006.
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.
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.
Mondo Rock was an Australian rock band formed in November 1976 by singer-songwriter, Ross Wilson. They're 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. The group disbanded in 1991, although they have periodically undertaken reunion concerts. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, "by way of ceaseless touring and the release of a series of sophisticated pop rock albums, [the band was] one of the most popular acts in Australia during the early 1980s". The band had a national tour in 2019.
"State of the Heart" is a song recorded by Australian rock group Mondo Rock and released in October 1980 as the lead single from the band's second studio album, Chemistry (1981). The song peaked at number 6 on the Australian Kent Music Report. The song was written by Mondo Rock's guitarist Eric McCusker.
Whispering Jack is the twelfth studio album by Australian adult contemporary pop singer John Farnham. It was produced by Ross Fraser, and released on 20 October 1986, peaking at #1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Album Charts. Whispering Jack has become the second best-selling-album in Australia, behind Meatloaf's album Bat Out of Hell, and the highest selling album in Australia by an Australian artist - 24x platinum indicating sales of over 1.68 million copies sold. It spent 25 weeks at the No. 1 spot on the Album Charts during 1986–1987, it was awarded the 1987 ARIA Award for "Album of the Year", and was the best charting album for the decade of the 1980s in Australia. It was the first Australian-made album to be released on Compact Disc within Australia. One of Farnham's biggest hits, "You're the Voice" was issued as the lead single from this album and peaked at No. 1 on the Kent Music Report Singles Charts.
The Party Boys is an Australian rock supergroup with a floating membership commencing in 1982. Created by Mondo Rock's bass guitarist, Paul Christie with founding member Kevin Borich as a part-time venture for professional musicians with downtime from their other projects, the group had temporary members from acts such as Status Quo, The Angels, Sherbet, Skyhooks, Rose Tattoo, The Choirboys, Australian Crawl, Divinyls, Models, Dragon and Swanee plus international stars including Joe Walsh, Eric Burdon, Alan Lancaster and Graham Bonnet. In March 1983 their debut album, Live at Several 21sts, peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. In June 1987 they had a number-one hit on the related Singles Chart with a cover version of John Kongos' hit, "He's Gonna Step On You Again". It also peaked at No. 10 on the New Zealand Singles Chart.
Chantoozies are an Australian pop group, formed in 1986. The group featured four female vocalists: Eve von Bibra, Angie La Bozzetta, Ally Fowler and Tottie Goldsmith, and four male musicians: Brett Goldsmith, Scott Griffiths, Frank McCoy and David Reyne. Their name is an intentional mispronunciation of the French word for a female singer, "chanteuse".
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.
Kevin Gullifer Hopkins-Smith, who performed as Little Gulliver and Gulliver Smith, was an Australian singer and songwriter from the early 1960s to mid-2000s. He was the front man and founding mainstay vocalist of Company Caine. In 1976 he and Ross Wilson co-wrote "A Touch of Paradise" for Wilson's group, Mondo Rock, which appeared on their third album, Nuovo Mondo. It was covered by John Farnham on his album, Whispering Jack, and was issued as its third single in February 1987, which reached the top 30 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart.
The Best of Dragon and Mondo Rock is a collaborative compilation album by Australian rock band Mondo Rock and New Zealand band Dragon, released in June 1990. The album peaked at number 47 on the ARIA Charts.
"Summer of '81" is a song by Australian rock band Mondo Rock, released in October 1981. It is the fourth and final single to be released from the band's second studio album Chemistry (1981). It peaked at number 31 on the Kent Music Report.
"Chemistry" is a song by Australian rock band Mondo Rock, released in July 1981 as the third single from the band's second studio album Chemistry (1981). The song peaked at number 20 on the Kent Music Report.
"No Time" is a song by Australian rock band Mondo Rock, released in June 1982 as the lead single from the band's third album Nuovo Mondo. It peaked at number 11 on the Kent Music Report.
"The Queen and Me" is a song by Australian rock band Mondo Rock, released in September 1982 as the second single from the band's third studio album Nuovo Mondo (1982). It peaked at number 40 on the Kent Music Report.
"Come Said the Boy" is a song by Australian rock band Mondo Rock, released in November 1983 as the lead single from the band's fourth studio album The Modern Bop (1984). The song became the band's highest-charting single, peaking at number 2 on the Kent Music Report. It was written by the group's lead guitarist, Eric McCusker, and was co-produced by John Sayers and the band.
"Primitive Love Rites" is a song by Australian rock band Mondo Rock, released in October 1986 as the second single from the band's fifth studio album Boom Baby Boom (1986). The song peaked at number 34 on the Kent Music Report. The song became the band's only song to peak within the Billboard Hot 100, at 71. In New Zealand the song peaked at number 40 on Recorded Music NZ.
The Essential Mondo Rock is a 2 disc compilation album by Australian rock band Mondo Rock, released in October 2003 by Sony Music Australia. It peaked at number 70 on the ARIA Charts in November 2003.
