The Killjoys were an Australian pop, folk band formed in 1987. The mainstay members were Anna Burley on lead vocals and guitar and Craig Pilkington on lead guitar and vocals. They attracted a wide following in the vibrant pub scene. Their debut album, Ruby won the ARIA Award for Best Independent Release at the ARIA Music Awards of 1991.
The Hummingbirds were an Australian indie pop and jangle pop band from Sydney, who formed in 1986 from Bug Eyed Monsters. They were one of the most highly regarded outfits to emerge from Sydney's inner-city scene during the late 1980s and were an early signing to the rooArt label. The Hummingbirds' single "Blush" peaked at No.19 on the ARIA singles charts in 1989. They left rooArt in 1992, and disbanded in 1993.
Edmund "Ed" Kuepper is a German-born Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded the punk band The Saints in 1973, the experimental post-punk group Laughing Clowns and the grunge-like The Aints!. He has also recorded over a dozen albums as a solo artist using a variety of backing bands. His highest charting solo album, Honey Steel's Gold, appeared in November 1991 and reached No. 28 on the ARIA Albums Chart. His other top 50 albums are Black Ticket Day, Serene Machine and Character Assassination. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993 he won Best Independent Release for Black Ticket Day and won the same category in 1994 for Serene Machine.
Dragon are a New Zealand rock band which was formed in Auckland in January 1972, and, from 1975, based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The band was originally fronted by singer Graeme Collins, but rose to fame with singer Marc Hunter and is currently led by his brother, bass player and vocalist Todd Hunter. The group performed, and released material, under the name Hunter in Europe and the United States during 1987.
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.
Def FX was an Australian band created by Sean Lowry (keyboards) in 1990 and included Fiona Horne on lead vocals, Blake Gardiner on guitar and Martyn Basha on bass - the band had no drummer. They released four albums, Light Speed Collision, Baptism, Ritual Eternal, Majick before disbanding in April 1997. For United States releases and touring they used Definition FX as their band name to avoid confusion with similarly named groups.
Not Drowning, Waving were a musical group formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1983 by David Bridie and John Phillips. Their music combined elements of rock, ambient music and world music; their lyrics dealt with characteristically Australian topics: word-pictures of landscapes and people, the seasons, and some political issues – such as Indonesia's invasion of East Timor. The group released six studio albums and two soundtracks until disbanding in 1994, they briefly reformed in 2001, 2003 and 2005–2006. From 2005 to 2007, they issued three compilation albums. Not Drowning, Waving won the ARIA Award for Best Independent Release at the ARIA Music Awards of 1992 for Proof, their soundtrack for the 1991 film of the same name. In 1991, Bridie and fellow members of Not Drowning, Waving, formed a side-project, My Friend The Chocolate Cake to play more acoustic-based material.
Frente! is an Australian folk-pop and indie pop group which originally formed in 1989. The original line-up consisted of Simon Austin on guitar and backing vocals, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar, and Mark Picton on drums.
Tripod are an Australian musical comedy trio founded by Scod, Yon and Gatesy in 1996. They provide original songs and harmonies, strung together by comic banter.
Weddings, Parties, Anything. was an Australian folk rock band formed in 1984 in Melbourne and continuing until 1999. Their name came from The Clash song "Revolution Rock". Musicologist Billy Pinnell described their first album as the best Australian rock debut since Skyhooks' Living in the 70's.
Dave Graney is an Australian rock musician, singer-songwriter and author from Melbourne. Since 1978, Graney has collaborated with drummer-multi instrumentalist Clare Moore. The pair have fronted or been involved with numerous bands including The Moodists, Dave Graney and The White Buffaloes, Dave Graney and The Coral Snakes, The Dave Graney Show, Dave Graney and Clare Moore featuring The Lurid Yellow Mist or Dave Graney and The Lurid Yellow Mist and Dave Graney and The mistLY. Everything Was Funny was credited to Dave Graney and Clare Moore.
Christopher John Wilson was an Australian blues musician who sang and played harmonica, saxophone and guitar. He performed as part of the Sole Twisters, Harem Scarem and Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, and fronted his band Crown of Thorns. Wilson's solo albums are Landlocked, The Long Weekend, Spiderman (2000), King for a Day, Flying Fish (2012) and the self titled Chris Wilson (2018).
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.
William Richard Thorpe AM was an English-born Australian singer-songwriter, and record producer. As lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", "Poison Ivy", "Over the Rainbow", "Sick and Tired", "Baby, Hold Me Close" and "Mashed Potato"; and in the 1970s with "Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy". Featuring in concerts at Sunbury Pop Festivals and Myer Music Bowl in the early 1970s, the Aztecs also developed the pub rock scene and were one of the loudest groups in Australia.
Angela Ruth Hart, billed as Angie Hart, is an Australian singer best known for her role as lead vocalist in the alternative pop rock band Frente! and the indie pop duo Splendid with her then-husband Jesse Tobias. Hart's solo career commenced in 2006 with the release the album, Grounded Bird (2007).
Pieter Bourke is an Australian musician, composer, producer and audio engineer. From 1995 he has recorded several projects with Dead Can Dance founder Lisa Gerrard, and was a touring member of Dead Can Dance's 1996 Spiritchaser Tour. On 14 April 1998 Bourke and Gerrard issued a world music album, Duality. From 1993 he also collaborated with industrial musician, David Thrussell, first as part of the latter's band Snog, then together as the ambient duo, Soma. In 2001, he formed a dub reggae outfit, Secret Masters, with Brian Westbrook. Bourke and Gerrard have received two shared Golden Globe nominations for 'Best Original Score', in 2000 for The Insider (1999), and in 2002 for Ali (2001).
Dan Brodie is an Australian singer and songwriter from Melbourne, Australia, best known for his prolific solo career, during which he has released seven studio.
Do-Ré-Mi was an Australian pop rock band formed in Sydney in 1981 by Deborah Conway, Dorland Bray, Helen Carter and Stephen Philip (guitar). They were one of Australia's most respected and successful post-punk groups. Do-Ré-Mi recorded self-titled EP and The Waiting Room for independent label Green Records before signing to Virgin Records and recording their first LP, Domestic Harmony in 1985 with Gavin MacKillop producing. Domestic Harmony achieved gold sales and contained their most played song, "Man Overboard", which was a top 5 hit single in 1985. This song was notable for its lyrical references to penis envy and pubic hair. Do-Ré-Mi's follow-up singles Idiot Grin and Warnings Moving Clockwise reached the Top 100.
Icecream Hands are a power pop band formed in Melbourne, Victoria in 1992 as Chuck Skatt and His Icecream Hands with Charles "Chuck Skatt" Jenkins as lead singer-songwriter and rhythm guitarist, Arturo "Arch" Larizza on bass guitar, his brother Dom "Benedictine III" Larizza on lead guitar and Derek Smiley on drums. They shortened the name and released a self-titled extended play on Rubber Records in 1992. After a year Douglas Lee Robertson had replaced Arch on bass guitar.
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.
