Grinspoon are an Australian rock band from Lismore, New South Wales, formed in 1995 and fronted by Phil Jamieson on vocals and guitar with Pat Davern on guitar, Joe Hansen on bass guitar and Kristian Hopes on drums. Also in 1995, Grinspoon won the Triple J–sponsored Unearthed competition for Lismore, with their post-grunge song "Sickfest". The name "Grinspoon" was taken from Dr. Lester Grinspoon, an associate professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who supported marijuana for medical use.
You Am I are an Australian power pop band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted at the number-one position on the ARIA Albums Chart: Hi Fi Way, Hourly, Daily and #4 Record. Nine of their tracks appeared on the related ARIA Singles Chart top 50 with "What I Don't Know 'bout You", their highest charting, at No. 28. You Am I have received ten ARIA Music Awards from thirty-one nominations. The band have supported international artists such as the Who, the Rolling Stones, Sonic Youth and Oasis.
Stephen Donald Cummings is an Australian rock singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from 1976 to 1981, followed by a solo career which has met with critical acclaim but has had limited commercial success. He has written two novels, Wonderboy (1996) and Stay Away from Lightning Girl (1999), and a memoir, Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy (2009). In 2014 a documentary film, Don't Throw Stones, based on his memoir premiered as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival.
Maxwell James Merritt was a New Zealand-born singer-songwriter and guitarist who was renowned as an interpreter of soul music and R&B. As leader of Max Merritt & The Meteors, his best known hits are "Slippin' Away", which reached No. 2 on the 1976 Australian singles charts, and "Hey, Western Union Man" which reached No. 13. Merritt rose to prominence in New Zealand from 1958 and relocated to Sydney, Australia, in December 1964. Merritt was acknowledged as one of the best local performers of the 1960s and 1970s and his influence did much to popularise soul music / R&B and rock in New Zealand and Australia.
Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1963. They were active in two incarnations, the first as a beat band from 1963–1967, and as a hard rock band from 1968–1973. They emerged in 1964 with their cover of "Poison Ivy", which kept The Beatles from the top spot of the Sydney charts during the latter's Australian tour. They enjoyed further success through 1965 when the original members quit after a financial dispute.
Mark Denis Lizotte is an American-born Australian singer-songwriter and musician, who has released material under the name Diesel, Johnny Diesel, as leader of band Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, and as a solo performer, as well as under his birth name. Two of his albums reached No. 1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Albums Charts, Hepfidelity in 1992 and The Lobbyist in 1993.
The 19th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 23 October 2005 at the Sydney SuperDome at the Sydney Olympic Park complex, thus continuing the previous year's innovation of televising the awards on Sunday evening. A varied cast of presenters included Merrick and Rosso, stand-up comic Dave Hughes, Gretel Killeen, David Hasselhoff, and Hamish & Andy.
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.
David Ross Hope Bridie is an Australian contemporary musician and songwriter. He was a founding mainstay member of World music band Not Drowning, Waving which released six studio albums to critical acclaim. He also formed a chamber pop group, My Friend the Chocolate Cake, which released seven studio albums. During his solo career he has issued five studio albums and worked on soundtracks for Australian films and television like The Man Who Sued God, Remote Area Nurse, Secret City, and The Circuit. Bridie is the founder and artistic director of Wantok Musik Foundation; a not-for-profit music label that records, releases and promotes culturally infused music from Indigenous Australia, Melanesia and Oceania. In 2019 he received the Don Banks Music Award.
Colleen Hewett is an Australian singer and actress.
Lobby Loyde, also known as John Barrie Lyde or Barry Lyde, was an Australian rock music guitarist, songwriter and producer.
1927 are an Australian pop rock band formed in 1987 with James Barton on drums, Billy Frost on bass guitar, his brother Garry Frost on guitar and keyboards, and Eric Weideman on vocals, guitar and keyboards. They were popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s with major hit songs. Their multi-platinum number-one album, ...ish (1988) was followed by The Other Side (1990). At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989 they won two categories: Breakthrough Artist – Album for ...ish and Breakthrough Artist – Single for "That's When I Think of You". At the 1990 ceremony they won Best Video for "Compulsory Hero", which was directed by Geoffrey Barter. In 1992 the group released a third studio album, 1927, which reached the top 40; but they disbanded the following year. Weideman reformed 1927 in 2009 with a new lineup.
...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.
Angus & Julia Stone are a Australian folk and indie pop group, formed in 2006 by brother and sister Angus and Julia Stone. Angus & Julia Stone have released five studio albums and a soundtrack album: A Book Like This (2007), Down the Way (2010), Angus & Julia Stone (2014), Snow (2017), Life Is Strange (2021) and Cape Forestier (2024). At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010, they won five awards from nine nominations: Album of the Year, Best Adult Alternative Album, Best Cover Art and Producer of the Year for Down the Way, and Single of the Year for "Big Jet Plane". The siblings have also issued solo albums.
Douglas John Parkinson was an Australian pop and rock singer. He led the bands Strings and Things/A Sound (1965), the Questions (1966–1968), Doug Parkinson in Focus, Fanny Adams (1970–1971), the Life Organisation (1973), Southern Star Band (1978–1980) and Doug Parkinson Band (1981–1983). Doug Parkinson in Focus's cover version of the Beatles' track "Dear Prudence" peaked at No. 5 on the Go-Set National Top 40. The follow-up single, "Without You" / "Hair" (October), also reached No. 5. Parkinson released solo material and performed in musical theatre productions.
Invertigo were an Australian four-piece pop rock group active in the early 2000s. They originally formed as Vertigo in 1996, by the three Leigh brothers: Gerry on guitar, James on keyboards and Vince on drums ; together with Hugh Wilson on lead vocals. They had a top 40 hit on the ARIA Singles Chart with "Forever Lately" and released an album before disbanding in 1999. The Leigh brothers formed Invertigo in 2000 with Christian Argenti on lead vocals. Their highest charting single, "Chances Are...", reached No. 19 and their sole album, Forum, peaked at No. 11. That group broke up in 2003.
The Black Sorrows are an Australian blues rock band formed in 1983 by mainstay vocalist Joe Camilleri, who also plays saxophone and guitar. Camilleri has used various line-ups to record 17 albums, with five reaching the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Charts: Hold on to Me, Harley and Rose, Better Times, The Chosen Ones - Greatest Hits and Lucky Charm. Their top 40 singles are "Chained to the Wheel", "Harley + Rose" and "Snake Skin Shoes".
Aztecs Live! At Sunbury was a double live album released in August 1972 by Australian hard rock group Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, which was recorded at the inaugural Sunbury Pop Festival in late January.
The discography of Australian rock group The Saints consists of fourteen studio albums, seventeen singles, six EPs, two live albums and ten compilation albums. The Saints began in 1974 as punk rockers and released their first single, "(I'm) Stranded", in September 1976 on their own Fatal Records label. They were signed to EMI and released their debut album in February 1977, (I'm) Stranded. Mainstay founder Chris Bailey is the principal songwriter and record producer. Their sound became more R&B and pop rock. Their highest-charting album, All Fools Day peaked in the Top 30 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart in April 1986. Their cover version of The Easybeats' hit "The Music Goes Round My Head", issued in November 1988, peaked in the Top 40 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
Jason Peter Walker is a New Zealand-Australian country musician and writer. His third album, Ceiling Sun Letters was nominated for the ARIA Award for Best Country Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2010.
