Spirit of Place is the debut studio album by Australian folk rock band Goanna. It was originally released in November 1982, it peaked at No. 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and was certified double platinum by May 1983.
Stephen Carlton Wright was an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. Called Australia's first international pop star, he is best known for being the lead singer of the Easybeats, who are widely regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the 1960s.
Kev's Back (The Return of the Yobbo) is the second album by the bawdy Australian singer/comedian Kevin Bloody Wilson. The album won the first ever ARIA Award for "Best Comedy Release" and was nominated for "Highest Selling Album". The album includes what is claimed by critics to be overtly racist humour.
"Under the Milky Way" is a single by Australian alternative rock band The Church, released on 15 February 1988, and appears on their fifth studio album Starfish. The song was written by bass guitarist and lead vocalist Steve Kilbey and his then-girlfriend Karin Jansson of Curious (Yellow). It peaked at No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, No. 24 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and No. 25 on the New Zealand Singles Chart; it also appeared in the Dutch Single Top 100. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989, the song won 'Single of the Year'. It was issued simultaneously in both 7" vinyl and 12" vinyl formats by Arista Records (internationally) and Mushroom Records.
Little Heroes were an Australian band formed in 1980, by founding mainstay Roger Hart on lead vocals and guitar. They released three studio albums, Little Heroes, Play by Numbers and Watch the World. Their highest charting hit, "One Perfect Day", which was released in 1982, reached No. 12 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart. Their other charting singles are "Young Hearts" (1982), "Watch the World" and "Bon Voyage". They disbanded in June 1984.
Kevin Stephen Johnson is an Australian singer-songwriter. Popular in the 1970s, his biggest hit is "Rock and Roll ", which peaked at No. 4 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart in 1973. He also had a top 20 hit with "Bonnie Please Don't Go" in 1971. "Rock and Roll" is one of the most covered songs written by an Australian with 27 different artists recording the song in 1975 alone. Covers of "Rock and Roll " came from fellow Australians, Col Joye and Dig Richards, and from international artists, Mac Davis, Terry Jacks, Gary Glitter, Joe Dassin, The Cats and Tom Jones. Davis' rendition became the highest charting version on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 15 in 1975.
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.
"Under the Water" is a song written in 1990 by Owen Bolwell and Stanley Paulzen, produced by Siew for Australian singer-songwriter Merril Bainbridge's first album, The Garden (1995). The song is about a lover who drowned.
"Straight Lines" is a song by Australian rock band Silverchair. It was released on 12 March 2007 and debuted at number one on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, becoming the band's first number-one single since 1997's "Freak". The single was shortly followed by the release of the band's fifth studio album Young Modern on 31 March 2007. Unlike the songs written during Diorama, when Daniel Johns wrote all the tracks himself, "Straight Lines" was co-written by the Presets' Julian Hamilton.
Whispering Jack is the twelfth studio album by Australian adult contemporary pop singer John Farnham. It was produced by Ross Fraser and released on 29 September 1986, peaking at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart. Whispering Jack became the second-best-selling album in Australia, behind only Meat Loaf's album Bat Out of Hell, and the highest-selling album in Australia by an Australian artist―24× platinum, indicating over 1.68 million copies sold; it remains the third-best-selling album of all time in Australia, as Shania Twain's Come On Over eventually eclipsed it. It spent 25 weeks at the No. 1 spot on the albums chart during 1986–1987, it was awarded the 1987 ARIA Award for Album of the Year, and it 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 the album and peaked at No. 1 on the Kent Music Report singles chart.
"Summer Love" is a song by Australian pop group, Sherbet and was released in March 1975. It became their first number-one hit on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. The song was promoted on the newly aired ABC TV pop series, Countdown, which gave it wide exposure. From early 1975 the group made more appearances on the show than any other band in the programme's history. In October, at the King of Pop Awards, "Summer Love" won the Most Popular Australian Single, the band won Most Popular Australian Group and their lead singer, Daryl Braithwaite, won the King of Pop award.
Ross Edwin Ryan is an American-born Australian singer-songwriter and producer. His signature tune, "I Am Pegasus", was released in September 1973, which peaked at No. 2 on the Australian Singles. Its parent album, My Name Means Horse, was released in February 1974, which reached No. 3 on the Australian Album chart.
"Run to Paradise" is a song by Australian hard rock group The Choirboys which reached No. 3 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart in December 1987. The related Big Bad Noise album peaked at No. 5, and was the twenty-first highest-selling album of 1988 in Australia. In New Zealand, "Run to Paradise" attained No. 13 on the RIANZ Singles Chart. Released in the United States in 1989, it appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 and Mainstream Rock charts. The song was re-worked for a 2004 release credited to Nick Skitz vs. Choirboys and reached No. 16 on the ARIA Singles Chart. In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Run to Paradise" was ranked number 24.
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.
"I Send a Message" was the second single released by Australian rock band INXS from their fourth album The Swing. The music video was directed by Yamamoto San and filmed in Tokyo at the city's oldest Buddhist temple in Main Old City Park.
Douglas Wesley Ashdown is an Australian singer-songwriter who had a minor hit in Australia with "Winter in America", also known as "Leave Love Enough Alone", which also reached No. 13 on the Dutch Singles Chart in 1978.
"Out of Mind, Out of Sight" is the title single by Australian new wave rock band Models from their album of the same name. It was released in June 1985 and was their most successful single, which peaked at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. The album followed in August on Mushroom Records with Nick Launay, Reggie Lucas and Mark Opitz producing and reached No. 3 on the related albums chart.
Roger Ashley Mason is an Australian keyboardist who has been a member of new wave groups Models, Absent Friends and Icehouse. He was a session and backing musician for United Kingdom's Gary Numan and for various Australian artists. From the early 1990s he has composed music for television and feature films.
Streetlife is the debut album by Australian rock group, Geeza. It was released in mid-1977 by Laser Records / RCA Records and was produced by Mario Millo. The first single, 'Run 'n' Hide', peaked at number 56 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, while the second single, 'Song to Warilla', failed to chart.
"You Weren't in Love with Me" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Billy Field. It was released in July 1981 as the second and final single from his debut studio album, Bad Habits. The song peaked at number one on the Australian Kent Music Report and entered the top 30 in New Zealand. At the APRA Music Awards of 1982, the song won Most Performed Australasian Popular Work.
