The Zorros were an Australian rock band, formed in 1979, comprising Nic Chancellor on lead vocals, Darren Smith on lead guitar, Alex Zammit on bass guitar and Greg Pedley on drums.
The Loved Ones were an Australian rock band formed in 1965 in Melbourne following the British Invasion. The line-up of Gavin Anderson on drums, Ian Clyne on organ and piano, Gerry Humphrys on vocals and harmonica, Rob Lovett on guitar and Kim Lynch on bass guitar recorded their early hits. Their signature song, "The Loved One", reached number two on Australian singles charts and was later covered by INXS. In 2001 it was selected as number six on the Australasian Performing Right Association's (APRA) list of Top 30 Australian songs of all time. Their debut album, The Loved Ones' Magic Box, was released late in 1967 and included their other hit singles, "Ever Lovin' Man" and "Sad Dark Eyes". They disbanded in October 1967 and, although the band's main career lasted only two years, they are regarded as one of the most significant Australian bands of the 1960s. They reformed for a short tour in 1987 which provided the album Live on Blueberry Hill. Humphrys lived in London from the mid-1970s until his death on 4 December 2005. On 27 October 2010, the Loved Ones were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame.
Noiseworks are an Australian hard rock band formed in Sydney in 1986 with bass guitarist Steve Balbi, guitarist Stuart Fraser, drummer Kevin Nicol, keyboardist Justin Stanley and lead vocalist Jon Stevens. They had four Australian Top 10 albums, Noiseworks (1987), Touch (1988), Love Versus Money (1991) and Greatest Hits (1992). They produced three Top 10 singles, "Take Me Back", "Touch" and "Hot Chilli Woman" before disbanding in 1992. Reunion tours occurred in 1999, 2004, 2007–2008, 2011, 2013. The band later reformed in 2016 and in August 2022, released "Heart & Soul"; their first new song in 30 years. Noiseworks' fourth studio album, Evolution was released in November 2022.
Suzanne Marguerite Abeyratne, who performs as Zan or Xan, is an Australian-based singer born in London. Abeyratne was a co-lead vocalist of I'm Talking (1984–87), alongside Kate Ceberano. She provided lead vocals on their single, "Holy Word", which peaked at No. 9 in Australia, and No. 21 in New Zealand. Along with her identical twin sister Sherine, Abeyratne has provided backing vocals for Models, INXS, and U2, and has toured the world with other bands.
Jennifer May "Jenni" Forbes is an Australian-born singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. Her song, "I Want You", co-written with Peter Northcote, was performed by fellow Mushroom Records artist, Toni Pearen and peaked in the top 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart in April 1993.
Ol' 55 are an Australian band specialising in retro, 1950s-era Rock 'n' Roll. They formed as Fanis in 1972 in Sutherland, Sydney. Drummer Geoff Plummer was working with Glenn A. Baker at the NSW Department of Media and invited Baker to hear his part-time band, including Patrick "Meatballs" Drummond, Rockpile Jones and Jimmy Manzie. In 1975, Baker took on their management, renamed them as Ol' 55 for the Tom Waits song, and recruited front man Frankie J. Holden and, later in the year, saxophonist Wilbur Wilde.
Ray Arnott is an Australian rock drummer, singer-songwriter, he was a member of Spectrum (1970–1973), which had a number one hit with "I'll Be Gone". He also played drums for The Dingoes in the 1970s and Cold Chisel in 1980s.
"Before Too Long" is a song by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, released as the first single from their debut double album, Gossip. It was released in June 1986 on the original White Label Records, a subsidiary of Mushroom Records. It reached No. 15 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, remaining for 19 weeks. The track was a surprise hit for Kelly at a time when chart success had eluded him and provided increased interest for the release of Gossip, which would become his biggest mainstream success to that date.
"Quasimodo's Dream" is a song by Australian pop/new wave band The Reels and was released as the title single off their second album, Quasimodo's Dream in May 1981. The album peaked at No. 27 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart but the single did not reach the Top 50 of the related Singles Chart. Rock music historian, Ian McFarlane claimed, "the album's highlight was the sparse, evocative title track". The song, written by lead singer Dave Mason, is now regarded as a classic—in 2001 it was named by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) at No. 10 of their Top 30 Australian songs of all time. It was covered by fellow Australians Kate Ceberano (1989) and Jimmy Little (1999).
The Ferrets were an Australian pop band. They are best known for their song "Don't Fall in Love" and album, Dreams of a Love which were both released in 1977.
James William Manzie, known as Jimmy Manzie or Jim Manzie, is an Australian musician and songwriter for a variety of bands including rock revival band Ol' 55 (1975–1979), pop groups The Breakers (1979–1982) and The Fives (1982) before turning to solo work, production and composing for film/television scores and soundtracks. As a member of Ol' 55, Manzie wrote "On the Prowl" their top 20 hit single on the Australian Kent Music Report in late 1975, which was followed by their debut album, Take It Greasy which reached No. 3 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart in 1976.
The Whole Thing's Started is the second studio album by British/Australian soft rock band Air Supply, released in July 1977. The first single "Do What You Do" was released ahead of the album in June, "That's How the Whole Thing Started" followed in October and "Do It Again" appeared in February 1978. Neither the album nor the singles peaked into the Australian Kent Music Report Top 40 charts.
Air Supply is the debut album by British/Australian soft rock band Air Supply released on CBS Records in December 1976. The lead single "Love and Other Bruises" was released in October, reaching No. 6 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart, followed by the album peak at No. 17 on the Kent Albums Chart. While the album reached gold status in Australia, the second single "Empty Pages" did not reach the Top 40 in February 1977. The album was issued as Strangers in Love in Japan.
"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.
Wendy Anne-Marie Stapleton is an Australian pop/rock singer-songwriter, musical theatre performer and television actress and presenter Stapleton has performed as a backing singer, session musician and a solo artist; she fronted various Melbourne-based groups including Wendy Stapleton Band (1976–1978) and Wendy & the Rocketts [sic] (1980–1985) which had a top 30 hit single with "Play the Game" in June 1983.
"Darling It Hurts" is a song by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls released in September 1986 as the second single from their first double album, Gossip. The song, written by Kelly with lead guitarist Steve Connolly, reached No. 25 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart in October. It was issued in 1987 on A&M Records in the United States, where it reached No. 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart. Due to possible racist connotations the band changed its name, for international releases, to Paul Kelly and the Messengers. According to Allmusic's Mike Gagne, "Kelly's pain can be felt as he describes an ex-girlfriend of his who has turned to prostitution."
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.
The discography of Australian rock group The Saints consists of thirteen 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.
"Burn for You" is a song by Australian rock band INXS that features on the band's fourth album The Swing. It was the third single to be released from the album and peaked at #3 on the Australian chart in August 1984, remaining there for two weeks.
David Lawrence Mason is an Australian singer-songwriter and record producer originally from Dubbo. He is the founding mainstay of pop, rock group, The Reels. For the group, Mason wrote and sang their hit singles, "Love Will Find a Way", "Prefab Heart" (1980), "After the News", and "Shout and Deliver". He also wrote "Quasimodo's Dream", which was a non-charting single from May 1981. However, in May 2001, it was listed by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) at No. 10 of their Top 30 Australian songs of all time.
