Air Supply are a soft rock duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975, consisting of Englishman Graham Russell and Australian Russell Hitchcock (vocals). They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight top-five hits on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Lost in Love" (1979), "All Out of Love", "Every Woman in the World", "The One That You Love", "Here I Am", "Sweet Dreams", "Even the Nights Are Better" and "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" (1983). In Australia, they had four top ten placements with "Love and Other Bruises" (1976), "All Out of Love", "Every Woman in the World" and "The One That You Love". Their highest charting studio album, The One That You Love (1981) reached number ten in both Australia and the US. The group, which relocated to Los Angeles in the late 1970s, has included many members, with Hitchcock and Russell at the core. The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) inducted Air Supply into their Hall of Fame on 1 December 2013, at the annual ARIA Awards.
Models are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne, Victoria in August 1978. They went into hiatus in 1988, but re-formed in 2000, 2006 and 2008 to perform reunion concerts. The band began regularly performing again from 2010 onwards. "Out of Mind, Out of Sight", their only No. 1 hit, appeared on the Australian singles charts in July 1985. The related album, Out of Mind, Out of Sight, peaked at No. 3 on the Australian albums charts after its release in August. Out of Mind, Out of Sight appeared on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with the single, "Out of Mind, Out of Sight", peaking at No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. An earlier song from the same album, "Barbados", had peaked at No. 2 on the Australian singles chart.
Icehouse are an Australian rock band, formed in Sydney in 1977 as Flowers. Initially known in their homeland for their pub rock style, the band later achieved mainstream success playing new wave and synth-pop music and attained Top 10 singles chart success locally and in both Europe and the U.S. The mainstay of both Flowers and Icehouse has been Iva Davies supplying additional musicians as required. The name "Icehouse", adopted in 1981, comes from an old, cold flat Davies lived in and the strange building across the road populated by itinerant people.
Mental As Anything are an Australian new wave and pop rock band that formed in Sydney in 1976. Its most popular line-up was Martin Plaza on vocals and guitar; Reg Mombassa on lead guitar and vocals; his brother Peter "Yoga Dog" O'Doherty on bass guitar and vocals; Wayne de Lisle on drums; and Andrew "Greedy" Smith on vocals, keyboards and harmonica. Their original hit songs were generated by Mombassa, O'Doherty, Plaza and Smith, either individually or collectively; they also hit the Australian charts with covers of songs by Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, and Chuck Berry.
The Dynamic Hepnotics were an Australian soul, blues and funk band which formed in 1979 and disbanded in 1986. Mainstay, lead vocalist and front man, "Continental" Robert Susz formed the group in Sydney. They had chart success on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart with a top 5 single, "Soul Kind of Feeling" in 1984. It was followed by "Gotta Be Wrong " which reached the top 20 in 1985. Their album, Take You Higher, reached the top 20 on the related Albums Chart in June. In 1986, "Soul Kind of Feeling" won the APRA Music Award for 'Most Performed Australasian Popular Work'.
Boom Crash Opera are an Australian pop rock band formed in late 1984. Initially based around the songwriting partnership of Richard Pleasance and Peter Farnan, the band was later joined by Dale Ryder (vocals), Peter ‘Maz’ Maslen (drums) and Greg O’Connor (keyboards). Pleasance developed tinnitus from constant exposure to loud live music and left in 1992 to pursue a solo career as an artist and producer. O’Connor departed in 1994.
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.
Venetians were an Australian synthpop act formed in 1982 by English-born Rik Swinn on lead vocals, who enlisted Matthew Hughes on keyboards ; Tim Powles on drums ; Dave Skeet on guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser and vocals; and Peter Watson on guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser and vocals. They issued three studio albums, Step Off the Edge, Calling in the Lions and Amazing World (1988). They had top 30 hit singles in Australia with "So Much for Love", "Inspiration" and "Bitter Tears". Swinn disbanded the group in 1989.
Stylus were an Australian blue-eyed soul group formed in 1975. They were the only Australian act to be released by Motown Records in the USA. Stylus toured supporting George Benson, Average White Band, Ike & Tina Turner, and Little River Band. According to rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, Stylus "scored a number of hit singles and became very popular on the Australian pub and concert circuit". The group disbanded in 1979 and subsequently had various reunions. In 1998-99 Japan's Toshiba-EMI re-issued three Stylus albums on CDs. Their reunions have resulted in a live album, Still Alive (2003); and a new studio album, Across Time (2010).
"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 Aliens were an Australian new wave band which formed in April 1978. They were one of the first local bands of the late 1970s to adopt a "uniform" of "black clothes and skinny, white ties". Two of their singles, "Confrontation" and "Follow that Girl", appeared on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart top 50. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, noted their "sound embraced guitar-oriented pop rock with the emphasis on 1960s melodies".
QED were an Australian new wave band who had a top twenty hit single, "Everywhere I Go", on the Australian Kent Music Report in 1984. The band's lead singer, Jenny Morris, later went on to achieve commercial success as a solo artist.
Quasimodo's Dream is the second album by Australian group The Reels, released in May 1981 by Polygram Records. It is considered to be the band's best work and contains the iconic title track, which was voted as number 10 on APRA's list of Top 30 Australian songs. Other singles from the album include "After the News" and "Shout and Deliver". The song "According to My Heart", a cover of the 1961 Jim Reeves song had been included on the album against the wishes of the band, as a result of this, there was a sticker on the inner sleeve that said "Due to Record Company Pressure This Album Contains The Hit Single According To My Heart".
Five Great Gift Ideas from the Reels is an extended play released by Australian band the Reels in November 1980. It was released during the recording sessions for the band's album Quasimodo's Dream. The EP consisted of 5 tracks: 4 covers and 1 original. It charted at #12 in Australia and was certified gold. "According to My Heart", a cover of the 1961 Jim Reeves song was also controversially included on their album Quasimodo's Dream.
Beautiful is the third studio album by The Reels and was released in 1982 by special licence on the budget-priced K-tel label. The album was subsequently released on CD through RCA (BPCD5038). The Reels had just split in two, following the recent shock departures of bass player Paul Abrahams and keyboardist Karen Ansell, forcing remaining members David Mason, Craig Hooper and Stephan Fidock to work out other concepts; eventually, they decided to shuffle on as a trio and use a tape recorder for live work. Nonetheless, Beautiful was the Reels' most successful album to date, mainly covering Middle of the Road classics with a synthesiser feel. The single taken from it, "This Guy's in Love With You" gave the Reels their biggest hit in Australia, peaking at number 7 around November of 1982. The album was later certified gold. In 2012 it was remastered and reissued on Compact Disc by Liberation Music.
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.
"Stay Young" is a song by Australian rock band INXS. It was released as the first single from the band's second album Underneath the Colours, in September 1981. "Stay Young" peaked at number 21 on the Australian Singles Charts in November.
"Rain" is a song by New Zealand rock group Dragon released in July 1983 as the first single ahead of their seventh studio album, Body and the Beat. It is co-written by the group's brothers, Marc and Todd Hunter, with Johanna Pigott, Todd's then-domestic partner. "Rain" peaked at number 2 and stayed in the Kent Music Report singles chart for 26 weeks. The song reached number 88 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 charts in mid-1984. For the original single version the group's Kerry Jacobson had provided drums and percussion; he left the group in September 1983 and was replaced by Terry Chambers, who is shown in promotional material including cover art and music videos.
Shine is the debut studio album by Australian new wave, pop group Kids in the Kitchen. It was released on 20 May 1985 via Mushroom Records. It peaked at No. 9 in Australia and was certified platinum for shipment of 70,000 copies. The line-up for most of its tracks was Scott Carne on lead vocals, Bruce Curnow on drums, Craig Harnath on bass guitar, Claude Carranza on lead guitar and Alistair Coia on keyboards, with the producer Mark S. Berry working on seven of its ten tracks. It provided six singles, "Change in Mood" (1983), "Bitter Desire" (1984), "Something That You Said", "Shine", "Current Stand", and "My Life". The album was re-released internationally in 1986 as Kids in the Kitchen by Sire Records for the European and American markets.
The Numbers were an Australian power pop band formed by siblings Annalisse and Chris Morrow in early 1978. They issued two studio albums, The Numbers, which peaked at No. 29 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart, and 39.51. The group disbanded in 1984, the Morrows formed another band, Maybe Dolls, in 1991.
