Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under". Its founding member and frontman is Colin Hay, who performs on lead vocals and guitar. After playing as an acoustic duo with Ron Strykert during 1978–79, Hay formed the group with Strykert playing bass guitar and Jerry Speiser on drums. They were soon joined by Greg Ham on flute, saxophone, and keyboards and John Rees on bass guitar, with Strykert switching back to lead guitar. The group was managed by Russell Depeller, a friend of Hay, whom he met at La Trobe University. This line-up achieved national and international success during the early to mid 1980s. In January 1983, they were the first Australian artists to have a simultaneous No. 1 album and No. 1 single on the United States Billboard charts: Business as Usual and "Down Under" (1981), respectively. With the same works, they achieved the distinction of a simultaneous No. 1 album and No. 1 single on the Australian, New Zealand, and United Kingdom charts. Their second album Cargo was also No. 1 in Australia, No. 2 in New Zealand, No. 3 in the US, and No. 8 in the UK. Their third album Two Hearts reached the top 20 in Australia and top 50 in the US.
Hootie & the Blowfish is an American rock band that was formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986. The band's lineup for most of its existence has been the quartet of Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld. The band went on hiatus in 2008 until they announced plans for a full reunion tour in 2019 and released their first new studio album in fourteen years, Imperfect Circle.
Air Supply is an Australian-English soft rock duo formed in Australia consisting of English-born singer-songwriter and guitarist Graham Russell and Australian lead vocalist Russell Hitchcock. They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight top-ten hits in the United States in the early 1980s. They formed in 1975 and have included various accompanying musicians and singers. The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) inducted Air Supply into their Hall of Fame on December 1, 2013 at the annual ARIA Awards.
Colin James Hay is a Scottish musician who emigrated to Australia in his youth. He is a singer, songwriter, and actor. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist of the band Men at Work and later as a solo artist. Hay's music has been used frequently by actor and director Zach Braff in his work, which helped a career rebirth in the mid-2000s. Hay has also been a member of Ringo Starr's Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.
Boom Crash Opera are an Australian pop rock band formed in early 1985. Initially they were based around the songwriting partnership of Richard Pleasance on guitar, bass guitar and vocals; and Peter Farnan on guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, and vocals. Pleasance developed tinnitus from constant exposure to loud live music & left in 1992 to pursue a solo career as an artist & producer. The group also included Dale Ryder on vocals, Peter Maslen on drums, percussion and vocals; and from 1992 Ian Tilley on bass guitar and vocals.
Kids in the Kitchen were an Australian pop, funk and new wave band which formed in 1983. They enjoyed chart success with four top-20 hits on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, "Change in Mood" (1983), "Bitter Desire" (1984), "Something That You Said" and "Current Stand". The related album, Shine, reached No. 9 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart and was the 16th-biggest-selling album of 1985 in Australia. A second album, Terrain, followed in August 1987 but did not chart and the group disbanded in 1988. Kids in the Kitchen supported the Australian leg of Culture Club's 2016 world tour.
Crowded House is the debut album by Australian band Crowded House. It was released in June 1986 and produced by Mitchell Froom. The album includes the hit singles "Don't Dream It's Over", "Something So Strong", "Mean to Me", "World Where You Live" and "Now We're Getting Somewhere".
"Don't Give Up" is a song written by English musician Peter Gabriel and recorded as a duet with Kate Bush for Gabriel's fifth solo studio album So (1986). The single version was released as the second single from the album in the UK in 1986 and as the fifth single in the United States in 1987. It spent eleven weeks in the UK Top 75 chart in 1986, peaking at number nine. The song was included in Peter Gabriel's Secret World Live tour featuring singer Paula Cole. The DVD release of a performance in Italy in 1993 included the duet. An all-orchestral recording featuring Ane Brun was released on Gabriel's New Blood album in 2011.
Wa Wa Nee was a 1980s Australian funk band.
Mondo Rock were an Australian rock band formed in November 1976 by singer-songwriter, Ross Wilson. Guitarist Eric McCusker, who joined in 1980, wrote many of the band's hits, and along with Wilson formed the core of the group. They're best known for their second album, Chemistry which was released in July 1981 and peaked at number 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report. Their song "Come Said the Boy" peaked at number 2 in Australia in 1983.
"Don't Wake Me" is a song by Australian pop-rock group Uncanny X-Men. The song was released in September 1986 as the second single from the band's second studio album, What You Give Is What You Get. The song peaked at number 31 on the Kent Music Report.
Brian Mannix is an Australian rock music singer and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of 1980s band Uncanny X-Men.
Uncanny X-Men were an Australian pop rock band which formed in late 1980. Their founding mainstay was lead singer Brian Mannix. Originally with Nick Matandos on drums and Ron Thiessen on guitar, they were soon joined by Chuck Hargreaves on guitar and Steve Harrison on bass guitar. John Kirk replaced Harrison and Craig Waugh replaced Matandos by 1984. The band's debut album, 'Cos Life Hurts, peaked at No. 3 on the Australian Kent Music Report, and provided their highest charting single "50 Years" which reached No. 4 on the related singles chart. Thiessen left to be eventually replaced by Brett Kingman. Their second album, What You Give is What You Get, reached No. 19, and included a top 20 single, "I Am" (April). The group disbanded in 1987 and have occasionally reunited to play live concerts. Mannix has had a solo career as a singer, TV personality and actor.
What's a Few Men? is the fifth studio album by Australian rock band Hunters & Collectors, which was released on 16 November 1987. The album's title was drawn from Albert Facey's memoir A Fortunate Life. The album peaked at No. 16 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and No. 9 on the New Zealand Albums Chart. It provided the singles, "Do You See What I See", issued in October 1987 and "Still Hangin' Round", in February the following year. "Do You See What I See" reached No. 33 in Australia while in New Zealand it became their highest charting single at No. 13.
Measure for Measure is the fifth studio album by Australian rock/synthpop band Icehouse and was the third album in the world to be recorded entirely digitally. The album's title refers to the Shakespearean play of the same name.
Band of Light were an Australian blues rock quartet formed in October 1972 by Tony Buettel on drums, Phil Key on lead vocals and guitar, Peter Roberts on bass guitar and Norm Roue on slide guitar. Roberts was soon replaced by Ian Rilen on bass guitar. They had a top 20 hit single, "The Destiny Song" on the Go-Set National Charts. The group released two albums, Total Union – which peaked at No. 13 – and The Archer (1974) before disbanding in late 1974. Phil Key died in May 1984 of a congenital heart condition; Ian Rilen died of bladder cancer in October 2006.
The Incredible Penguins were an Australian supergroup formed in 1985, which reached the top ten on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart with their cover of "Happy Xmas " in December. Contributors included Angry Anderson, Bob Geldof, Brian Mannix, Scott Carne, Colleen Hewett, and John Farnham. The charity project, for research on little penguins, was organized and produced by Countdown host, Ian Meldrum.
'SaliveOne! is the debut extended play by Australian pop-rock group, Uncanny X-Men. It was released in November 1982 and peaked at No. 40 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart. The EP was recorded live-in-the-studio in one day, two days after signing with Mushroom Records.
"How Do You Get Your Kicks" is a song by Australian pop-rock group Uncanny X-Men. The song was released in April 1983 as the group's debut single. It peaked at number 51 on the Kent Music Report.
"I Am" is a song by Australian pop-rock group Uncanny X-Men. The song was released in April 1986 as the lead single from the band's second studio album, What You Give Is What You Get. The song as the first single released by the band on CBS Records. It peaked at number 18 on the Kent Music Report.
