Australian Music

This one got into the top 10 in the USA. Electric Blue by Iva Davis and Icehouse. It's a great song, even though his mullet gave me the creeps.

Liked INXS in their hay days,

Liked the little guitar player in this vid:

Jimmy Barnes did make it into the US top 50 with his INXS duet "Good Times" from The Lost Boys soundtrack.

And I'll give myself an Oh, Dear for that post.

And another one. r5=OP

I love how Michael Hutchence - as an aside, maybe the most beautiful man in Australian musical history - pronounced Bony Maronie as Moanie Ramoney in Good Times

Indecent Obsession! (I only know one song lol)

INXS and The Church. Crowded House too. The Church is still around and have continued putting out albums (to nonexistant acclaim) over the years.

Little River Band had a string of US hits in the 70s, including 6 top ten with country songs like 'Reminiscing' and 'Lonesome Loser'. Later, John Farnham became their lead singer and the band called themselves L.R.B with a more modern sound.

I'd probably classify Bee Gees as an Aussie act, as they had their first hits and discovered their sound there. Like Olivia Newton-John and John Farnham, they were ten-pound poms who immigrated from England and spent their formative years over there.

Split Enz

INXS

Silverchair (Daniel Johns)

AC/DC

James Reyne was quite a talented songwriter, a decent performer in Australian Crawl and good as a solo artist too. He'd also turn up in the strangest projects, like the villain in 'Return to Eden' and as Tina Turner's manager in 'What's Love Got to Do with It'. Olivia Newton-John sings the backing vocals on this solo track.

One of Kylie's earliest tv performances as a singer in 1987:

Wait. Walking on a Dream is already over ten years old? Anyway, here are some drunk hotties diggin' some Empire of the Sun.

Olivia's niece Tottie Goldsmith also sang in a group the Chantoozies with James Reyne's brother David. Their sound was a bit Olivia-ish. It's just an example of how incestious the Australian music scene was in the 80s that bands would constantly trade and share their assets.

Nick Cave

Vika & Linda

Freak by Silverchair. WHET Daniel Johns anyway?

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. He sadly passed away a year or two ago but he had such a gorgeous voice.

I don't like many non-Aboriginal artists from there but Sarah Blasko is one I really like and often listen to. Oh, and when I was in high school I listened to a band called Short Stack a lot. Their music sucked but their lead singer was fucking adorable.

How could I forget?!?

The Vines

The Veronicas are fun, too

1927

Keith Urban?

AC/DC?

Boom Crash Opera - The Best Thing

My mum loved Ian Moss. He was the muscly one in Cold Chisel.

[quote]AC/DC?

They appear in the video in OP.

Run To Paradise - Choirboys

Missy Higgins

Bee Gees are without a doubt the most successful but I love INXS, The Church, The Divinyls, Icehouse, and Crowded House.

Natalie Imbruglia

Early and amazing INXS:

Models - Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight.

Bee Gees are Brits.

Christie Allen, aping ABBA.

Allen also covered Kirsty MacColl (to not great effect, but still).

Divinyls!

MODELS - Barbados

Real Life -- "Send Me an Angel"

Kids In The Kitchen - Change In Mood

Midnight Oil and Men at Work.

Crissy Amphlett and Iva Davies put their differences aside long enough to remake the Icehouse classic: 'Love In Motion'.

Years ago, I dated a guy who loved making out while playing Russell Crowe's band "30 Odd Foot of Grunts," because it's so butch. He can sort of sing well.

You made out with Russell himself, didn't you r42.

Wake me when we get to Brazilian music.

R43, I wish! (his younger version)

Bow down bitches!

I. AM. WOMAN.

How can we sleep, while our beds are burning?

My Friend the Chocolate Cake (yes, that really is the band's name):

Jenny Morris. She's a Kiwi really, but she became Australia's version of Pat Benatar. They guys from INXS produced her music and it was reminiscent of their early sound.

Tina Arena (song after 0:50).

Both Minogue girls had good years in 2001. Dannii reached number #1 on the US dance charts at the same time Kylie was having her second breakthrough.

Empire of the Sun

PNAU

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

Murlocs

Pond

Tame Impala

Max Q - Michael Hutchence's side project to experiment with a harder sound. Only semi-successfully. Max Q had that angry/raw energy like a lot of Australian hard rock acts that started to go out of fashion after '90.

Shannon Noll - Shine

Eccohomo was another Michael Hutchence side-project. This one was sexy and unfortunately a one-off. I remember watching it late at night on MTV and thinking it was stunning.

The girl from Big Pig also sang backup on Motorcycle Baby.

Vanessa Amorosi - Absolutely Everybody

Armageddon by Guy Sebastian

"Won't Let You Go" Dope Lemon

The Chantoozies.

Am I the first one to dare........

Early Rick

Olivia and John Farrar

Reckless - Australian Crawl.

New World

The Seekers

Ganggajang - Sounds Of Then.

Come Anytime - Hoodoo Gurus

Paul Kelly - Dumb Things.

I hated Jet and Grinspoon.

Hunters & Collecters - Do You See What I See?

Hunters & Collecters - Do You See What I See?

Oi! What about me???

Another Vika and Linda (Black Sorrows)

Powderfinger.

What of Natalie Imbruglia and Torn? How did she get to take a cover worldwide and become a one hit wonder?

Groove (Take What's Good For You) - Eurogliders.

The Church -Under The Milky Way

They should have won Eurovision with this.

Every tradie blasts this from their bluetooth player.

It's hard to explain this kind of music to people from other countries. But enjoy the dulcet Glasweigian-accent screams of Jimmy Barnes.

R81 I'm bloody gobsmacked, had NO idea that Barnes was Glaswegian until you posted that. Then again, I had NO idea that Molly Meldrum was gay. Maybe I should log off this cesspit more often.

Barnesy's vowels aren't just some idiosyncratic affectation!

As for Molly, my mother told me he was gay when on the last episode of Countdown he removed his cowboy hat to reveal a shaved head. I was aghast at the thought that someone would want to be bald.

Last song was Farnsy miming You're The Voice. Even the drummer isn't keeping time.

The Wiggles

My brother and I would allegedly watch the videos dozens of times a day and my mother still holds a grudge against Australia as a result ;)

Though if you say "fruit salad" to many Millennials, the immediate response will be "yummy, yummy"

I've seen/heard some obscure mid 60s Aussie garage bands on youtube that I really liked a lot. Some I can't find since forever though. Anyway, I wonder if anyone would recommend any songs of this era that probably didn't or barely charted.

The song that I posted!

Cool mellow song. It just puts me in a good mood as soon as I hear the opening beat.

Dope Lemon

Punk from 1976 - The Saints "I'm Stranded"

Gotta love some Flight Facility

R81 And who could forget that time Barnsey tried the ill-starred phase as a funk king? It was terrible. Yet his popularity was so immense in Australia that the album the song came from "Two Fires" immediately became a 6× Platinum seller. Love him or hate him, he was a definable part of the landscape Down Under.

Jimmy & Tina "Simply The Best!"

Is Ladyhawke considered Aussie? "Blue Eyes"

R90 Speaking of Tina, I loved all those promos she did for Australian Rugby Leauge with all those sexy rugby guys.

"Some boys gotta lips that ya can't help kissin' Mwhaa, Mwhaa, Mwhaa"

R91 I don't know whether I'd include Ladyhawke but I'd include Toni Childs, since she has been a long-time Australian resident and has settled in Byron Bay. She has an Emmy and three Grammy nominations, but was pretty much a one-hit-wonder in the USA, whereas she had a big hit-making career in Australia and still tours there regularly.

Just about anything by Cold Chisel and Australian Crawl. Also, like a couple of individual songs like 50 Years by Uncanny X-Men, What About Me? by Moving Pictures, Chains by Tina Arena, All My Friends Are Getting Married & Ego is Not a Dirty Word by Skyhooks, One Perfect Day by Little Heroes, Father's Day by Weddings Parties Anything & Every Time You Cry by John Farnham & Human Nature.

All this bad heterorock. You know there are homos in Australia too.

I thought Daniel was hot in that video, r95

r89 I (thankfully) mostly know Lay Down Your Guns from the year it was the NRL (then ARL?) Friday Night Football theme on Channel Nein. Lots of cheerleaders with perms shaking their booties.

A Google-search tells me that song was co-written by the Stevie Nicks-adjacent Rick Nowels, who was then best known for writing all Belinda Carlisle's songs, and later went on to do the same with Celine Dion, Madonna, Dido, Marina And The Diamonds, Lykke Li, Adele and most prolifically Lana Del Rey.

All that estrogen and Barnsey?!

r92 That ad made me a Tina Turner fan! The ARL made it to attract women to the game by fronting their campaign with a sweet soul-singing sister and sexualising the players why showing off their sweaty muscles.

I don't know if it attracted the gays too, but my 7 year self was obsessed with the ad. My dad recorded it on VHS so I could dance to it every day after school.

Olivia Newton-John has sold over 100 million units worldwide.

My mum fancied Ian Moss as well. My dad hated Cold Chisel because of their bogan fans were the spiritual children of the country people who made his life hell as a Russian-speaking child of the 50s and 60s, but he never complained when she spun Bow River.

Crowded House with one of the best songs of the 1980s.

Crowded House is a Kiwi band.

Crowded House had Australian members and were signed to an Australian label, but their artistic mastermind was Kiwi.

My favourite album was Woodface because of Tim Finn's pretty harmonies.

Silverchair.

Parcels.

Olivia Newton-John

Tame Impala

Flash and the Pan

Hunters and Collectors. Their singer was hot!

I always forget that Dead Can Dance are Australian. But they are, Blanche!

Cyndi approves.

Gyan helped by Olivia N-J's producers became Australia's favorite New Age frau.

Johnny Diesel - Tip Of My Tongue.

The Rockmelons.

R114 Deni Hines is the daughter of American born singer Marcia Hines. Marcia toured Australia as a part of the musical 'Hair' in 1970, and she decided to live in Australia and was one of the 70s top-selling performing artists there, becoming "Queen of Disco" with her original version of the song "You", later an international hit by Rita Coolidge. Marcia is also a cousin of Colin Powell and Grace Jones.

Screaming Jets.

Baby Animals - Rush You.

Renee Geyer, Australia's Queen of Soul never had a huge breakout hit, but still highly regarded internationally. Her talent was worthy. "Stares and Whispers" was sampled by Mariah in her Number #1 US hit "We belong Together".

According to wikipedia: Geyer described herself as "a white Hungarian Jew from Australia sounding like a 65-year-old black man from Alabama". She spent more than ten years based in the United States but had little chart success.

Also a sought-after backing vocalist, whose session credits include work with Sting, Chaka Khan, Toni Childs and Joe Cocker. Geyer delivered a two-hour master class on 3 December 2008 to illustrate her annoyance of vocal gymnastics used by singers such as Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and contestants on Australian Idol.

Her biggest chart success was Say I Love You in 1981 (Aus #5 NZ #1)

peter sculthorpe

I Was Only 19 - Redgum

Well Lisa Gerrard Is Australian, so DCD is half Aussie

R121 It's isn't in very good taste.. but Gina Riley does a"swing" interpretation of God Help Me I Was Only 19, featuring "the ABC dancers"!

R78 Grace Knight from Eurogliders is another criminally underrated vocalist. Possessing a versatile rhythmic voice; huge and powerful, or satin smooth. Eurogliders formed in Perth and just scraped under the US top 20 with the song "Heaven".

Grace also kind of had a second coming in the 90s, courtesy of The Australian Broadcasting Corporation where her highly polished skills could be featured as one of their "in-house" singers in lots of their radio and tv programs.

Kate Ceberano is probably Australia's most popular renowned singer. Possessing an unusual and distinctive though beautifully refined voice. Kate was an Australian born in Hawaii, and got her start on the ABC, was a backing singer for the Models, before becoming a pop star and competing with Kylie, etc.

Kate and expat Canadian Wendy Matthews sing on the soundtrack for ABC show "Come In Spinner".

Grace Knight and Eurogliders - Heaven

Skyhooks - Glam Aussie band

Has Kate Ceberano has a hit since the 90s? A great singer, though. And Australia’s foremost Scientologist!

Yes, Kate Ceberano was responsible for drawing in more people to Scientology than even Tom Cruise in the early 90s. She was born into it, and I think has been far less active in promoting the church since the 2000s. She is also a warm, gracious and good-humored person. Never a hint of diva about her.

R128 I haven't heard that song in at least 25 years.

Paulini from Idol Series 1.

Millsy from Idol Series 1

INXS - Never Tear Us Apart

John Farnham - Age Of Reason

Icehouse - Touch The Fire.

Olivia Newton-John - Magic.

Who Can It Be Now? - Men At Work

Down Under - Men At Work.

Divinyls - Pleasure and Pain

Goanna - Solid Rock

Noiseworks - Touch

Treaty - Yothu Yindi

Kylie Some Kind Of Bliss

Jarred James.

John Farnham and Kate Ceberano - Everythings Alright (from Jesus Christ Superstar)

[quote]Has Kate Ceberano has a hit since the 90s? A great singer, though.

Kate recently re-formed her 80s band I'm Talking.

Dancing In The Storm - Boom Crash Opera

Barnsey - When Your Love Is Gone.

The only solo Barnsey I like is Working Class Man however vaguely insincere it is.

Kate Ceberano - Brave

r150 is the hot JHud looking backup singer Deni Hines?

Yes that is Deni. She was also a backing singer for Kylie Minogue and Peter Blakeley, the former Rockmelons singer. Peter himself went through rough times after the Rockmelons split up and was at one point living in his vehicle before he had a huge hit with Crying In The Chapel. He also provided back up vocals for Cher for her record Heart of Stone.

Peter's pal Aussie/Canadian singer Wendy Mathews also provided the studio "vocal guides" for Cher, for her album Heart of Stone!

Peter's pal Aussie/Canadian singer Wendy Mathews also provided the studio "vocal guides" for Cher, for her album Heart of Stone!

As usual in DL music threads, it's eighties and nineties all the way (at least Nick Cave is still current). It would be nice to see some songs released within the past 5-10 years. Does ANYBODY here keep up with contemporary music at all, Australian or otherwise?

John Butler Trio

Tame Impala, Flight Facilities, and other current acts have been mentioned in this thread, R157. I like them and I still like stuff from the 80s, so sue me. Good music stands the test of time.

[quote] It would be nice to see some songs released within the past 5-10 years. Does ANYBODY here keep up with contemporary music at all

No, like many DLs I gave up entirely around 2011. But do feel free to post some of your own. I feel fortunate to have grown up in Australia in the 80s and 90s, where we had great new music every day to enjoy from around the world, plus our own active local scene on top of it.

If you’re wondering about the state of local music, this week’s Australian Artist ARIA album chart features Archie Roach, Cold Chisel, INXS and The Seekers in the top 10.

R160 And now we just need some new music from Olivia, Air Supply and John Farnham to hit the charts.

The blue tooth in my car has been fucked for a long time so I have reintroduced myself to the mediocre joys of FM radio.

This year Australian music has been all Dean Lewis and songs with 3000 hits on Triple J.

R150 I’m rolling. During the Tin Lids reprise of the chorus the backup up singers are helping the kids sing and it is apparent that Deni Hines has lost her wig as she can be seen with her standard buzz cut.

New Australian music!

Ok, so it’s Cold Chisel. And sounds suspiciously like 3 other songs. And immediately goes downhill once Jimmy sings.

I thought he was sober? He sounds worse than ever.

I may have missed it upthread, but I can't believe no one mentioned The Presets.

I have not heard the apparently chart-topping Tones And I.

Sia's earlier stuff was great, especially the stuff she did with Zero 7.