# Obscure Oz rock? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 30, 2016, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056 "2016-05-30T06:36:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/41 "2016-05-31T14:58:46Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Only one member of _Crowded House_ was a Kiwi. They thought of themselves as Australian as it’s where they decided to form. > > Never mind, they were both I guess - Australasian, as we say. Interesting. I’ve always thought of them as Kiwi, as it’s been my Kiwi friends who have always claimed them for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/42 "2016-05-31T15:04:02Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > …as it’s been my Kiwi friends who have always claimed them for themselves. Oh yeah, we definitely do that. Australia and NZ have a regular rivalry on who “owns” what, from band members to movie actors to dessert recipes. There was some minor controversy when New Zealand radio had ruled a quota requirement of 50% (I think) local talent had to be broadcast, and at first 1 in 10 songs was from _Crowded House_. Neil Finn himself said he thought that was stretching the guidelines a bit too far. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/43 "2016-05-31T18:24:58Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Any love for the **Divinyls**? They’ll always be my favourite [80’s mood music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJm-gCUCfYk) We lost Chrissy Amplett to cancer a couple of years ago - very sad. No one else will chime in? Yes I adored them ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/44 "2016-05-31T18:43:39Z")
[OZ Rocks!!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sVPMfVil0o) ---
**Author:** ![HarryTheHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@HarryTheHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HarryTheHat)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/45 "2016-06-02T08:32:10Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > No one else will chime in? > > Yes I adored them This one still sends me right off every time I hear it. And what is it now, 30 years? [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c53mr1IDPHA) ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/46 "2016-06-02T19:15:05Z")
I’ll add Icehouse if only for [Great Southern Land](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mkidP2OUCk), which got a lot of play in my Walkman alongside The Stranglers, The Alarm and Midnight Oil. _I know they aren’t all Aussie bands before you get froth all over your keyboard._ ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/47 "2016-06-02T21:20:37Z")
> [@Purd\_Werfect](#): > > Crime and the City Solution I know of them from their appearance in one of my favorite films, _Wings of Desire_. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds are also in _Wings of Desire_. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RILPkl6j-GA/maxresdefault.jpg "From Her to Eternity - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RILPkl6j-GA) > [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Also Mental as Anything, Skyhooks, Hunters and Collectors…etc… I had a Mental As Anything album in high school. It’s probably still at my Mom’s house. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Lime Spiders! I had _The Cave Comes Alive!_ That was a fun album. > [@swampspruce](#): > > I’ll add Icehouse if only for [Great Southern Land](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mkidP2OUCk), which got a lot of play in my Walkman alongside The Stranglers, The Alarm and Midnight Oil. Good song. I remember Icehouse but I don’t think I had any of their stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/48 "2016-06-02T22:57:08Z")
Icehouse are fantastic and are still a lot of fun live. Great Bowie/Roxy Music-inspired synthpop and straight pop-rock. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/49 "2016-06-03T02:52:00Z")
I snagged a review copy of one of Grant McLennan’s solo albums while I was working at my college newspaper, but even though I liked it well enough, it didn’t prompt me to really investigate the Go-Betweens’ body of work. That didn’t happen until several years later when I became friends with a serious Go-Betweens fan. Good stuff – right up the alley of a longtime R.E.M. fan like me. ---
**Author:** ![akrako1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@akrako1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akrako1)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/50 "2016-06-03T21:07:54Z")
The Masters Apprentices!! From 1965 to 1972, they went from Beat, to Beatles-esque compositions, to hard rock! yeah! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/51 "2016-06-03T21:39:34Z")
One not mentioned: Pat Wilson. Her [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY-QSGaW9NQ) for _Bop Girl_ (1983) got a decent amount of play on MTV. One of the maids of honor in the video also went on to get slightly well known. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/52 "2016-06-03T21:45:47Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > One not mentioned: Pat Wilson. Her [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY-QSGaW9NQ) for _Bop Girl_ (1983) got a decent amount of play on MTV. One of the maids of honor in the video also went on to get slightly well known. She was the wife of Ross Wilson, of Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock fame–two other bands worth mentioning. ---
**Author:** ![cstamets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@cstamets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cstamets)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/53 "2016-06-04T01:07:32Z")
> [@HarryTheHat](#): > > Are the 1980s Australian bands Midnight Oil, The Angels or Hunters and Collectors known in America? Not suggesting they should be, so don’t jump on me. Just curious. The Angels went by Angel City in the US, as there was another US band called the Angels at the time. I have a few of their albums. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/54 "2016-06-04T01:34:15Z")
[obscure Oz rock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Moreton_Basin#/media/File:Kangaroo_Creek_Sandstone_4.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/55 "2016-06-04T03:01:50Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Blue Sky Mine got a lot of airplay in the US as well. [Power and the Passion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pKPNnk-JhE) was a pre-Beds are Burning early MTV staple. Peter Garrett’s herky-jerky scarecrow dancing was something to behold. The Church was reasonably well-known for “Under the Milky Way”, but I didn’t know they were Australian. Other bands I probably wouldn’t have heard of except for MTV: [Icehouse/URL] was known as Flowers in Australia [URL=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1tRnlSydDk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1tRnlSydDk)]The Sherbs]([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2Hh2JVjshg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2Hh2JVjshg)), formerly Sherbet Band I know that no one in America seems to know: The 90’s indie band [The Cruel Sea](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOqzPm7NgVQ). When I was living in Japan, an Aussie co-worker with a connection to the band shared some of their stuff with me. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/56 "2016-06-04T03:18:58Z")
FTR, Flowers became Icehouse here as well as soon as they moved into international markets. Only their debut album was under the name “Flowers”. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/57 "2016-06-04T03:24:25Z")
> [@HarryTheHat](#): > > Are the 1980s Australian bands Midnight Oil, The Angels or Hunters and Collectors known in America? Not suggesting they should be, so don’t jump on me. Just curious. Oils yes; _Diesel & Dust_ and _Blue Sky Mining_ had some singles do well here. The others I don’t recognize. Other than Men at Work, INXS, & Oils, there haven’t been very many Aussie rock bands that broke through in the States. The Church has a few fans. Icehouse got some MTV play back in the day. Who am I forgetting? I should probably read the thread, yeah? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/58 "2016-06-04T03:27:34Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I agree that Midnight Oil is pretty well known. > > Men At Work is probably the first thing an American would think of when you mention 1980’s Aussie bands; Midnight Oil might be third, behind INXS. This, yeah. I love INXS, Oils, and The Church myself, but I know the Church aren’t big outside of goth circles, and even I consider Icehouse obscure (although I’m sure they’re not in Oz). Crowded House! That’s one I forgot. They had one song get very big here. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/59 "2016-06-04T03:37:33Z")
OK, I did remember Olivia Newton-John, but i wasn’t counting her; and I’m never quite sure if Keith Urban actually lived in Oz, he’s from New Zealand, isn’t he? Anyway, they’re _country._ Sort of. But yeah, them too. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056/60 "2016-06-04T05:25:37Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > This, yeah. I love INXS, Oils, and The Church myself, but I know the Church aren’t big outside of goth circles, and even I consider Icehouse obscure (although I’m sure they’re not in Oz. I don’t think The Church has ever been considered goth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-oz-rock/756056.md?page=4)