Interesting. I’ve always thought of them as Kiwi, 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.
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?
I’ll add Icehouse if only for Great Southern Land, 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.
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.
I had a Mental As Anything album in high school. It’s probably still at my Mom’s house.
I had The Cave Comes Alive! That was a fun album.
Good song. I remember Icehouse but I don’t think I had any of their stuff.
Icehouse are fantastic and are still a lot of fun live. Great Bowie/Roxy Music-inspired synthpop and straight pop-rock.
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.
The Masters Apprentices!! From 1965 to 1972, they went from Beat, to Beatles-esque compositions, to hard rock! yeah!
One not mentioned: Pat Wilson. Her video 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.
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.
Power and the Passion 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]The Sherbs](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. When I was living in Japan, an Aussie co-worker with a connection to the band shared some of their stuff with me.
FTR, Flowers became Icehouse here as well as soon as they moved into international markets. Only their debut album was under the name “Flowers”.
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?
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.
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.
I don’t think The Church has ever been considered goth.