# What was the most influential Austrailain band/artist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 14, 2008, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-influential-austrailain-band-artist/463543 "2008-09-14T07:31:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-influential-austrailain-band-artist/463543/41 "2008-09-15T22:49:21Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Would the Bee Gees qualify? I know they were born on the Isle of Man, so were technically British citizens. And they didn’t achieve success until they left Australia for England, but they did start singing and playing when they were youths in Australia and appeared on television there. Also, wondering. Does Australia “claim” the Bee Gees? Vice versa? ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-influential-austrailain-band-artist/463543/42 "2008-09-16T03:34:25Z")
For all those who propose AC/DC as being the “most influential”, you’re on the right track but one step forward. The most influential had to be the Easybeats - not only for being one of the first bands to draw hit after hit with their own songs instead of British or American covers, not only for being the first band to really push offshore, but because they drove Australian rock into the '70s and on into the '80s. AC/DC was a band recruited to play Harry Vanda and George Young’s music (check out the chord sequences on any album up to “For Those About to Rock”), and they also wrote for pretty much every Australian pub rock band over the era and also crossed over to disco and glam (I’m fairly sure that they wrote “Love Is in the Air”). Every Australian punk and pub rock band (I’m only including INXS as far as “Kick”) drew from the Easybeats, and bands like silverchair and Jet stil owe them their careers. ---
**Author:** ![Cider\_Depot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Cider\_Depot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cider_Depot)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2008, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-influential-austrailain-band-artist/463543/43 "2008-09-16T05:41:40Z")
If you mean the Australian bands/musicians that influenced contemporary Australian music, you would be remiss to mention Go Betweens, Saints, Radio Birdman, Boys Next Door/Birthday Party. ---
**Author:** ![Cider\_Depot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Cider\_Depot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cider_Depot)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-influential-austrailain-band-artist/463543/44 "2008-09-16T05:48:45Z")
> [@BigNik](#): > > Harry Vanda and George Young’s music They did indeed write Love is in the Air, Friday on My Mind and also Grace Jone’s Walking in the Rain, as well as producing AC/DC, The Angels, etc. They weren’t Australian-born though. Does that matter? ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2008, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-influential-austrailain-band-artist/463543/45 "2008-09-16T05:51:38Z")
> [@Cider\_Depot](#): > > They weren’t Australian-born though. Does that matter? I don’t think that it really does - they were from the same grou of post-war refugees that brought a lot of other migrants at the time. You wouldn’t really call the Easybeats Dutch, would you? Most of the bands and artists mentioned in the thread were born (or had a member born) overseas. ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2008, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-influential-austrailain-band-artist/463543/46 "2008-09-16T06:35:06Z")
I’m going to say/add The Saints. They managed to influence damned near everything that came after them. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2008, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-influential-austrailain-band-artist/463543/47 "2008-09-16T07:16:12Z")
I’m going to have to go with TISM. They changed the world with their breakout EP “Form and Meaning reach Ultimate Communion”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-influential-austrailain-band-artist/463543.md?page=2)