One more thing for the Aussies Dopers - just wondering what you think of Cruel Sea? Were they a serious influence on rock down under? When we traveled in Australia for a month, seems like they had a song on the radio every hour (this was in 1995, mind you). I love “The Honeymoon is Over” so much!
Don’t forget Men at Work!
The Little River Band? They used to be quite popular.
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.
Not the most famous, but they did come up with Australia’s theme song: Land Down Under.
I’m talkin’ bout’ Men at Work, of course.
Awsome song, still catchy even today!
Catchy, hardly influential though. Name a band that obviously is influenced by Men at Work.
I used to be a huge Midnight Oil fan, but as great as they are, their musical style was not very original and doesn’t seem to have any effect on other musicians. I’ve never heard a song that made me think “Wow, that really reminds me of Midnight Oil!”
Why on earth why? Rolf Harris might well be the most influential Australian artist. He’s far more accomplished (by miles and miles) than he’s often given credit for being. There’s tons more to him than “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport” and hosting a kid’s show. If your SO is embarrassed by him she doesn’t know his musical history and, dare I say, should be ashamed. Just the song “Sun Arise” is enough to cement his musical legacy. It’s a brilliant song and was decades ahead of its time.
ETA, I can’t believe a Kansas farm girl is pointing this out to an Australian!
Icehouse
OK. maybe not the most influential
Well, my favourite Australian band is the Triffids, but they never quite cracked the big time over here…
Or maybe Billy Thorpe (and the Aztecs) would qualify.
AC/DC. Little-known fact: AC/DC used up all the testosterone available at the time, which explains (but in no way excuses) Air Supply and Little River Band.
I grant that the Oils probably don’t have many followers. But I beg to differ on their originality… they were clearly in the surf/prog rock camp early on, but did some interesting things with electronics (think of the Linn drum programming on “Power and the Passion”). I also think the twin guitars of Moginie and Rotsey was a pretty unique sound - they made “church strumming” cool again. I’d also argue that perhaps their influence is more philosophical than musical - the band were unapologetically political. In fact, I’m reminded of their live performance on a flatbed truck on Wall Street after the Exxon Valdez incident and years later, a similar performance by Rage Against the Machine.
Too funny. Mr. B worked one of the video cameras at an Air Supply concert. Apparently one of the Air Supply guys started telling a story about an eagle, and it just kept going and going and made no sense whatsoever. The camera guys could all communicate with each other and finally, one guy said “I’m lost”. Mr. B looked around and people in the audience were just shrugging and shaking their heads.
AC/DC. No question.
Did somebody mention bands on flat bed trucks? This is how it’s done.
Wow. A Kansas farm girl is a Rolf Harris fan. I am utterly astonished.
I had no idea his legacy had spread so far. In Australia, he is thought of as a bit of a daggy embarrassment by most (although I agree with what you say about his originality) because he had no sense of the need to appear disdainful and aloof in order to have cred. But he is a remarkable entertainer. Can really get a crowd going.
There’s a lady who’s <wobble> sure
All that glitters is <wobble> <wobble> gold
all together now …
Mozart
[/Clive James]
It’s all due to Kate Bush. She was very influenced by “Sun Arise” and I first heard it because of her, so I first discovered him as a serious musician, not as a novelty. When she had Harris play didgeridoo on her album The Dreaming (my all-time favorite album, by anybody) she had to constantly “defend” using him. Not that he needed defending, but people gave her shit because they didn’t take HIM seriously, and some assholes thought that reflected negatively on HER. She was right all along though. Just as a lot of people didn’t take her seriously because they refused to look beneath the surface, she saw the same thing happening to Rolf Harris, so she used him as the serious musician he was, to hell with what anyone else thought. They’re still great friends to this day.
Back in the 80s when I was managing a band I used to meet Jim Keays at the agents. I asked him once why The Masters Apprentices had knocked back the support gig for the Stones in the 60s. He said they were the best band in the world at that time and would have blown the Stones offstage, but local audiences would boo them off to see the headline act and he wouldn’t tolerate that.
Listen to :
and argue with Jim.
I would think The Wiggles would be the most successful, though that’s not what the OP wanted. I can say now though that I know a lot more Australian musicians because of the Wiggles then I ever would have thought.
On that note though I have to find the Rolf Harris’ version of I Touch Myself on the wobble board.
Let us not forget that “great” isn’t a requirement to be “influential”. As far as pop music goes, Savage Garden was incredibly influential, up until the point where R&B became a stronger force affecting the sound of pop. I don’t think they were anywhere near the most influential, but for a band that was in the international limelight for only three years with two albums, they did leave a remarkably lasting impression, regardless of whether or not that’s a good thing. Sell an average of 12.5 million copies per album, more than any other Australian act ever, and you’re bound to have a few people trying to sound like you.
/end Darren Hayes geek moment.
Now I’m going back in my corner to stay quiet and pretend I’m cool.
Most influential?
Kev Carmody.
And while it was a single song rather that the band itself which made them influential, Redgum.