Following on from the 'hidden' treasure trove of Australian songwriters you may not know...
Here is my (somewhat) definitive Aussie playlist, featuring a few of those, plus a host of names you definitely do know.
So - insert your favourite Australian cliché - and sit down and have a listen to these beauts....
1. Kylie Minogue: Spinning Around
Might as well start with everyone's favourite Australian export. Kylie transformed herself from low key soap actress and singer of cheesy disco - to one of the coolest, most glamorous dance divas on the planet. So cool, she only needs one name.
(2000 official music video)
2. AC/DC: Highway To Hell
While I not be a massive fan of these monsters of the riff, a playlist like this wouldn't be complete without them! To get through four decades or more, belting out hard rock classics is no mean feat, although it's not been without its drama and tragedy over the years. But great rock riffs don't come much more recognisable than this one. We strongly recommend you turn this up to 11.
(1979 official music video)
3. INXS & Jimmy Barnes: Good Times
Jimmy Barnes (born James Swan in Scotland) had cut his teeth in the pub rock band Cold Chisel, before going solo in 1983. In 1986 he recorded two songs with INXS, including this one, a cover of Good Times by fellow Australians, The Easybeats. Many of you will be quite familiar with this rip-roaring bit of rock n roll, as it was included on The Lost Boys soundtrack in 1987. I think too many people have written Michael Hutchence off over the years, as being style over substance - but hopefully this proves beyond doubt - the man could really sing!
(1986 official music video)
Fun Facts: There is some interesting things to note on the original version of Good Times. Released in 1968, it also included Steve Marriott (Small Faces) on guest vocals. It is reputed that Paul McCartney heard it on his car radio and was so impressed, he called the radio station and asked them to play it again!
4. The Saints: I'm Stranded
Forget the who came first in the race for punk's first single - The Pistols or The Damned - this Melbourne band got there first. Formed in 1973, they very much bridged the gap between the so-called proto punk of MC5 and The Stooges and the upcoming wave that was about to hit the UK. Released on their own label in September 1976, with just a few hundred initial copies, it eventually found its way to the UK, where Sounds labelled it "single of this and every week,,," The band struggled, because they resisted the record labels urge to market them as punk (they had signed for EMI by now) - but the song has all the attributes needed for punk - frantic guitars and slightly bored sounding vocals.
(1976 official promo video)
5. The Easybeats: Friday On My Mind
The Easybeats were the first Australian band to get a major international hit, with Friday On My Mind in 1966 (which was later well covered by blues legend Gary Moore, among others), reaching #6 in the UK, #16 in the US, #13 in Canada and of course, #1 in Australia. Interestingly, despite being a Sydney band, none of them were actually born in Australia - Stevie Wright and Gordon Fleet were English, George Young was Scottish and Harry Vanda and the wonderfully named Dick Diamonde were both Dutch.
(1966 live on Beat Club - UK tv show)
6. The Go-Betweens: Head Full Of Steam
This single was from fourth album Liberty Belle And The Black Diamond Express, and its laid back charm can lull you, as it hits you with a big chorus. One reviewer likened it to The Smiths and other put in more in the Robyn Hitchcock / Television mould. Either way, like all of their other singles, it sadly didn't really trouble the charts anywhere (a long running joke, that despite being critically lauded for a decade, they never 'made it'). Friend of the band, Tracey Thorn (Everything But The Girl) features on backing vocals on this one. The video is a slightly weird imitation of Prince's (recent at the time) Kiss.
(1986 official music video)
7. Crowded House: Love This Life
It is of course true that Neil Finn hails from New Zealand - but having relocated to Melbourne post-Split Enz and picked up a pair of Aussies for his new band (Paul Hester from the last incarnation of the Enz, and Nick Seymour), you can argue that Crowded House are indeed an Australian band. I often gravitate towards second album, Temple Of Low Men, as it was my gateway to Finn's songwriting genius, and Love This Life is a deceptively simple sounding song off side 2, with another great Finn middle 8, vocals rising euphorically - "There's something that you can do, even if you think that I hate you. Stop your complaining, leave me defenceless, when you love this life," - before rolling gently to a halt.
(Top link - 2010 live version, Bowery Ballroom, NYC - not bad for a fan shot video
Bottom link - 1988 audio only, if you prefer it cleaner)
8. The Church: Under The Milky Way
Yes, this song featured in the songwriting article the other day, but it is one of the big Australian tunes of the 1980s. A psychedelic rock band that originated with Steve Kilbey in 1980, The Church had already ridden the waves of almost success, when fifth album Starfish, finally gave them a taste of broader success. Released in 1988, the album almost scraped into the US Top40, but single Under The Milky Way did, reaching all the way to #24 on the Billboard chart. It's a beautifully textured track, that apparently owes its name to a music venue (Melkweg) in Amsterdam that Kilbey used to frequent.
(1988 official music video)
9. Men At Work: Down Under
There is no way that this was ever not going to be in here. An absolutely iconic part of my (and many others) youth - it was everywhere in 1981! It was originally a B-Side to an early single, but got re-worked with a new tempo, and became the second single off of debut album Business As Usual. The song is loosely based on writer Colin Hay's own travels around the globe (he is another Scots born Australian musician), also partly inspired by Barry Humphries comic character, Barry McKenzie (a stereotypical Australian abroad). Hay would later tell Songfacts:
It was a song about the loss of spirit in that country. It's really about the plundering of the country by greedy people. It is ultimately about celebrating the country, but not in a nationalistic way and not in a flag-waving sense.
(Official music video)
10. INXS: Don't Change
Yes, they sneak in here with their second mention - because they deserve to be on here in their own right. On this occasion though, we are avoiding the obvious choices of just about anything from Kick (fantastic as it is). Instead we are going with my favourite song of theirs. Many people don't realise how full history of INXS is, but by 1982, Shabooh Shoobah was already their third album, and Don't Change comes from that. Opening with some sustained keyboard notes, guitars and drums soon crash in at full throttle, creating an ebullient number, that is catchy as heck.
(Live version)