Australian country hero Slim Dusty had some success in the United Kingdom in the 50s. He sung slightly American and had some  resemblance to Johnny Cash or Hank Williams. He in fact enjoyed  American country musician Jimmie Rodgers, while also enjoying classic Australian songwriters like Banjo Patterson. His classic "A Pub With No Beer" made the Top Ten of the UK singles chart in 1959.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rolf Harris' Australian novelty began internationally in about 1960. "The Ballad of Nick Teen & Al K Hall" caught on in the US and UK, then the exotic, tribal song  "Sun Arise", before his big hit and signature song in 1962, "Tie Me Kangaroo Down".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Seekers did American folk-pop so well that they found success in the US for a good few years. "Georgy Girl" and "The Carnival is Over" became well-remembered hits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Easybeats were one of the hardest rocking bands in Australia during the 60s and their guitarist and songwriter George Young was the elder brother of Angus and Malcolm Young who would soon form AC/DC and become one of the hardest rocking bands in the world. The Easybeats' biggest hit "Friday On My Mind" reached the top 20 of the US and UK singles charts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Zealand-born singer Gale Garnett moved to Canada and had a US #14 hit with “We’ll Sing in the Sunshine” in ’64. Famous New Zealand singer John Rowles came near the top of the UK chart with “If I Only Had Time” reaching #3 in ’68. His album Cheryl Moana Marie just made the US Album chart in 1971, reaching #197.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1967, the British born, Australian raised Bee Gees, the brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, released their first international album with whatever Australian influence it had. It was a type of unique art-pop for sure, which was an international hit. In the mid 70s they became a leading band of the disco era. Their success remained steady right up to the 00s. Their younger brother Andy also become an international star in the disco era, with a string of pop hits like "I Just Wanna Be Your Everything". Australian singer Samantha Sang  had the pop hit "Emotion" late in the disco era also.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australia, in the early 70s, offered some country & folk pop in the form of Olivia Newton-John, Helen Reddy, Rick Springfield & New World. Olivia, Helen & Rick slotted themselves with American pop, while New World were more part of the British folk-rock scene. Olivia & Helen had lasting success, while Rick and New World had a few hits, Rick's "Speak to the Sky" and New World's "Tom Tom Turnaround" (Rick later became somewhat Americanized and was popular in 80s pop-rock, most remembered for his US #1 hit "Jesse's Girl").

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australian pop band The Mixtures had a massive UK hit with "The Pushbike Song" in 1971, which reached #2. The song was very similar to Mungo Jerry's big 1970 hit "In the Summertime".  The song also made #44 on the US chart. The Flying Circus was a pop  band that formed in Australia in the mid-60s and after touring Canada in 1972 had a #8 hit on the Canadian singles chart with "Old Enough to Break My Heart". Australian R&B band Python Lee Jackson moved to the UK and recorded the song "In a Broken Dream" with vocals from British pop-star Rod Stewart. The song reached #3 in the UK in 1972.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the mid-70s soft-rock scene, successes were had by Sherbert (later named The Sherbs) with their 1976 UK hit "Howzat" & John Paul Young, with his big US disco hit "Love is in the Air". Little River Band & Air Supply competed with the top American soft-rockers like Hall and Oates, Chicago and Toto and each had a number of successful songs and albums. Richard Clapton was a singer-songwriter from Australia who never had a hit in the northern hemisphere, though his song “Girls on the Avenue” from 1975, his biggest national hit, was a good Elton John likeness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A curiosity occurred in 1974, when the Australian singing nun Sister Janet Mead arranged to record a rocking, psychedelic version of the The Lord's Prayer, a famous excerpt from The Bible.  The song was a major success, nearly topping the US singles chart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

17 year old Shona Laing released "1905" in 1972 and though it was only a regional success, it showed a distinct independence at a time when many Australasian bands were attempting to sound similar to the overseas hitmakers. The regional accent was there and the lyrics certainly wern't typical or cliche.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A creative, independent spirit existed in the bands AC/DC, Split Enz and The Skyhooks, each of whom began recording at around 1974. All 3 bands helped form the new wave of popular music to take over in the late 70s, the wave of punk and post-punk. AC/DC were to become, probably Australia's most successful band ever. Split Enz became New Zealand's first international hit band in 1980 and are still among New Zealand's most successful bands ever. The Skyhooks were only a regional success, but many later bands owe some of their success to them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bands that could be traced back to AC/DC are Australia's Cold Chisel, The Angels & Rose Tattoo each of whom began recording around '77 and had a related sound, a subtly Australian version of American Blues Rock. They each had minor recognition on the US Charts. New Zealand had their own hard rock scene, which was led by Dragon who were followed by Hello Sailor, Th' Dudes & The Pink Flamingos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Saints & Radio Birdman founded Australia's punk-rock movement, performing music in the style of American punk icons Iggy Pop & The Ramones, beginning in 1976. The Saints' "This Perfect Day" made it to the UK charts in 1977, alongside UK punk giants like The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. Punk-rocker Jeff Duff, former singer of Australian band Kush, reached #60 on the UK chart with the very Australian "Give Me Back Me Brain" in 1979.

 

 

 

(new consideration: The Last Words' "Animal World" on UK Indie Chart, Little Heroes)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Split Enz inspired a kind of arty, theatrical pop. Bands that followed them were New Zealand's Mi-Sex & Citizen Band and Australia's Icehouse and INXS. Split Enz gave New Zealand a major international breakthrough in 1980 with the album True Colours and it's song "I Got You". Icehouse (known as Flowers at the time) also had some overseas success with their first album and the Mi-Sex song "Computer Games" was a minor US success. New Zealander Zaine Griff, one time bassist with New Zealand heavy rock band The Human Instinct, had a #56 UK hit with his song “Tonight”, in 1980 while living and recording in the UK.  Also of note is New Zealand singer Chris Thompson who became the singer for successful UK rock band Mannfred Mann's Earth Band. He sung lead on their big hit of 1976, "Blinded By the Light". 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Australian band Mental As Anything who began recording in 1979 with "The Nips are Getting Bigger" were something of a follow on from The Skyhooks and managed to have a little more overseas success in the 80s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Midnight Oil, beginning with a self-titled album in 1978, had a mix of styles, based on various preceding bands. Hard rock with some artiness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bands Flash and the Pan and The Sports produced a kind of independant pop music and each band scored a hit album and single in the US. Flash and the Pan had "Hey Saint Peter"  and The Sports had "Who Listens to the Radio?".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australian-born Mike Chapman moved to the UK in the 70s and became a successful songwriter and producer with partner Nicky Chinn. They wrote hits for artists like The Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Smokie and The Knack and in 1978, Chapman produced the album Parallell Lines for American band Blondie, which was a big commercial success and a great influence on other bands. Peter Allen was another musician from Australia who wrote songs for overseas artists. He recorded albums himself and his 1980 song "Fly Away" made #55 on the US singles chart. Joe Dolce was an American-born comedian who, while living in Australia, had a big worldwide hit with the novelty song "Shaddap Your Face". Billy Field, successful in Australia with his jazz song and album "Bad Habits", scored a minor UK hit with "You Wern't in Love with Me". Jon English, known for his acting and stage-performances as well as his popular music, was successful on Scandanavian charts with the soundtrack to Against the Wind, an Australian TV drama he played the lead role in (the album is also credited to Australian composer Mario Millo). The song "Six Ribbons" also charted in Scandanavia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Veteran Australian rocker Billy Thorpe recorded the concept album Children of the Sun in America, where it made the top 20 and where the album's title song (the short version) nearly reached the US top 40.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 AC/DC achieved their major international breakthrough in 1979 with the album Highway to Hell, but in the following year they topped charts worldwide with their classic album Back in Black. AC/DC have continued to have hit albums and by 2008 were still managing to top worldwide album charts with their album Black Ice. Australian band  Men at Work also helped set new standards for Australasian international success with their 2 highly successful albums in the early 80s, albeit with notably more novel, regional sounding songs, building on what Skyhooks had started. Their album Business As Usual topped the US and UK charts and the next album Cargo made #3 in the US and #8 in the UK. INXS contributed to Australia's international success some more with their album Shabooh Shoobah as did Icehouse with Primitive Man.  Though they had an equally novel sound and made some attempts at international success, Australian Crawl wern't able to chart in the UK or US.  New Zealand bands The Swingers, The Crocodiles & The Clean had regional success with songs that perhaps may have caught on overseas with a bit more promoting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Zealand developed it's own reggae scene after a visit from the great Bob Marley in 1979. The Herbs were the leading band. They developed a Pacific reggae sound, distinguished from traditional Jamaican reggae and had hits on the NZ charts throughout the 80s. Preceding Herbs' success, was the 1981 hit song "Doctor, I like Your Medicine", a British style reggae song by the pop group Coup D'Tat (featuring ex-Hello Sailor guitarist Harry Lyon). Coup D'Tat broke up after that one success.  Other bands that had a Pacific flavour to their music were Adijah, Moana and the Moa Hunters, The Holidaymakers and Netherworld Dancing Toys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

British "Goth", the grey, gloom tinged musical facet of the British punk scene, was especially popular in Australasia. Famous British bands like U2, Joy Division and The Cure were, for a time, more successful in New Zealand than they were in their homelands or any other country.  Influenced by the goth sound were the bands The Birthday Party (feat. Nick Cave), The Church, The Triffids, Hunters and Collectors and Models from Australia and The Chills, The Gordons (later Bailter Space), The Bats, Toy Love and The Screaming Mee Mees from New Zealand. The Birthday Party was the first of these bands to have a hit overseas, with the album Junkyard  making the UK chart in 1982.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Circa 1983, Australia achieved international success in the field of synthesizer-pop, with the bands Moving Pictures, Real Life and Pseudo Echo. Each band had a hit album, each with a hit song, respectively "What About Me?","Send Me an Angel" and "Funky Town". New Zealand had synth-pop bands Coconut Rough, The Narcs, The Mockers and Satellite Spies who, despite good regional success, wern't able to achieve success internationally. New Zealand 's greatest synth-pop success had actually come in 1980 with Zaine Griff’s “Tonight” and the Mi-Sex hit "Computer Games”. But if we briefly flash forward some 3 decades, we'll see New Zealand's real success period for the field of synth-pop came with the resurgence of synth-driven music  in the late 00s.  The band The Naked and Famous and musician Pip "Ladyhawke" Brown each made New Zealand an international competitor in synth-pop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Split Enz' success declined after True Colours and they broke up in '84. Tim Finn made the album Escapade in '83 which charted in the US. His bandmate and brother Neil Finn formed Crowded House and they released their first album in '86, which had the song "Don't Dream It's Over" a  #2 hit on the US singles chart, which is probably still a record status for New Zealand music. Neil Finn and Crowded House have continued to release internationally successful albums, releasing Intriguer in 2010. By the mid 80s, INXS was also a major international success beginning with Listen Like Thieves in '86 and it's successful song "What You Need". Their next album Kick, was an even bigger success with bigger hits including "Need You Tonight" and "New Sensation". INXS continued it's success up till the late 90s when lead singer Michael Hutchence died. Icehouse peaked internationally in '87 with Man of Colours and it's hits "Crazy" and "Electric Blue" then declined. Michael Hutchence of INXS formed Max Q as a side-project in 1989 and released the album Max Q which reached #182 in the US. They had hits with "The Way of the World" and "Sometimes". Colin Hay, ex-singer of Men at Work, released his first solo album Looking for Jack in 1987, reaching #126 in the US and US #99 with the song "Hold Me".

 

 

 

 

 

 

Midnight Oil had it's first international hit album Diesel and Dust in '87 and it's song "Beds are Burning" reached #17 in the US and #6 in the UK. Singer Peter Garrett was one of the most uniquely Australian voiced singers, since the start of the punk movement, to have a radio hit in the US and UK. The Oils' next two albums, Blue Sky Mining and Earth and Sun and Moon were also successful in the US and UK, then they dropped back to being a regional band. Also uniquely Australian in it's vocals and overall style was Hunters and Collectors who had changed from the arty, experimental sound of their first few albums, into a kind of heavy folk-rock, similar to Midnight Oil. However they were mostly succesful in their homeland region. They managed US singles success with "Back on the Breadline" and "When the River Runs Dry". The Hoodoo Gurus was another Australian band to be compared with Midnight Oil, albeit with a bit more fun zaniness about them and less politics. After regional success with their first few albums, they made the US charts with Magnum Cum Louder and it's song "Come Anytime". Aboriginal rock band Yothu Yindi mixed traditional aboriginal folk music with heavy rock and with their 1991 album Tribal Voice, nearly made the top of the US Billboard's Top World Albums chart. The songs "Treaty" and "Djapana" made the US Dance Music/Club Play chart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rock band Goanna, featuring singer-musician Shane Howard, released the album Spirit of Place in 1982 and the song "Solid Rock" about the colonisation of Australia. An anthemic rocker, sung in a mixed accent of Australian and American, "Solid Rock" reached #71 on the US Billboard Chart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Models and Mental as Anything made progress since their conceptions at the start of the 80s and each band peaked internationally in the mid 80s, Mental As Anything with the album Fundamental as Anything and The Models' Out of Mind, Out of Sight from which the song of the same name was a hit. Both bands produced a type of funky dance pop similar to INXS. The Mental As Anything song "Live it Up" (which would become their most well-known song) was used in the Australian film Crocodile Dundee which was a worldwide success. Another "funky, dance band" was The Other Ones, a German-based band featuring the Klimek siblings from Australia and 3 German musicians. Their self-titled album reached the US top 100 and their song "Holiday" was a success. Australian group Big Pig with band leader Oleh Witer, created a unique band image and a type of unique dance music, involving lots of drumming, harmonica, synthesizers, male and female lead vocals and no guitars. Their album Bonk made the US top 100 and the single "Breakaway" was a minor success and was used in the American film Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Aussie band The Eurogliders had a similarly successful album This Island with the song "Heaven Must Be Here". Minor US singles success was had by Aussie groups Machinations with the song "Pressure Sway" in 1983 and Boom Crash Opera with song "Onion Skin" in 1989.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In New Zealand, Dave Dobbyn formerly of Th' Dudes formed DD Smash and had many local hits from their only 2 albums, but somehow was not quite able to crack the overseas charts. Dave however, went on to have a very successful solo career in New Zealand and became a national hero of music on the same level as Neil and Tim Finn.

 

Shona Laing, since her first successes way back in '72. had  been recording singles and performing with other bands. In 1985 she recorded a new album with the controversial "Glad I'm not a Kennedy", a minor hit in the US and later recorded "Soviet Snow" also a minor hit. Jenny Morris, former singer of The Crocodiles, had a similar, regional sounding voice. She managed success in New Zealand and in Australia. Peking Man was a Kiwi dance band (featuring singer Margaret Urlich), that had homeland success and achieved a radio mainstay with "Room That Echoes". The Fan Club was a later Kiwi dance band, which had homeland success and is rumoured to have managed a #99 US hit with "Don't Let Me Fall Alone" in '89.