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Overlooked Australian Rock from the 80’s

During my two extended stays in Australia I missed many months worth of American music that didn’t quite make it across the pacific to Oz.  But that was more than made up for by the wealth of Australian rock that I was able to hear Down Under that I never heard again once I returned to the States.  The American music that I missed I quickly made up but if I hadn’t done those two tours of Australia I would’ve missed out on some good songs and performers that either never made it big in the US or never made it at all there, no matter how successful they were in their home country.  I was fortunate, or prescient, in the fact that while I was Down Under I kept a journal of my visit and my travels and when I would hear a good song that I liked, I would write down the title and the artist.  And when digital music, mp3’s, and YouTube came along, I was able to lookup all these old songs that I loved back then but would’ve forgotten about if I hadn’t jotted them down, because I never heard them again back home.

I have compiled a short sampler of some of the bands and musicians that impressed me when I was in Australia.  Some of them might have gained a little notoriety in the States but not as much as they deserved, in my opinion, and some of them were never heard of at all on our side of the Pacific.  This list does not include the British music I heard while in Oz and never, or rarely heard again once back home, such as The Waterboys, Verve, Marillion, and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions.  It also does not include any of the well-known Australian acts that did make it big in the US, such as Air Supply, the Little River Band, AC/DC, INXS, and Men At Work.  I did make a couple of exceptions of Australians that many might have heard of but were not as acclaimed as I feel they should have been – Rick Springfield, Billy Thorpe, and possibly the Divinyls and Midnight Oil.

Note, some of the politics endorsed in these videos are in no way endorsed by me, the writer, only the quality of the music.  In fact, some of them are pretty far to the Left of what I believe.  But I have the ability to separate my appreciation of the music from any messages embedded in the lyrics or the video by the artist.  A fellow musician friend of mine once said it was the words that make the song.  But I disagree.  I may be in the minority on this, but to me it is the instrumentation that makes the song good or great, not the vocals or the lyrics.  I can love a song with bad, or nonexistent lyrics if the music is great, but I will still dislike a song with outstanding lyrics if the music is bad.

Hoodoo Gurus – Bittersweet

Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kk3_FsqH3w

Music only:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohSGGALury4

Jimmy Barnes – I’d Die to Be with You Tonight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RHG42ervD4&ob=av3e

Jimmy Barnes – Ride the Night Away

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aOsTftr6JA

Eurogliders – Can’t Wait to See You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vpSFES-WAk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL7IQyVAG8M  (HD)

12” audio only:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COlU4eMzhIc

Mental As Anything – Live It Up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eThl2OayKRw  (HD/stereo)

Midnight Oil – Blue Sky Mine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofrqm6-LCqs&ob=av2e

The Radiators – Like Dreamers Do

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhQm48rH8Vw

Divinyls – I Touch Myself

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv-34w8kGPM

Or if that is too racy for you, here is an alternative:

Divinyls – Science Fiction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfrKejzTdLU

Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs – Children of the Sun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSCFIMN0vBE  (good audio, poor video)

There are several vids of this with just the audio, I can’t find one that is an ‘official’ video

Rick Springfield – Kristina

The only vids I can find of this song are all live.  I didn’t want to do one of his better known songs, such as Jesse’s Girl or I’ve Done Everything For You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1pumXL8WGo&list

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg9CTbE8-yg&list

From a live album

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVUG73K_w9A&list

The studio album version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdDk1eoK9mw&list

Pseudo Echo – Funky Town

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnejLmQGYhg&list

Icehouse – Electric Blue

Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xYQBTwP3t0

Music only:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xYQBTwP3t0

12” version video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0JP_TOM_BI

Cold Chisel – Khe Sahn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmyEv4n8ERI  (shorter)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv24elfqC-I  (longer)

From Britain

Waterboys – Whole of the Moon

Verve – Bitter Sweet Symphony

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – Lost Weekend

Marillion – Kayleigh

Not

Air Supply

Little River Band

ACDC

INXS

Men At Work


Jeff Vanderslice