Timeline of trends in Australian music
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Music of Australia [ ] | |
|---|---|
| Timeline and samples | |
| Genres | classical · hip-hop · indigenous Australian music · immigrant music · jazz · country · rock (pub rock · indie · punk) |
| Organisations | ARIA · APRA |
| Awards | ARIA Music Awards · The Deadlys · Australian Music Prize · J Award · WAMi Awards |
| Charts | ARIA Charts · JJJ Hottest 100 |
| Festivals | List: Big Day Out · Livid · Homebake · Falls · Tamworth Country Music Festival · Womadelaide |
| Media | Countdown · Rage · Triple J · ABC · Community Radio |
| National anthem | Advance Australia Fair |
| Cities and regions | |
| Adelaide · Brisbane · Canberra · Melbourne · Sydney · Perth | |
The trends of Australian music have often mirrored those of the United States and Britain. Australian Aboriginal music during the prehistory of Australia is not well documented; this timeline will concentrate on the time since radio began broadcasting in Australia (1923).
Contents |
[edit] 1950s
In 1955 the New South Wales government extended pub closing time from 6pm to 10pm (see Six o'clock swill).
Television was introduced to Australia in 1956. Rock and roll became popular, as in America. First 'rock and roll' dances were held at Preston Town Hall, Melbourne. "Rock Around the Clock" sold over 150,000 units as a 45rpm EP. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)
In March 1958, Johnny O'Keefe's "The Wild One" was the #1 single - he was the first Australian rock star to have such a hit. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999) Channel 9 began broadcasting an Australian version of America's Bandstand programme, with Brian Henderson as host, which lasted for 14 years.
In 1959 Johnny O'Keefe took over the recently launched Six O'Clock Rock (ABC), which ran until 1961.
[edit] 1960s
Still strongly reflecting American culture, in 1962 Australia experienced the Twist fad, soon followed by the Stomp fad (reflecting surf culture). In 1964, one of the biggest bands of this genre, the Beach Boys toured Australia. During this time Australia also had its experience of Beatlemania with a Beatles tour. The mid 1960s saw the 'mod' fad come and go.
A cover of The Coasters' "Poison Ivy" (also covered by the Rolling Stones) gave Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs their first #1 hit, keeping even the Beatles at bay. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)
1964 also saw Jimmy Little have a hit with "Royal Telephone" - he was the first indigeneous Australian to do so. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)
In 1966, Australia's prestigious annual rock band competition, Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds began, and this ran until 1972.
By 1966, the Loved Ones and the Easybeats had both seen success. Johnny Young was host of Young Talent Time and the Seekers became the first Australian band to sell over a million records internationally. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999) Pop paper Go-Set was also launched this year, hosting their own televised pop awards (the Pop Poll).
[edit] 1970s
The popularity of surf culture continued into the 70s. From 1972 to 1975 the Sunbury Music Festival (considered to be Australia's answer to America's Woodstock) was held in Victoria, dominated by the likes of Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, Daddy Cool and the Skyhooks.
In 1972 "It's Time" was recorded by Alison McCallum, and was famously (and successfully) used by the ALP in Gough Whitlam's bid for government. He introduced many reforms, including legislating for the establishment of community-based FM radio and increased funding for the arts. Due to his government's reforms, 2JJ (now the influential Triple J) was established.
1972 also saw Michael Gudinski form Mushroom Records. In 1975, Skyhooks, who were signed to Mushroom, released Living in the '70s. Six tracks from the album were banned, and the controversy combined with the singles "Living in the 70s" and "Horror Movie" ensured the album sold well. The debut song played by 2JJ was one of the banned Skyhooks tunes, "You Just Like Me 'Cos I'm Good In Bed".
At the end of 1974, the ABC began broadcasting Countdown with Ian Meldrum as host, a show which became hugely popular and influential. Songs played on the show often experienced a wild upswing in sales.
The mid to late 70s saw the emergence of disco, glam rock and New Wave, as reflected in the popularity of Sherbet, Split Enz and Skyhooks. It existed alongside hard rock acts such as AC/DC.
In 1977 the Bee Gees's soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever was a huge success worldwide, and in Australia broke all previous sales records. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)
Australian music was starting to gather momentum overseas, with the Skyhooks touring the United States, and AC/DC and Sherbet attracting attention in Britain. In the late 70s, as the punk rock phenomenon began overseas, Radio Birdman and the Saints began to be seen as scene leaders. Little River Band gained success in the United States in 1977, with their album Diamantina Cocktail being the first Australian-made American gold record (500,000 sales). (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)
Melbourne became a haunting ground for many influential although not huge-selling rock acts during this time, including Nick Cave's the Birthday Party, the Go-Betweens and the Triffids.
[edit] 1980s
The late 70s and early 80s saw the dominance of the hugely popular pub rock, typified by Mental As Anything, Midnight Oil, The Angels, Cold Chisel and Icehouse.
In 1981 Men at Work's "Down Under" was hugely popular both domestically and in the U.S., with the single staying at #1 on the Billboard charts for 15 weeks. INXS also experienced big success with "What You Need" reaching the U.S. top 5, and the band selling over 1.3 million copies of their Listen Like Thieves album. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)
In 1984 Midnight Oil's charismatic lead singer Peter Garrett ran for parliament with the Nuclear Disarmament Party. In the end Garrett narrowly missed out on winning a senate seat. In the mid 1980s, politics and music were increasingly entwined - the 1985 Live Aid concert was huge. Midnight Oil's Diesel and Dust album, featuring the "Beds Are Burning" single, broke the band in the US.
The mid 80s also saw the arrival of dance music and the synthesiser, for example the Rockmelons and Pseudo Echo. In 1987, Kylie Minogue hit the pop charts with a bang, "Locomotion" becoming the biggest selling Australian single of the decade and #2 in the UK, #3 in the US. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999)
There was a sudden burst of interest in female singer/songwriters in the late 80s, with Kate Ceberano, Wendy Matthews and Jenny Morris (actually a New Zealander) being popular. With Split Enz now defunct, Neil Finn started another project - the Mullanes, later to be renamed Crowded House. In 1987 "Don't Dream It's Over" peaked at #2 in the US.
Alternative music was well represented during the 1980s, with the formation of such bands as bands such as the Hoodoo Gurus, The Cruel Sea and TISM.
[edit] 1990s
The 1990s saw the continued expansion and then popularity of alternative music. It also saw a renaissance in music festivals, with some dozen or more being established and holding their own. Several expanded to cover multiple cities (Homebake, Big Day Out, Livid). The trend was kicked off by the establishment of the Big Day Out in 1992 in Sydney. Grunge had become huge in Australia after the death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain in 1994, and Silverchair were the chief beneficiaries, with huge success both locally and within the US (1996).
Alternative going mainstream was confimed in 1994, when the Cruel Sea dominated the ARIA Music Awards with their album The Honeymoon Is Over. Nick Cave experienced wider commercial success, and You Am I had three successive albums debut at #1. Other stalwarts of the 90s have been Regurgitator, Magic Dirt and Spiderbait.
The baby boomer's rock scene, by the 90s, translated into adult contemporary, with Wendy Matthews, Daryl Braithwaite and the Screaming Jets finding success.
In the late 90s, pop broke out all over. Savage Garden hit the US#1 with their single "Truly, Madly, Deeply" and their debut album sold over 8 million copies. (Creswell & Fabinyi, 1999) Tina Arena and Natalie Imbruglia also had big chart success.
Triple J's influence in possible success for a band was clearer than ever, with the station breaking Grinspoon, Missy Higgins and largely responsible for promoting the Whitlams, who after winning Triple J's Hottest 100 poll in 1997 with their "No Aphrodisiac", went on to win Song of the Year at the 1998 ARIA music awards.
[edit] 2000s
The early "noughties" saw Powderfinger break though and become the country's biggest rock band. Not long after, reality television became huge, with Channel 7's Popstars and in 2003, with Channel 10's ongoing Australian Idol. Delta Goodrem followed in the footsteps of Tina Arena in the 90s with huge success, and a crack at the American market. Missy Higgins and Ben Lee also broke through, sweeping the 2005 ARIA music awards, previously having relied almost solely on the support of Triple J whose Hottest 100 music poll became the largest in the world with in excess of 500,000 votes placed.
Australian hip-hop began to break through, with the Hilltop Hoods becoming the first Australian hip-hop album to reach the top of the ARIA charts.
Following the success of garage rock artists such as the The Strokes and The White Stripes, Australia experienced somewhat of a rock renaissance with groups such as The Vines, Jet and Wolfmother charting internationally.
[edit] Sources
- Creswell, Toby & Martin Fabinyi (1999), The Real Thing: Adventures in Australian Rock & Roll, Sydney: Random House.
