Australian Music

Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled:
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me."

Australian music is known for being wildly eclectic or Rock or country-based. Oddly enough, a whole heck of a lot of our famous musicians (particularly those who became famous around the 1970s, when there was a huge explosion of Australian pub rock) were born in the UK and immigrated here. They almost invariably came here as children and got their start in music over here, though, so we can still legitimately claim them as our own (even if singers such as Jimmy Barnes and Colin Hay still sound semi-Scottish). However, nowadays Australian mainstream musicians are sliding more and more into Pop territory, to compete with international artists.

Famous Australian musicians and groups include:

• 5 Seconds of Summer - The only Boy Band from Australia to break into the American market.
• AC/DC (although mainly made of UK-born musicians).
  • 1975 - High Voltage
  • 1975 - T.N.T. (1975)
  • 1976 - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
  • 1979 - Highway to Hell
  • 1980 - Back in Black
• Airbourne
• Air Supply
• Alarum
• Alison Wonderland
• The Amenta
• Vanessa Amorosi
• The Angels
• Iggy Azalea - Though she never had any involvement in the Australian scene, having moved to the US to focus on her career.
• Amy Meredith
• Angelspit
• Architecture In Helsinki
• Tina Arena - now based in France
• Art Vs Science
• The Axis of Awesome
• Augie March
• Aunty Donna released a full-length musical album (of comedic songs) in 2018.
• Australian Crawl
• The Avalanches
  • 2000 - Since I Left You
  • 2016 - Wildflower
• Aversions Crown
• Billy Thorpe And The Aztecs
• Baby Animals
• Bag Raiders
• Ball Park Music
• The Beards
• The Bee Gees (born on the Isle of Man, were based in Australia when they launched their musical career)
• The Bennies
• Nick Bertke
• The Berzerker
• Beyond Terror Beyond Grace
• Birds Of Tokyo
• The Birthday Party (Nick Cave's original band)
• Bliss N Eso, a good example of Australian hip-hop.
• Blood Duster
• Bluejuice
• Bluetile Lounge
• Bodyjar
• Eric Bogle
• Bond
• Boris The Blade
• Havana Brown
• Brian Cadd
• Caligula's Horse
• Tom Cardy
• The Cat Empire
• Nick Cave
  • 1994 - Let Love In
  • 1996 - Murder Ballads
• Chain
• Kasey Chambers
• Chet Faker
• The Church
• Gabriella Cilmi, "Sweet About Me" was her most famous hit, now big in England
• Closure In Moscow
• Clowns
• Cold Chisel, and its lead singer Jimmy Barnes, who went on to a solo career after they broke up.
• Courtney Act
• Courtney Barnett
• Matt Corby — an acclaimed Australian folk singer-songwriter
• The Crystalline Effect
• Crowded House (actually not solely Australian - Neil and Tim Finn are both New Zealanders).
  • 1993 - Together Alone
• Custard
• Cut Copy
• Daddy Cool
• Dami Im, Former X Factor winner.
• DCUP
• Dead Can Dance
• Delta Goodrem, super successful with the Innocent Eyes album in 2003.
• Kyle Dennis, a notorious cult noise musician.
• Destroyer 666
• Devolved
• Diafrix, another good example of Australian hip-hop. Australia's most successful hip-hop group with ethnic African emcees.
• Diesel
• Disembowelment
• Disentomb
• Divinyls
• Jason Donovan
• Doug Anthony All Stars
• Rob Dougan
• Dragon
• Drapht
• The Drones
• DVSR
• The Easybeats (acclaimed as the first Australian band to make it big internationally)
• Empire of the Sun
• Jon English
• Eskimo Joe
• John Farnham
• Flume, arguably the biggest Aussie musical export since Kylie Minogue, also Genre Popularizer for future bass.
• Frenzal Rhomb
• Lisa Gerrard
• Andy Gibb (younger brother of the Bee Gees; born in the UK, raised in Australia from infancy)
• Giulietta
• The Go Betweens
• Mick Gordon
• Gospel Of The Horns
• Gotye
• Grinspoon
• Darren Hayes
• Missy Higgins, made a comeback in the 2010's
• Hillsong
• Hilltop Hoods
• Hoodoo Gurus
• The Hot Lies
• Horrorshow, one of the best hip-hop groups to come out of Sydney.
• Taylor Henderson, Former X factor top three winner.
• Human Nature
• Hunters & Collectors
• I built the sky
• Icehouse
• Natalie Imbruglia
• INXS
  • 1987 - Kick
• iOTA
• Samantha Jade
• Emily Janes
• Jebediah
• Jet
• John Butler Trio
• Joji (Japanese-Australian)
• Justice Crew
• Kat McSnatch
• Kid Crusher
• The Kid LAROI
• Killing Heidi
• King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
• King Parrot
• Kisschasy
• Knife Party
• Steve Lee
• Elen Levon
• The Lime Spiders
• Little River Band
• The Living End
• Magic Dirt
• Make Them Suffer
• Masked Wolf
• The Masters Apprentices
• Reece Mastin
• Jessica Mauboy
• Stephanie Mc Intosh
• Men at Work (After all, they come from a land downunder)
• Mental As Anything
• Mephistopheles
• Middle Kids
• Midnight Juggernauts
• Midnight Oil (the lead singer of which became a politician and eventually a government minister)
• Kate Miller Heidke
• Tim Minchin
• Kylie Minogue (along with her sister Dannii Minogue)
  • 1997 - Impossible Princess
• Kate Miller Heidke
• Russell Morris
• Mortal Sin
• Mortification
• Mournful Congregation
• The Necks
• Ne Obliviscaris
• Newsboys
• Northlane
• Olivia Newton-John (born in the UK, but raised from childhood in Australia and started her career there)
• Shannon Noll
• Johnny O Keefe
• Parkway Drive
• Passenger of Shit
• Peking Duk
• Pendulum
• Pogo
• Portal
• Powderfinger
• Power Glove
• The Presets
• Psycroptic
• Radio Birdman (frontman Deniz Tek was born in America)
• Ricki Lee
• Helen Reddy
• RedHook
• The Red Shore
• Regurgitator
• Rogue Traders
• Rose Tattoo
• Normie Rowe
• TheSaints
• Savage Garden
• Scarlett Belle
• Guy Sebastian - winner of the inaugural season of Australian Idol in 2003, is now a seemingly omnipresent staple of Australian mainstream culture due to judging X Factor, The Voice and the like
• The Senseless
• Sewerslvt
• The Seekers
• Shiv-r
• Shock One
• Short Stack
• Sia
• Sick Puppies
• Silverchair
• Troye Sivan
• Skeleton Staff
• Skyhooks
• SKYND
• Slim Dusty
• Sneaky Sound System
• Spiderbait
• Rick Springfield
• StarGazer
• Southeast Desert Metal (Self-proclaimed "most remote rock band in the world")
• Stand Atlantic
• Strange Talk
• Tame Impala
• Tammin Sursok
• Teenagers in Tokyo
• The Temper Trap
• J.G. Thirlwell
• Thy Art Is Murder (though current drummer Jesse Beahler lives in the US)
• Timomatic
• TISM (stands for "This Is Serious Mum". Never seen without their masks, with every song being a bit of a piss-take)
• Thirsty Merc
• TlotTlot
• Toehider
• Tones And I
• Tonight Alive
• Tripod
• Tropical Fuck Storm
• Twelve Foot Ninja
• Keith Urban (born in New Zealand, raised and began his career in Australia, but has lived and recorded in the US since the late 1990s)
• Holly Valance
• Vance Joy
• The Veronicas
• Jack Vidgen
• The Vines
• Virgin Black
• Stan Walker
• Megan Washington
• Nikki Webster
• The Whitlams
• The Wiggles
• With Confidence
• Wolfmother, a more recent band that rapidly gained international acclaim.
• Xenobiotic
• Yolanda Be Cool
• You Am I
• John Paul Young
• Yothu Yindi (Aboriginal Australian Rock Band)

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