In honor of our many Aussie Xchangers, vote for your favorite Top 80s Aussie act/artist:

It was hard to decide between Inxs and Icehouse, but I ultimately decided on Icehouse. They had such a unique, fantastic sound in the 80s, with such great songs as "No Promises", "Crazy", "Electric Blue" and "Great Southern Land". Primo band!!! :)

Good one Wonder Twin! :thumb:

I voted for Olivia Newton-John! The voice of an angel and those eyes!!
I've been a fan of Olivia's since the early to mid 70's and her biggest impact was her Grease era and Physical album era during the 80's!! Go Livvy!! :)

I love Inxs and Icehouse, but I had to vote for other because I totally adore Nick Cave and everything he's done. I've been following his career ever since the Birthday Party. I think he's an amazing song writer and lyricist. I can't count the times I've relyed on Mr. Cave to get me through a rough time.

I had to vote for INXS they were so great in the 80's

I went with Kylie!!!

I just downloaded a bunch of her stuff off of BearShare and am LOVING IT!!!:D

Definitely INXS...so many great tunes I like outta them..more than any of the others listed for sure :cool:

Originally posted by DD86
I went with Kylie!!!

I just downloaded a bunch of her stuff off of BearShare and am LOVING IT!!!:D

I think it's kewl you voted for Kylie, Gretch! My favorite of her early songs would include: "Turn It Into Love", "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi" and "I Should Be So Lucky"!

I can't believe Men At Work and Rick Springfield were not on the list! Anyway, I picked INXS.

Originally posted by Iluvthe80s
I can't believe Men At Work and Rick Springfield were not on the list! Anyway, I picked INXS.

Now, I feel so silly for leaving them out!!! I was trying to think of some of the other Aussie bands that never get mentioned and I forgot about those two biggies! :o

If you wanna replace anyone up there, that can be arranged Triv :cool:

Edit: Nevermind, just got your PM...all fixed :lol::cool:

Yeah! Thanks again, Roem! Now Stacy will be mad that she didn't get to vote for MAW or Rick Springfield... sorry, Stacy!!! :)

I voted for AC/DC. Certainly one of the biggest and most important bands in rock/metal. :banger:

I voted for AC/DC mate, with INXS a close second

What no Midnight Oil? One of Australias most enduring rock bands?

Lucky for you I voted Men at Work. One of my favourite 80s bands!

Pinche! I forgot Midnight Oil, too! Well, it would be impossible to list all of the great Aussie bands, which is why I included the "other" option! :)

INXS

It has to be INXS

I'm betting INXS will take this poll by a substantial margin... :)

Gee, you really think so??? :D

I voted for INXS - no surprises there huh? AC/DC came second.
Kylie seems to have been in and out of style so many times it's not funny. But she's cool too! I also love Australian Crawl and Little River Band and the one and only John Farnham. Can't forget Cold Chisel & Jimmy Barnes as well.

We Aussies Rock!!! :banger: :thumb:

I voted for INXS.. but another one that I guess was more of a one hit wonder is Real Life .. "Send Me An Angel" was an awesome song!!!

I had to go with Olivia Newton-John because I owned more albums by her than any of the other artists.

Originally posted by 80sTrivia
Pinche! I forgot Midnight Oil, too! Well, it would be impossible to list all of the great Aussie bands, which is why I included the "other" option! :)


geez...how could you forget THE OILZ??????:goofy:

Originally posted by pamela*
I voted for INXS.. but another one that I guess was more of a one hit wonder is Real Life .. "Send Me An Angel" was an awesome song!!!

pammie*, I did have Real Life listed on the poll, but as I forgot to include two biggies, Men At Work & Rick Springfield, I had Roemy replace them! Sorry!!! :)

Originally posted by space-invader



geez...how could you forget THE OILZ??????:goofy:

Well, as I said, that's why I had to include the "other" option! :D

Well, I'm a Rick Springfield fan, but it was a tough choice!:p

It was a tough choice between Rick and INXS, but I had to go w/ INXS

AC/DC, mate :D

I may not be very popular here...but I went with Kylie Minogue on this one...

AC/DC!! Absolutely no question about that!! :D

Sweeeeet Kylie :biglick: :D

Wasn't John Farham and Chesney Hawkes aussies too ?
Tho' I don't think they ever were as big as the artists in this poll :)

john farnham was HUGE over here...bigger hit than many of the bands listed....definately rivalled INXS and midnight oil for local success

his album "whispering jack" was #1 for a looonnnnnggg time

Originally posted by 80sSmurf


Wasn't Chesney Hawkes an aussie too ?
:)

The information I found out about Chesney was that he was born September 22, 1971, in Windsor, England. He was a one hit wonder here in the States, with "The One and Only"...

cold chisel is another aussie band that was huge here....not 100% sure if they were still around in the 80's though
the lead singer from the band, jimmy barnes, pursued a solo career with quite a bit of success too

My vote goes to INXS... mostly because I'm thinking in the "whole bunch" of songs they made.

I was always a big Air Supply fan, they had so many great hits. I wonder how well they did over seas?

Originally posted by Recker
I was always a big Air Supply fan, they had so many great hits. I wonder how well they did over seas?

Well, Air Supply had quite a few hits here in the States in the early 80s, including their No. 1's "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" and "I'm All Out of Love"... :)

Originally posted by 80sTrivia


The information I found out about Chesney was that he was born September 22, 1971, in Windsor, England. He was a one hit wonder here in the States, with "The One and Only"...

Thanx for clearing up this Smurf's mind :) For some reason I had the notion that he was an Aussie :confused

Had to go with Olivia Newton-John. Her Greatest Hits, Part 2 is a great album. Fantastic songs:)

AC DC all the way nothing else even comes close in my opinion:)

INXS, though I almost went with other to pick The Little River Band.

Originally posted by Trixter
Good one Wonder Twin! :thumb:

I voted for Olivia Newton-John! The voice of an angel and those eyes!!
I've been a fan of Olivia's since the early to mid 70's and her biggest impact was her Grease era and Physical album era during the 80's!! Go Livvy!! :)

DITTO! :D

Olivia Newton-John. What girl (besides Ted) didn't want to be her? :p

This was hard, but I ended up voting for Kylie. I always liked her music and she is still making music I want to buy.

I also liked Icehouse, INXS and Olivia.

Voted for AC/DC, Angus Young is a great guitarist!

I voted for Men At Work, just because they were so nutty. But I have to say, who in the 80's din't like INXS?

I wet with Icehouse cos I luv "Great Southern Land"

No doubts here - INXS all the way! :)

Olivia! I still have a thing forhot chicks with Aussie accents!

Wow, this was hard, but I picked ONJ. She's a fantastic singer. If I could choose three it would be:

ONJ
Icehouse
Kylie

I like INXS and Men at Work too.

Some others that were missed were:
The Eurogliders ("Heaven (Must Be There" ))
Shona Laing (or is she from New Zealand?)
Go-Betweens
Mental is Anything (another I'm not sure is from Australia or New Zealand)

I chose INXS -- love them! When Michael Hutchence died I had this strange, sick feeling in my stomach that I'd lost part of my childhood or something. Weird, eh?

i love icehouse rick and men at work the best

but i think i have to pick.........icehouse over rick by abit

although rick did look pretty hot back then :bouncy:

I voted for Olivia Newton-John.

INXS here. :clap:

INXS followed by Midnight Oil. :)

Geez - what a lot of great Aussies! Went with AC/DC on this one :rockon: Their "Back in Black" album is just on of the greatest albums of the 80s :thumb:

I also liked Men at Work, Icehouse, INXS and ONJ. I think Kylie had better music later on - really disliked most of that SAW production in the 80s.

i voted INXS

I voted for INXS.. but another one that I guess was more of a one hit wonder is Real Life .. "Send Me An Angel" was an awesome song!!!

I totally agree, that was a GREAT song that has been rumbling around in my head that past two days! lol

OK - brilliant list to choose from, but the fact is back in the 80s all I wanted to be was KYLIE!!!!

I chose Other - NOISEWORKS have always been and still are my all time FAV Aussie band - although some argue they are from New Zealand :shh: I'm not sure if they ever had any American hits?

Cause the walls start shaking
The earth was quaking
My mind was aching
And we were making it and you
Shook me all night long
Yeah you shook me all night long



Oh, I mean AC/DC :D

Easy choice. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. None of the others come close for me. In fact, I would probably give the same answer if the poll was "Favourite Act/Artist Anywhere, Ever" lol

INXS

I had a huge crush on Michael Hutchence. I bought every magazine that came out with articles or photos of Michael. I also had posters of him all over my bedroom wall (as a young teen). :bouncy:

I didn't pick Kylie because I liked her more as the late 90's-2000's came

So I went with Icehouse. Their Man of Colours album in 1987 was super cool :thumb:

There has been some amazing music produced in Australia over the years. I have to admit that none of the acts featured on the poll did anything for me so its definitely a vote in the "other" category.

There were so many amazing bands down under during the 80s who produced some excellent, challenging music, although commercially had very little success - bands such as The Triffids, The Go-Betweens, Radio Birdman/New Race, Dave Graney, Nick Cave (B Party and Bad Seeds). but my choice for best Australian band/artist goes to the mighty Ed Kuepper. Ed Kuepper fronted The Saints during the 70s - surely one of the best punk bands - and in the 80s produced an amazing run of solo work, as well as some great work with The Laughing Clowns.

Recommended albums from Ed

Honey Steels Gold - solo
Electrical Storm - solo
Rooms of the Magnificent - solo
The Butterfly Net - solo compilation
Ghosts of an Ideal Wife - Laughing Clowns
Golden Days - Laughing Clowns
Im Stranded - The Saints
Eternally Yours - The Saints


Bend Sinister aka Orpheus in the Undergrowth

My hats off to INXS!!!!! RIP, Michael Hutchence!

Not strictly 80s I know but keeping with the Australian theme - one Australian band who I think you should check out are The Sleepy Jackson - their album "Lovers", released in 2003, was a gem and definitely worth getting hold of.


Bend Sinister

INXS gets my vote!

My vote goes to Midnight Oil. Diesel and Dust is an great album, with Blue Sky Mine as best song.

http://www.midnightoil.com/music/images/cover-diesel.jpg

AC/DC of coarse... :thumb:

INXS was great. Ive always liked those guys :rockband:

It´s very easy... my favorite Australian artist is INXS... well it´s my favorite group at all.Michael was the best lead singer of the time and he is still dearly missed... :( Rock on boys... :thumb:

I picked Men At Work, I also liked Olivia Newton - John, Rick Springfield & Inxs

I chose INXS, great band! I espescially loved Shaboo, Shoobah! and The Swing. It's always very sad, to say the least, when someone takes there own life. Sometimes, I want to cry when I hear "Not Enough Time".
Also rating a mention, the Uncanny X-Men -gotta love Brian Mannix. He may not have been the greatest singer, but always had and even at age 43, still has a stage pressence and exhuberant energy 2nd to none! :hyper: :thumb:

The Divinyls! I absolutely love this band! Their best song: "Boys in Town".

Kylie was alright in the 80's, a bit cheesy, but not bad.
Olivia had some good songs in the early to mid 80's.

The Thunder from down under.....AC/DC here!!!

I went with other, for Paul Hogan! :lol: Just kidding! My vote went to INXS with Men at Work close behind! (Shhhh, I didn't know AC/DC was from Australia) :shh:

Shhhh, I didn't know AC/DC was from Australia
Original Line-up:
Bon Scott (1974-1980) Vocals - Australia
Angus Young (1973-Current) Lead Guitar - Australia
Malcom Young (1973-Current) Rhythym Guitar - Australia
Colin Burgess (1973-1974) Drums - Australia
Mark Evans (1975-1978) Bassist - Australia

Current Line-up:
Brian Johnson (1980-current) Vocals - Australia
Angus Young (1973-Current) Lead Guitar - Australia
Malcom Young (1973-Current) Rhythym Guitar - Australia
Cliff Williams (1976-Current) Bassist - UK
Phil Rudd (1994-Current) Drums - Australia

Original Line-up:
Bon Scott (1974-1980) Vocals - Australia
Angus Young (1973-Current) Lead Guitar - Australia
Malcom Young (1973-Current) Rhythym Guitar - Australia
Colin Burgess (1973-1974) Drums - Australia
Mark Evans (1975-1978) Bassist - Australia

Current Line-up:
Brian Johnson (1980-current) Vocals - Australia
Angus Young (1973-Current) Lead Guitar - Australia
Malcom Young (1973-Current) Rhythym Guitar - Australia
Cliff Williams (1976-Current) Bassist - UK
Phil Rudd (1994-Current) Drums - Australia

I said Shhh!!! :lol:

Dirty Deeds....Done Dirt Cheap........The Badboys From Down under

Kylie Minogue and INXS are very good singers!

Hey, thanks this is a real honour, to share with the rest of the world what was big over here in the 80's. I chose Inxs, because "The Swing" would have to be my favourite Australian album ever. Icehouse/ Flowers were a really great band too, and "Electric Blue" brings back alot of memories from high school. There are others though

Midnight Oil- Diesel And Dust
Kids In The Kitchen- Shine

and many other great Aussie acts that i reccomend for people on this forum to check out e.g.

Boom Crash Opera
Mondo Rock
Australian Crawl
Paul Kelly

etc

There are a lot of really great choices. I chose Inxs. I've loved their music. Although, I must admit that since Michael died, and they got their new lead singer I don't think they're near as good. I know they're just adapting to today's sound, but I just don't think there's any compareson.

Out of your list, INXS is probably the best known, Kylie Minogue the hottest, and Icehouse my personal favorite out of the group. But you forgot Hoodoo Gurus, which I would have chosen in a second, or The Church, which is easily the best in my opinion.. if you doubt this, listen to the track "Under The Milky Way".

Well, I was going for INXS then I remembered a little rebelious band called Spy V Spy. They were in the Midnight Oil mould except they were much more localised with their protest values.

Icehouse:yesnod::thumb:

Out of your list, INXS is probably the best known

What About AC/DC? EVERYONE knows AC/DC!!!

definitely another INXS fan here......just loved all their songs.

RIP..Michael