Music from Australia and New Zealand in the year 1976:

They're leaving on a jet plane.
AC/DC (and their Kiwi mates Split Enz) moved to London. Skyhooks left to tour America. Little River Band were doing serious business in America. Sherbet began touring England on the strength of their international entry 'Howzat'.

From the pubs to Countdown, it looked as if Australia was breeding ground for potential international talent and with the rise of new faces, such as Air Supply, Dragon, Supernaut, The Angels and many others; the void left by those departed was quickly filled.

On the whole, 1976 was not a particularly outstanding year of Australasian music. Skyhooks' third album 'Straight In A Gay Gay World' only produced one significant hit single and didn't hold up to the success of it's predecessors. Sherbet achieved an international hit with the # 1 single 'Howzat', and AC/DC were now working in London. For most of '76, the charts were rippled by newish faces, playing a range of post-glam-rock, soft rock, ballads, and standard hard rock. Bands like Silver Studs, a 50's revival band, made the charts with a cover of the 'Happy Days' theme tune. Another 50's revival band OL'55, continued to shower the charts with throw-away 50's revival singles; abiding to the pre-Grease 50's revival trends, mostly sparked off by the popularity of American sitcom Happy Days (note: England was just as guilty with Showaddywaddy).

Supernaut, a teen Glam-Rock band from Perth scored a National # 1 hit with 'I Like It Both Ways' (produced by Ian 'Molly' Meldrum). Chuck Berry's Australian backing band Keystone Angels, delivered a Status Quo-style rocker with 'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again'; and Melbourne band Air Supply (a more subdued version of Silver Studs) scored their first hit with 'Love & Other Bruises'. Add to this, filler bands like Punks, Squeeze, and Taste; 1976, in hindsight, was not particularly outstanding year for Australian music.

The hard rock scene fared a little more interesting: Finch, Taste, Rabbit, The Angels, Redhouse, Avalanche, Buffalo, to name a few, continued to fill venues and sell records to a loyal following.

Sydney based New Zealand band Dragon were one of these hard rock groups, cutting their teeth on the live music scene in Sydney. Already making a couple of appearances on Countdown, with two singles floating about the market and two disowned prog-rock albums in New Zealand; Dragon were to suffer a loss of their drummer Neil Storey, before making a mark on the national charts with 'This Time' - turning the struggling rock band into one of the new promising bands for 1977.

However, the most notable groups of 1976 were not those making 50's revival pop records, soft rock ballads, prog-rock, glam-rock or hard rock.

On the Northern beaches of Sydney, a shaven-headed man known by punters as Captain Midnight, stomped about the stage, towering over observers, whilst a group of musicians stood behind him laboring over their craft. This group, formally known as Farm, were now known as Midnight Oil. Another Sydney group, playing a range of Blue Oyster Cult, Stooges and MC5 songs were Radio Birdman, who had released its first EP 'Burn My Eye'.

However, none were to be as important as The Saints - a Brisbane quartet that independently released its first single '(I'm) Stranded' on its own label Fatal records. After a rave review in Britain's Sounds magazine, EMI's London head office instructed EMI's Australian division to sign the group; and so began Australia's chapter of punk rock.

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Aussie Bands/Artists with Debut Albums:
Supernaut - Air Supply - Kanguru - Kevin Borich Express - Morgan And Matthew - Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons - Taste - Avalanche - Redhouse

Aussie Bands/Artists with Debut Singles/EP's:
The Saints - Radio Birdman - Stars - The Angels

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Kkwi Bands/Artists with Debut Albums:

Kiwi Bands/Artists with Debut Singles/EP's:

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Notable Events:

Aussie Bands / Artists with Debut Albums:

Supernaut - s/t
Air Supply - s/t
Kanguru
Kevin Borich Express
Morgan And Mathew
Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons - Don't Waste It (Mushroom)
Taste
Avalanche
Redhouse

Aussie Bands /Artists with Debut singles/EP's:

The Saints - (I'm) Stranded (s - Fatal)
Radio Birdman - Burn My Eye EP
Stars - Quick On The Draw (s - Mushroom)
The Angels - Am I Ever Gonna (s - Alberts)