Music from Australia and New Zealand in the year 1981:

My immediate thought of antipodean music in 1981 is The Church's debut album 'Of Skins and Heart'. Then, I immediately think of New Zealand, and the launch of the influential Flying Nun Records. Then, comes the thoughts of The Sunnyboys' first album, a record with a blue cover, slightly disrupted by the band sitting awkwardly on the left. It's not known what would be playing as soon as the needle hits the first groove; but the abrupt entry of the opening track 'I Can't Talk To You', comes as no surprise... of course, it's a angst driven power pop band! Both The Church (EMI) and The Sunnyboys (Mushroom) delivered successful debut albums with relative success on the singles chart and both bands, drew an unspoken influence of Byrds-like jangle pop, aggressive performances and sensitive songwriting. Though both Sydney quartets, originating from Newcastle (Sunnyboys) and Canberra (3/4 of The Church), had achieved similar results from similar musical descriptions; both bands were vastly different. And perhaps, this is why I place these groups as being the epitome of the Australian sound of 1981. The Sunnyboys and The Church were from different camps: the 1st being a more honest-upfront outfit, whilst the 2nd wrapping itself in mystery and pretensions.

Melbourne's Paul Kelly & The Dots and Sydney's Matt Finish, were the closest thing one could compare to the Sunnyboys - whilst very few could be compared to The Church - The Laughing Clowns perhaps coming closest, but only as a desperate bid.

On the surface, Australian music scene of 1981 may have appeared humdrum. Ask anybody in the world his/her immediate thought of Australian music in 1981 and if lucky, the enlightened person may answer with Men At Work's debut 'Business As Usual' (fitting description of the scene), and/or Olivia Newton John's interpretation of the Steve Kipner song 'Physical'. However, ask an Australian their immediate thought on this subject, and the answer would most likely be The Swingers' # 1 hit single 'Counting The Beat' - an enjoyable ditty on first hearing, but perhaps annoying after repeated airplay. The Swingers was fronted by Phil Judd, the founding member of Split Enz, who had quit the band four years earlier, disappeared into the Auckland punk scene, before kicking back at the success 'I Got You' gave to his ex-Split Enz mates, with his own surefire hit.

However, what ever The Swingers brought to Australian charts directly from New Zealand, was not representative of the music scene that was taking place in NZ. A fledgling, but ambitious record label called 'Flying Nun' began releasing a series of singles and EP's of locals, such as The Clean and Tall Dwarfs. A healthy and vibrant agenda, Flying Nun was the platform for many under appreciated Kiwi acts at the time, who would eventuate into being major national representatives on the music scale.

In the meantime, Sydney-based Canberra band Tactics issued 2 first albums of experimental post-punk noise pop, whilst Perth band The Scientists finally pressed a debut long play of their blistering post-punk rock 'n' roll. The Laughing Clowns - a Sydney post-punk-jazz-fusion band led by ex-Saints guitarist Ed Kuepper also offered a debut album, which captured the sounds and attitudes (mostly, resistance to convention) of the Sydney underground. Another Sydney band, XL Capris, also issued a debut album, a jumbled mix of New Wave, post-punk and pop; nearly as inconsistent as their line-up and past singles.

Sydney's Divinyls and Melbourne's Men At Work were still relatively new bands, gaining nearly immediate major label interest and mainstream success in their homeland. Both bands would eventually achieve international success; the latter becoming a phenomenon, with first two singles topping the US billboard chart (a first for an Australian band).

The international success of AC/DC, Air Supply, Split Enz and Little River Band, combined with overseas interest in Icehouse (known last year as Flowers), Divinyls, The Church and Midnight Oil, suggested the Australian music scene might have the potential of being the next 'British Invasion'. Laughable as it seems, the 'cultural cringe' still lurked in the average Australian psyche at this time, and the failure of Dragon's attempt to break into America and now, Cold Chisel's illfated visit, was like a kick in the guts. To add to this Mental As Anything and Mondo Rock seemed to show no interest in investing on their international potential, in spite the fact the Mentals had a chart hit in Canada and were getting played on MTV in the US.

Their ticket was quickly taken by the up-and-coming enthusiasts INXS.

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Aussie Bands/Artists with Debut Albums:
Matt Finish - The Laughing Clowns - Paul Kelly & The Dots - Icehouse (aka Flowers) - The Church - Men At Work - Tactics - Billy Field - Hitmen - The Scientists - Sunnyboys - XL Capris

Aussie Bands/Artists with Debut Singles/EP's:
Scapa Flow - Machinations - Pel Mel

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Kiwi Bands/Artists with Debut Albums:
The Swingers - The Tigers

Kiwi Bands/Artists with Debut Singles/EP's:
The Clean - Tall Dwarfs - The Pin Group
- Ritchie Venus & The Blue Beetles

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Notabe Events:
Australian cricket team pissed the Kiwi off by bowling the ball.... so what?