Awesome Aussie Songs

In the early days of Rock 'n' Roll, Dig Richards & the R'Jays were one of the biggest bands in the land. With his movie-star good looks, Dig was Australia's very first teenage idol, and with his band the R'Jays, they were at the forefront of the Rock 'n' Roll revolution in in Australia. They were the first Aussie band to release a full-length album through Festival Records and as a live act, t...

This episode is on Skyhooks and their classic hit Horror Movie. The song was released in December 1974 and became the bands first No.1 single. Our specials guests are Skyhooks guitarist Bongo Starkie and the bands producer, the legendary Ross Wilson.

Skyhooks first hit the charts with their debut single Living in the 70’s. This episode takes a look at this song and the early years of the band. Our special guest is Skyhooks guitarist Bob “Bongo” Starkie.

In the Mid 1960’s Ray Brown and The Whispers were as big as any other band in Australia. Their popularity rivalled that of Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs and The Easybeats. Incredibly the bands first three singles went straight to the top, going all the way to number 1 on the Sydney charts. The bands fourth single reached number 2.  They may not hold the reverence as a band that they once did, howeve...

We take a look at Air Supply’s breakthrough international hit Lost in Love. This is our second episode on the band, one of the most successful acts to come out of Australia. Our special guest is Air Supply’s hugely talented lead singer Russell Hitchcock.

To coincide with the release of our latest episode, Lost in Love by Air Supply, we have reissued our first episode that focuses on the bands early days and their debut hit single Love and Other Bruises.

This is a reissue of our Bye Bye Baby episode, originally recorded in 2020. We have decided to re-release our first episode on the band, to coincide with the release of our episode on Col Joye and the Joy Boys next big hit, Rockin Rollin Clementine.   Our special guest is Col Joye 

Its mid-1959 and Col Joy and the Joye Boys had just created history, becoming the very first Australian rock band to make it to number 1 on the charts with the release of Bye Bye Baby. It was now time to follow up the No.1 and the pressure was on. The band came up with another early classic of Australian music Rockin Rollin Clementine. Our special guest is Col Joye.

This episode is on the band Chocolate Starfish and their reworking of the Carly Simon song ‘You’re So Vain”. Our Special Guest is the bands frontman, Adam Thompson.

Come A Little Bit Closer is the comeback record released by The Delltones following the death of their lead singer Noel Widerberg. With the support of Noels family, The Dellies recruited former Crescents member Col Loughnan and they hit the studio with Johnny O'Keefe as producer. Together they created a classic version of Come A Little Bit Closer. The song was the highest selling Australian single...

What's Love Got to Do With It by Tina Turner has become an all time classic song. In this episode we speak with the songs co-writer and producer Terry Britten. Not only did What's Love Got to Do With It win Terry a Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1985, the song has also gone onto be inducted into Grammy Hall of Fame and has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. The former Twilights guitarist...

This episode is on the Little River Band and their debut single Curiosity Killed the Cat The Little River Band are one of the most successful acts in the history of Australian music. On the US Billboard charts, they’ve had 10 singles reach the Top 20 and they’ve sold more than 30 million records worldwide. The band were renowned for their tight harmonies and brilliant live performances.  Our speci...

This episode is on Tony Worsley and the Fabulous Blue Jays and their hit song Velvet Waters The group came together when leading promoter Ivan Dayman teamed up Brisbane singer Tony Worsley with well known Melbourne band The Blue Jays. Before teaming up with Tony, The Blue Jays were one of Melbourne’s most popular bands, having formed in 1959. The band went through various line up changes and inclu...

This mini episode comes from episode 16, Crying Shame by Johnny Diesel and the Injectors. Since their self-title debut album was released in 1989, Mark Lizotte aka Diesel has become a mainstay of the Australian music scene. Diesel emigrated to Australia in 1971 with the Lizotte family settling in Perth. After his first band Innocent Bystanders broke up, together with a few bandmates they formed a...

This mini ep takes a look at music royalty Col Joye and the Joy Boys and the time they had to hold the attention of an 8000 strong crowd waiting for Johnny Cash to arrive at the stadium. The band was at the very start of rock n roll in Australia and they are true pioneers. In this era, Col Joy and the Joye Boys popularity and chart success is only rivalled by that of Johnny O’Keefe and the Dee Jay...

As Blueys father, he is perhaps the most beloved heeler dog dad in the history of animation – Bandit is voiced by Custards’s Dave McCormack. Custard where part of Oz music history when they played at the Crowded House farewell to the world concert, staged at the Sydney Opera House – via their first hit song Apartment, Custard had already had history with the iconic building. Here's Dave talking ab...

This mini episode comes from 90’s band Fini Scad – they were band that shone brightly, if only briefly and are best known for their song Coppertone. We spoke with Fini Scads drummer Jono McPhee and he was brutally honest about the highs and lows of the music business. While it wasn’t always sunshine and lollipops for Fini Scad, they still had plenty of ‘rock star’ moments. They toured with Midnigh...

In this mini episode we take a look at the tragic death of one of Australia’s early pop stars, the lead singer of The Delltones, Noel Widerberg.   The singers death came as a huge shock to teenager all around Australia.  The excitement that came with this new craze of rock n roll, was suddenly shattered with the death of one of their teen idols. We speak with The Delltones legend Pee Wee Wilson

This mini ep is about the time Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs toured with way-out English performer Screaming Lord Sutch.   We speak with member of the Aztecs Tony Barber, no, not the Sale of the Century host but the bands guitarist. Tony emigrated to Australia in 1964 and he became a driving force on the beat pop scene. You can hear more about Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs in episode 28 were we take a...

This mini episode is on Aria Hall of famer, Col Joye and the time he found his himself in Vietnam during the war and right smack in the middle of the Battle of Long Tan. For the full story of Col’s experiences performing during the Vietnam War period check out episode 34.

This mini ep takes a look at ground breaking Australian rock band, Ayers Rock. Formed in 1973, Ayers Rock were the first Australian act signed with Mushroom Records to break internationally. When Ayers Rock recorded their debut album, Big Red Rock, they recorded it live-in-the-studio and it was a ground breaking album.

In the world of music, The Rajahs are not a household name, however, they’ve had some extraordinary moments in their career.   Before they renamed themselves The Rajahs, the band were previously known as The R’Jays and they were one of the most popular acts in Australia. As Dig Richards and the R’Jays, they spread the gospel of rock n roll across the country and their success was only rivalled by...

Diana Trask is a music trail blazer – following World War 2, she was the first Australian female to break into the big time in the USA. She was the first to star on Prime Time American television, she was nominated for a Grammy and her diversity saw her cross-over from Jazz to pop and then go onto have a successful career in Country Music. 18 of her singles made the Billboard Country Charts. As a...

Without doubt, The Bee Gees are the most successful act to come from Australia. In this episode of Awesome Aussie Songs, we take a look at one of their early international smash hits To Love Somebody. Rather than just the Gibb Brothers performing as a trio, the 1967 to 69 incarnation of The Bee Gees was a 5 piece band capable of heart felt ballads, as well as equally being at home with some ‘four...

It's with a heavy heart we release this episode on the Queen of Australian music, Olivia Newton-John. Around 6 months ago we spoke to Olivia's friend and band leader Chong Lim about Olivia.  I Honestly Love You won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year 1974. The song was co-written by Jeff Barry and fellow Australian icon Peter Allen.