How Redgums “I was only 19” isn’t in the top 30 is crazy !! That encapsulates the Vietnam war better than Khe San does ! The one song that brings people to tears !
Yes! Redgum; I was only nineteen, has to be the longest standing, most known Aussie anthem of all time. Find me an Aussie blue blood who doesn't know it. Bugger the fact that the rest of the world is ignorant beyond 'Down Under' and 'Solid Rock'
Totally agree with you I only think this would've made a great anthem from seeker's Because it's the history of our country From it conception to present day But definitely redgum only 19 has to be very close We have so many great songs like I call Australia 🇦🇺 home Great Southern land by ice house Walzing Matilda Many more
Let's be honest people......30 is not nearly enough for all the sensational music we have.....we could do a top 100 of stuff the rest of the world has never even heard
@@colinwoods5663 I think its a great song, but the recorded version is certainly better than any live performance they did. Personally I'd have a lot more Divinyls songs on a top 100 list ('I touch myself' may not even make the cut) R.I.P. Chrissy.
I feel the need to explain the joke made for number 15! The crowd interaction with The Angels 'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again" is that after he sings that line in the chorus, the crowd shouts back "NO WAY, GET FUCKED, FUCK OFF!" (and you can see this phrase on the top he's wearing too). It's always a fun one when it comes on at a party or the pub because of this.
I spent New Years Eve 1988 after their gig with V Spy V Spy at the ANU Refectory drinking and smoking cones with the bands and bar staff. I was at uni with the security and bar staff, and we partied hard that night. @@MargaretGuppy
Surprised not to see The Seekers in there, not even in the honorable mentions. Cold Chisel, for me at least, are the greatest band that came from the pub-rock scene so happy to see them at 1. Khe Sanh is one of their most famous songs, but certainly not their best though.
Cheating to have Barnsey at 3 and Chisel at 1 with only one song per band allowed. Can't believe at least We are Australian or Georgie Girl did not get a nod.
@@AndrewFishman given how many songs were in relation to national identity, I was expecting that Barnesy would have only got Working Class Man and that the Seekers would come in at 1. Not disappointed in something as subjective as this, but certainly surprised.
The Saints and the Go Betweens are two glaring omissions in my book both bands had international success in the late seventies and early eighties and produced some absolute classics
@@myeuphonyzone3958 Even more shocking is a distinct absence of the Pub Rock bands that defined the 80s and 90s. Where were the Gurus (What's my Scene), Radiators (Life's a Gamble), Skyhooks (Living in the 70s. Even Bruce Dickenson covered Women in Uniform) and The Choirboys (Run to Paradise)? Mondo Rock (Waiting for the Countdown)? ROSE TATTOO (PICK ANYTHING)??? The Wiggles, um, sorry, I mean the Cockroaches.
@@AndrewFishman It was a pretty mainstream list for the most part, many tired old songs Aussie radio wore out to the exclusion of many other deserving acts.
Not even the bands that should have been there had the songs they should have had in large part. @@deaddoll1361 Anything from any Midnight Oil album that came before BSM was better than anything that was on BSM, it was such a disappointment to listen to the first time. And even without the Pub Rock, where were the Bee Gees and LRB? Staying Alive might just be a bit well known, not to mention Spicks and Specks.
Three that should have been in Top 30: 1. The classic Aussie road trip song, 'Wide Open Road' by The Triffids, 2. The ultimate Vietnam Vet's song, 'I Was Only 19' by Red Gum and 3. The song that got indigenous music into mainstream, 'My Island Home' by Warumpi Band.
What about Evie parts 1, 2 and 3? How about We Are Australian or Georgie Girl by the Seekers? Don't Tear It Down? Anything at all by Hoodo Gurus? "Gimme Head like you did just last nnight baby..."? Better? Power and the Passion? Run to Paradise? A bit of a drink,maybe Have a Beer with Duncan? No Bee Gees or LRB? Splt Enz? Mentals? Skyhooks were Living in the 70s. There are so many more worthy songs than many of these.
Sounds of Then by Ganggajang is probably so good because it perfectly encapsulates the feeling of an electric summer night in Australia. The humidity (mentioned), the lightning in the distance (mentioned, plus cane-fields which used to be much more visible to us townies than these days), I dunno, it just has the true vibe of a summer night. If you want to know what a summer night is like in Australia, listen to that song.
Seeing the cane field burn offs as a kid towards the end of the year, one of my best childhood memories. You'd know summer was on the way when they'd burn the cane fields and you'd see hundreds of cane beetles and gold christmas beetles stuck to the flyscreen.
Agreed! Grew up in a cane country down (Murwillumbah/Mur/bah) and this, Flame trees - now there is an omission (fave cold chisel song) and to her door are all such cane town aussie (and even road trip reminder) ballads
Ooh yes, actually - the lyrics of 'cattle and cane' by the Go-Betweens: I recall a school boy coming home through fields of cane to a house of tin and timber And in the sky a rain of burning cinders' - the black cinder rain from the sky when they burned off the cane!
Some awesome bands but the worst songs. I mean, Anything off 10 - 1, Red Sails or even Species Dececies is better than the pap that came off Blue Sky. Just the horns at the end of Power and Passion, the feeling behind Short Memory or Hercules, the emotion of US Forces, the power of Back on the Border Line, Armistice Day and Stand in Line. How the hell does the least powerful song the Oils ever released become their best? @@katrinacromer984
As a Scot you have to do a reaction to ACDC's "There's A Long Way to the Top if you want to Rock 'n Roll" with it's iconic bagpipes while riding through the streets of Melbourne on a flat-bed truck.
You might be amused to learn, @AFinOz, that many people think that Big Country by Scottish band Big Country is an Australian anthem and rank it up there with Great Southern Land and Solid Rock as best Aussie Anthems.
Daddy Cool's "Eagle Rock" and Redgum's "I Was Only 19" were absolute mega hits for ALL Australians, and much more important in both our history and legacy than many of the Triple J (less than 10% of the population) songs that were mentioned on this guy's personal preference list. Those 2 alone should have easily (both) been in the top 10. Cheers.
Eagle Rock is equal top with Friday on My Mind, Downunder and The Loved One by the Loved Ones and also Long Way to the Top. The Masters Apprentices weren't in it as was Horror Movie, Russell Morris, Little Ray of Sunshine by Axiom etc. etc.
They missed a trick by not including Aus psychedelic rock with Russell Morris and the Real Thing. I see it was an honourable mention along with Eagle Rock. A bit too 2000s oriented for me. History.
Here's a little treat for you. 'The Real Thing' is labelled as Pts 1 & 2. Find another Russell Morris song called 'Part Three Into Paper Walls'. It starts the way 'TRT' ends (nuclear explosion) and ends the way 'TRT' starts (soft acoustic gtr). Put 'em on a loop!
I love Great Southern Land by IceHouse but my Irish cousin Roisin said that their song " Hey little Girl' was a hit in Ireland. Have to say, I saw them last year in concert and they still sound awesome! So many hits in Australia!!
Also before they were Icehouse the were The Flowers. I cant help myself by them is my fave. They changed their name to Icehouse so they could release music in the USA, where there was already a band called the flowers.
Probably the biggest name not mentioned in many list is the one & only "Slim Dusty" song "I love to have a beer with Duncan". The next biggest name not in many list is "Daddy Cool" song "Eagle Rock". I don't care what era you are from everyone sings along to these two. A couple of modern Indigenous artist are "King Stingray" & "Budjerah" both very bloody talented. I'm a audiophile & a music junkie. This old guy knew all of the songs on there & I have to say not a bad mix. However there is plenty he could have added Xavier Rudd, John Butler Trio, Missy Higgins, Delta Goodrem, Eskimo Joe, Jebediah, LRB (Little River Band), Jeff Lang, Keith Urban, Ash Grunwald, Troy Cassar Daley, & so on....
I totally agree. How did I forget the Bee Gee's. Most of my extras were older(ish) music. I could have said The Rions, Beddy Rays, Rufus De Sul, Flume, Sia to name a few.
Considering that we’ve all been familiar with a Top 40 list every week since we were teenagers, it could have been amended to add ten more. I see that a lot of the replies have listed the same names that we thought should have been included.
C'mon you know you wanted to see Slim Dusty in a Aussie Hit List. lol.... I do know what you're saying, & you're completely correct in what you said. I think that a good % of Aussie kid grew up listening to Rage & other Music shows.
I used to work with an Irishman who'd been in Australia for about 10 years & I asked him which Aussie band he'd never heard of when he got here that he thought deserved to have gone worldwide & he said Icehouse. So yeah have a listen to some of their tunes, they have a lot of them.
And don’t forget when Icehouse were The Flowers. Iva Davies sang more like he was David Bowie, but Can’t Help Myself, We Can Get Together and Walls are amazing songs.
So many people forget their first album was the Icehouse and the band was the Flowers. @@katiescarlettohara So many great songs. Walls is one of my favourites, but even their later stuff, Crazy, Serious etc was great and Dusty Pages is one I could listen to any time.
A reaction to a couple of Ice House's best hits would benefit your Aussie music experience. Also 'Moving Pictures' ~ 'What About Me' is an iconic Aussie classic worth checking out. 1927, Kids in the Kitchen and Bachelor Girl (Busses & Trains) produced some massive songs but seem to fly under the radar.
Bayini (Live) Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu blind Aboriginal singer, so talented...dead now our loss This is such a beautiful haunting tribute to the love and belonging to the land that resonates through Aboriginal culture Please take the time to listen .. on UA-cam ....
About 10 of these songs have reached the status of anthems, as you say. They have helped soothe the souls of many a homesick Aussie over the years, even if the song itself isn’t that great. They are great because they take you back home for a few minutes.
If you're interested in some more recent indigenous music, check out the hip hop artist Briggs. He had a big hit with a rugby league promo he did called "here". He was also part of a colab with paul Kelly on a brilliant update to the classic indigenous story song, "took the children away", by uncle archie roache, called "the children came back", which is beautiful. Edit- sorry, the second song wasn't with Paul Kelly. It was with another brilliant indigenous artist, professor Gurrummul, who has sadly passed, but should also be reacted to. He has one of the most beautifully haunting voices you will ever hear.
Australia worked hard on the 70s and 80s to work out their identity and place in the world. This is reflected in the large number of songs from the 80s that are Australiana. In the last 20 years, Australians have focused more on getting wealthy rather than meaning or social cohesion
Yes, Bon Scott played the bagpipes on Its A Long Way! John Farnham often performs it as an encore too! Would love to react to some Icehouse songs. It’s Davies from Icehouse is a polarising figure within Australian music but his song writing skills are unmatched. I’d suggest checking out the big singles Great Southern Land, Hey Little Girl, Crazy and Electric Blue, which he co-wrote with John Oates from Hall & Oates - Oates admitted that if Icehouse hadn’t released it, he would have released it as a Hall & Oates song. Before Icehouse, Davies performed as Flowers who also had some huge hits in Australia - We Can Get Together and Can’t Help Myself. It’s all fantastic synth driven pop rock, big choruses and great production.
The biggest name in Aussie indigenous rock at the moment is a young band called King Stingray. They hail from Yolngu country in East Arnhem Land - the same country as Yothu Yindi who had a hit with ‘Treaty’ in the ‘80s. The Yolngu people have blessed us with some of the greatest Australian musicians, dancers, actors and educators of the last 50 years.
For me, as born in 1955!, it's Masters Apprentices,and Daddy Cool (saw them live sitting cross-legged in the front row in the student lounge at Monash Uni) I've also grown to love John Farnham a lot. He was also pretty- as I remember as a 15 y/o plumber's apprentice who started his career with Sadie the Cleaning Lady - and maybe 'One' as well.
30 songs isn't enough to cover great Aussie artists/bands. You could do a top 30 for every decade or genre and still not get everyone's favorites. Lots of classics here and lots missed too. It's definitely worth checking out the suggestions in the comments below and not just their number ones, Radiators No Tragedy is rarely mentioned but it's still one of my faves.
Australian music has a huge Scottish influence from the Young brothers, who were all born in Glasgow. Angus and Malcolm are on display for all to see in AC/DC but, arguably, George was the biggest in his writing partnership with Harry Vanda (born in the Netherlands). They were part of the Easybeats - you can see them in the background of the Friday on my mind clip.
It's a pretty good list of Aussie songs - some missed tracks from me would be "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun, "UFO" by Sneaky Sound System, "I Want You" by Savage Garden, "Cigarettes Will Kill you" by Ben Lee and "Down Again" by SuperJesus
Something to note: the lead singer of the Easybeats was also a music producer. George Young was Angus young's brother, of AC/DC fame. He did the earlier music production for the band.
George was the older brother of both Malcom and Angus. And he was not the lead singer of The Easybeats, that was Stevie Wright. George and Harry Vander were the song writing team of the Easybeats, then they wrote for Albert's recording artists, JPY, Ted Mulry and others sang and recorded their music. Watch a documentary called Blood and thunder, the story of Albert's music. You might learn a lot more than you obviously know. Me, I don't know much about the Australian music scene. I was way to busy working in it to learn anything about it.
Stevie Wright was the singer. As any Aussie could tell you. George Young and Harry Vanda also enjoyed huge success as the Albert records house writers and in their famed duo act with Hey! St Peter and Down Among the Dead Men. Friday On My Mind was the equal of any Beatles or Stones record at the time of its release. So great even now.
So glad Solid Rock is in there. Such a powerful message with a powerful beat. Lots of other things could have been included. Someone mentioned Redgum, yep that deserves to be in there. I see Evie by Steve Wright was in the honourable mentions, what a classic, all three parts tell a story that is in turn joyful, touching, and tragic.
'Great Southern Land' by Icehouse is used to maximum effect in the Indy Smash Hit movie - 'Young Einstein' (a madcap comedy about a young Tasmanian genius, who splits the atom - contains some great music as well).
You asked if there was anyone else who should be on this list? Geoffrey Gurrumul is a full blooded First Nation man. You will hear his language in his music. He was famous world wide. I have two of his albums. Beautiful music. Beautiful man.
Definately think "I was only 19" by Redgum deserves to be in the Top 10. Superbly written song. With so many songs that could be in the top 30, it shows how great our Aussie musicians are - not that I am biased 😂
The ice house song has a beautiful film clip of our country He missed i call Australia home But no 1 should've been seekers song I am you are we are Australian Personally believe it should be our national anthem It incorporates our full history condensed down into a song must listern
And ironically, it is not even the Seekers best song. That woman has the voice of an angel.I used to go to sleep to her singing Morning Town Ride and Another You on dad's record player :)
I think one of the great things for Aussie music is the Pub Rock circuit. Even if a band falls down from the top of fame, they can still make the rounds of all the pubs, sports and RSL clubs, and hotel bars.
Meanwhile, on the issue of Indigenous issues, I think the tendency of songs of that theme hit a high in the late 80s because of the Bicentennial (i.e. the 200th anniversary of the landing of the First Fleet in Sydney). I remember a bicentennial concert that included Midnight Oil, and I think "Treaty" dated from then. Indigenous issue always come up every year around the 26th of January as well (Australia Day), but 1988 was a year where it was of higher significance.
@@TheMimiSard 26th Jan is a stupid day for Aus day. We have changed so much as a country why we won't change that meaningless day i will never understand. We shoulda had it on the referendum ballot as well. At least we might have got something for our 400mill!
Feel so lucky to have seen many of these bands/artists and songs live, along with countless others not even mentioned. So much great Aussie music talent out there.
Two songs for Icehouse you need to react to are the one on this, "Great Southern Land" you can see them perform or there is a version that showcases Australia's beauty. The second is "Man of Colours" live version with Michael Paynter (who joined Icehouse in later years)
Oh, there are a few others. Serious, one of the highest energy tunes you can find, Dusty Pages, one of the slowest loveliest ballads of all time. The range is amazing, the songs awesome. They should have been one of Australia's major hits.
Stoked Prisoner of Society (living end) that was our theme song during covid rings true! Nick Cave -Red Right Hand- just as good if not beta than into my arms, saw live Silverchair, met POWDERFINGER, met Michael Hutchance met Cold Chisel,saw the oils- US Forces.. AC-DC Men at Work, Little River Band, Richard Clapton, Aussie crawl, The Church, met Hunters, Ganga Gang ❤❤,saw live Yothu Yindi, saw John Butler Trio, Custard, The Whitlams,,Goanna , Icehouse formerly Flowers, met Christie just b4 she past out on stage with the Divynals,😂 I worked at the old Fisherman’s Wharf , we’ve had & still have some wicked underrated bands here, so many indie bands underground poetry at its finest just to many to name but cheers 4 sharing 😊🇦🇺
The Bourbon band in Kings Cross here in Sydney used to do a version of Khe Sahn that was 20 minutes or so long. Fantastic dance song, and a full dance floor at 4am would all be singing "Last plane out of Sydney's almost gone." Love that song.
Need to check out Kasey Chambers cover of Lose yourself from Civic theater 2022. She is a successful country singer but what she did is awesome, Eminem gave her the rights for the cover and it is remade.
Good choices. Can't say I'd personally have gone Cold Chisel for number 1, but I get it. Interestingly, Jimmy Barnes who is mentioned twice (once as a solo artist and once as lead singer of Cold Chisel) is originally from Scotland, as is Colin Hay, lead singer of Men at Work. Both have Scottish accents when speaking, undetectable when singing. In itself, that is very indicative of one of Australia's best traits, being that we are a highly multi-cultural nation. Thanks for that. Personal faves I'd have added are 'Leaps and Bounds' by Paul Kelly (as well as 'How to Make Gravy', a heartbreaking Christmas classic), 'Better Be Home Soon' by Crowded House, maybe 'What About Me' by Moving Pictures and 'I Still Call Australia Home' by Peter Allen. I could go on forever really... lol
Look there are tons of songs that could have been included but he did a reasonable job. My own personal list would have The Whitlams - No Aphrodisiac, Natalie Imbruglia - Torn, Brian Cadd - Ginger Man, Skyhooks - Living in the 70s, Moving Pictures - What about me?, Mental as anything - The Nips are getting bigger, Do-Re-Mi - Man Overboard, Baby Animals - One Word, The Go Betweens - Streets of your town, Hoodoo Gurus - What's my scene, Missy Higgins - Scar and of course Redgum - I was only 19. There's lots more but that will do.
Yes. To all of these. Hard to understand how they're not on. I think they're important enough, that were I making a top 30 list, I'd say "Nope, has to be a top 100).
There are a lot of great indigenous artists at the moment and in a wide variety of genres. Briggs, Baker Boy, King Stingray, Thelma Plum, Emma Donovan to name a few. I think there'll be some lasting classics from these guys.
Mate. At about 15:00 You got it right with ..."is that bagpipes ?". Yes it is. The lead singer of AC/DC at that time was Bon Scott a noted wood-windest and especially bag piper. He played the recorded solo for the song with the pipes.
So... this isn't the last 5-10 years, but check out Djarimirri by Dr G Yunupingu some time. He co-wrote "Treaty", which is probably why he wasn't in the list as a solo artist. This is the highest charting song in an indigenous language.
Biggest problem with these "Top Songs" lists is everyone has a different list, it can vary because of age of the person, personal preference, music taste and so on. There are some great songs on this list but you can be sure nearly every Aussie would have a different list. One thing is for sure and that is the world missed out on hearing some awesome Aussie bands. It is great seeing reaction channels like yours bringing so many of them out and exposing them to the world, keep up the good work
Love that as soon as "To Her Door" dropped, your head started bopping. Fun fact... the Angels song was a part of a concert... where the next performer on the stage was Jimmy Barnes. Also... thank god he didn't include Air Supply... but he did miss LRB.
I’d love to see you watch longer videos of individual songs and react. The lead singer of Crowded House is from New Zealand. Neil Finn. Originally in famous NZ band Split Enz with his brother Tim. I’m a Kiwi living in Australia and they like to claim some Kiwis as there own. Australia and New Zealand have produced so much great talent. Keep up great work!
Only 1 of the 3 members of Crowded house were from New Zealand being Neil Finn, as Nick Seymour (brother of Mark from Hunters & Collectors) and Paul Hester were both Australian, and they formed in Australia as well, so not NZ!
@@jefferyhill6245 Thank you. People seem to think that just because Neil was from NZ, that the entire band must be a NZ band. But they weren't. Split Enz... NZ Crowded House... Australian That's kinda like saying AC/DC aren't Australian, just because Bon and Brian weren't born in Australia. Ridiculous.
Crowded house was formed in Melbourne after split enz broke up. That makes them an Australian band. Also, two members were native born. So we love you, but the Finn brothers are ours now. Sorry.
New Zealand does produce a lot of great artists. They often come to Australia for more exposure and a bigger scene (and then we claim them 😅) In this case it's fair to call Crowded House Australian when they formed in Melbourne and 2/3 of the members are Aus born 🤷♂️
Hi, such a privilege living in Aus (as a Kiwi) so good matching the Aussie culture in song 😍 At great risk of gate crashing, thought you might like some great songs by Kiwi’s, it’s a quick list I’ve done and by no means a top 20, just a few oldies but goody’s. Hayley Westenra - ‘Now is the Hour’ (lyrics in Maori by Maewa Kaihau 1927, English translation added to the original then followed) Pixi Williams - ‘Blue Smoke’ Daphne Walker - ‘Pania of the Reef’ Dinah Lee - ‘do de blue beat’, ‘don’t you know yockamo’ Howard Morrison Quartet - ‘Maori Battalion’, ‘Battle of Waikato’, My Old Man’s an All Black’ Split Enz (Tim and Neil Finn) - ‘I got you’ the band preceded regrouping to form the band Crowded House. Dragon - ‘Are you old enough’, ‘April sun in Cuba’ Hogsnort Rupert - ‘Aunty Alice’, ‘Pretty Girl’ John Clark (aka Fred Dag) - ‘Gumboots’, ‘We don’t know how lucky we are’ Hello Sailor - ‘ Blue Lady’ Graham Brazier - ‘Billy Bold’ Blerta - ‘Dance all around the world’ Sharon O’Neil - ‘Words’ DD Smash (Dave Dobyn) - ‘Welcome Home’, Slice of Heaven’, ‘Whaling’ Coup d’ Etat - ‘Doctor I like your medicine’ Topp Twins - ‘NZ Icon’, ‘Songs of Home: Land of the Long White Cloud’ Shona Laing - ‘Glad I’m not a Kennedy’ Patea Maori Club - ‘Poi E’ Herbs - ‘Long Ago’ OMC - ‘How Bizzare’ Netherworld Dancing Toys - ‘For Today’ Bic Runga - ‘Sway’
12:16 One of my favourites of recent memory are King Stingray - a surf/indie-rock band from the Northern Territory - they blend English lyrics and Yolŋu Matha, and have some great tracks. They formed in 2020 and released their debut album last year - to get a taste, some of my favourites are Milkumana, Camp Dog, Raypirri, Get Me Out, and Lets Go. Another that springs to mind is Baker Boy - he's more on the rap/hip-hop side of things. Happy listening!
The Eurogliders with Heaven should be an honourable mention. So many good Aussie bands missing from the list, could easily have been a top 100 list and barely scraped the surface.
One very important song that means a lot to Aussies and believe it should be our National Anthem. The Seekers, I am Australian. Also, you need to hear the full Angels song to really know how Aussie it really is.
I’m sure they are some Australians who don’t sing along to Khe Sanh, but I’ve never met them. It’s a fair list, though I’d try to squeeze a Mental As Anything song in there. Maybe ‘If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too?’, though they had so many great songs. I’m a massive Whitlams fan, but prefer their album tracks to their singles, so they’d probably not make a general list. Since I’m old, I’d find room for Helen Reddy’s ‘I Am Woman’, and something from The Bee Gees and The Seekers, both of whom had massive success worldwide.
It was bagpipes indeed. The original singer of AC/DC was Bon Scott, Scottish born as was half the rest of the band lol. He was born in Forfar and lived in Kirriemuir until the age of 6 when he mined to Australia with his family .
AC/DC it's a long way to the top, if you want to rock & roll. Yes Bon Scott was & did play the bagpipes. A couple of the artists and songs from The 2000s this old Aussie has never heard of. I would have included Evie parts one, two, & three by Stevie Right.. Any songs & or Artists you thought of checking out, just DO IT, 😊
The thing to note is that these are live, not studio recordings , something i think Australian bands stand out for. I remember seeing INXS, Divinyls, Boys next door (Nick Cave) Teenage Radio Stars(pre Models) Dragon, Icehouse, Little Heroes, Models etc all live in pubs. Yep showing my age but oh they were the days of fantastic music so accessible. 😊❤️
This is what happens when some millennial (if he's even that old) thinks they know all about Australian music history. He's probably never heard of The Seekers (4 number one hits in the UK in the 60's) or LRB who were described by the Eagles as the best singing band in the world in the 70's. Still, I guess it's fairly typical of that generation.
@@skoobs6051 You are correct in your assertion that it is subjective, but like so many Aussies, you obviously have a far greater tolerance of crap than I do. I'm now in my 70th year and would find it quite easy to name about the first twenty or so greatest Australian artists and songs. After that it becomes a struggle. Very few of them rate a mention in this insipid list. The truth of the matter is that a large number of those artists were actually British migrants. Without their influence there would be very little to write home about. I desperately tried to think of any musical contribution from someone born post-1980 that's worth it's salt but alas I came up empty-handed. Sadly, the same can be said for the rest of the world by and large. People have forgotten what music is actually supposed to sound like. There you have it in a nutshell.
Another group worth mentioning is Dragon and their hit - April Sun in Cuba. And how could anyone forget Rogue Traders with Voodoo Child (featured on English classic Dr. Who)?
3. Yes, Bagpipes and Aussie Scots - "It's a long way to the Top", original! Yes, do "The Sounds of Then", (Ganga Jang) "Great Southern Land" (Icehouse) and Yes, do Working Class Man (Jimmy Barnes)! ⭐👍
This is a very solid list. It would be worth seeing whether of not it would pass the pub test, as all truly great Australian things must. The honourable mentions show that a great deal of thought went into collating it. I would consider adding Man Overboard by Do Re Mi - Out Of Mind Out Of Sight by The Models - What About Me by Moving Pictures, Eagle Rock by Daddy Cool, Most Peiple I Know Think That I'm Crazy by Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, My People by The Presets or Duncan by Slim Dusty to any list of great Australian songs. For indigenous music performed in an indigenous language, check out Mitch Tambo. Also, Budjerah and Briggs.
How can you fit them all in? Masters Apprentices, Tommy Emmanuel, Vance Joy, The Models, Black Sorrows (or Joe Joe Zepp & The Falcons), Richard Clapton, Little River Band, Dragon, Baby Animals, TISM, Screaming Jets, Johnny O'Keefe, Mi-Sex, Air Supply, The Saints, Regurgitator, The Bee Gees, Savage Garden, Sherbert, Hilltop Hoods, Killing Heidi, Boom Crash Opera, Sunnyboys, John Butler Trio, Skyhooks, Hoodoo Gurus, Mental As Anything, Spiderbait, Choirboys, Noiseworks and The Ted Mulray Gang but the biggest one missing has to be Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, "Most People I Know". There are so many to choose from and I've probably left plenty of big ones out.
So many classics also to throw in ... Choirboys - Run to Paradise, Moving Pictures - What about Me (or alternatively Angel and the Madman song), The Poor - More Wine waiter Please, Rose Tattoo (many) ... a good list though 👍
Where was John Williamsons classic, "True Blue". A quintessential Aussie anthem. That should have also been included. But I guess we couldn't fit every great Aussie song into just 30 songs. We Aussies are very lucky to have had so many classic and iconic songs. Especially us older ones who were actually alive when those songs were in the charts.
Black Magic by Baker Boy & Dallas Woods is a more modern indigenous track really important to a lot of us. I cant necessarily disagree with the video, even as a youngin at 25 a lot of these still hold strong even in youth culture here Wait icehouse isnt well known in the UK!?!? You guysd love em Edit: bloody hell i really hoped it was gonna be who can it be now instead of down under 😂
Cold Chisel (Jimmy Barnes band with Ian Moss) - Bow River, Ian Moss with Tuckers Daughter, Jimmy Barnes - Working Class Man. All aussie stories. Watch the original film clip for Working Class Man, they set fire to a canefield up North Queensland which is normal practice. But, as they were filming, heaps of snakes, toads, lizards etc were slithering and hopping around them as they were filming escaping the flames.! And Jimmys gentle side, again another great story, is Flame Trees.
It's a bit hard to put them in the top 30 , many more great Aussie artists , and songs , it depends how far you want to go back, there was Skyhooks , Hush, lobby Loyd and the coloured balls, Axium, LRB, Daddy Cool, Air supply, Sherbet, Zoot , John Paul Young, The Ted Mulry gang 😂😂😂 Although Kiwi's, Aussies also claimed Max Merritt and the meteors, and Dragon, they had huge hits here and did the pub gigs The list goes on
@@aussiesheila9495 Oddly enough, his most successful song , but i hated it compared to the old soul songs he used to do.He did it really well , but it was a ballad. Something i wouldn't have had expected from him . When i think of them, i'm going back to " Western Union Man and Home is where the heart is ".
@@RodneyMcMinge Hahaha, yes loved western union man ECT , you must be in my age group , everyone has various taste , The live band scene in Aus was the best , Pubs and clubs , We have had alot of talent here over the years , and still do
@@aussiesheila9495 It was regarded as the best music nursery in the world then. With the likes of John Peel coming out of england and Wolfman Jack coming out of the states, we had different flavours of music going into each ear. Geographically speaking, it was ideal for that. Yep , an old coot now haha. Seems like a few weeks ago , i was a young 50 , not an old 70.
A personal, subjective take on the songs and their order on the list ... but a great list nonetheless. You should play and purposefully listen to the lyrics of Great Southern Land by Icehouse and Sounds of Then (This Is Australia) by Gangajang. They embody the essence of "our place" ... and the melodies are ethereal.
The Easybeats were actually a group of young British lads who met in the migrant camp they lived in after their families had migrated. The same can be said of AC/DC. The Bee Gees were migrant kids who got their start in Queensland before they went global.
Hmmmm a lot of songs/bands missed out on there. The one you should hunt down and react to is Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs playing live on GTK (a TV show on the ABC-think BBC) called Mama. Thorpe was hard blues rock. How hard? Diamond hard...harder than AC/DC.
How Redgums “I was only 19” isn’t in the top 30 is crazy !! That encapsulates the Vietnam war better than Khe San does ! The one song that brings people to tears !
Absolutely! ... I would have it too 10
trouble is how many songs can you fit into top 30. I could list another alternative top 30, then maybe another 30 more, then...
@@johnsutton3600 30 ;)
Yes! Redgum; I was only nineteen, has to be the longest standing, most known Aussie anthem of all time. Find me an Aussie blue blood who doesn't know it. Bugger the fact that the rest of the world is ignorant beyond 'Down Under' and 'Solid Rock'
Totally agree with you I only think this would've made a great anthem from seeker's
Because it's the history of our country
From it conception to present day
But definitely redgum only 19 has to be very close
We have so many great songs like
I call Australia 🇦🇺 home
Great Southern land by ice house
Walzing Matilda
Many more
Let's be honest people......30 is not nearly enough for all the sensational music we have.....we could do a top 100 of stuff the rest of the world has never even heard
We could do a top 100 just from one year of the 70s or 80s. Take your pick, any year.
We could do a top 30 just of Paul Kelly by himself
goanna omg they sucked i saw them live one hit wonders and hey its not that great a song
@@colinwoods5663 I think its a great song, but the recorded version is certainly better than any live performance they did.
Personally I'd have a lot more Divinyls songs on a top 100 list ('I touch myself' may not even make the cut) R.I.P. Chrissy.
We are so lucky to have so many great artists to choose from . God bless
It's a long way to the shop if you want a sausage roll
i nearly got in a pub fight over this,.... some wanker in melbourne was singing "coffee scroll" instead of "sausage roll"
We used to sing "Chiko roll"😂
We used to sing "it`s a long way to the Cross if you want to fuck a moll".
@@nolajoy7759
Same here!
@@tosh_is_me942you are right mate. Always sausage roll. That guy was a moron. UnAustralian.
I feel the need to explain the joke made for number 15! The crowd interaction with The Angels 'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again" is that after he sings that line in the chorus, the crowd shouts back "NO WAY, GET FUCKED, FUCK OFF!" (and you can see this phrase on the top he's wearing too). It's always a fun one when it comes on at a party or the pub because of this.
Loved the school concert scene in Upper Middle Bogan that featured that song. 😂
You should see the look of pure horror on my kid's & grandkid's faces when that song comes on & I (60yo) sing out "NO WAY, GET F...ED, F-OFF!! 😂
I still have my No way get fucked t-shirts, signed by the band. RIP DoC.
Jealous! @@AndrewFishman
I spent New Years Eve 1988 after their gig with V Spy V Spy at the ANU Refectory drinking and smoking cones with the bands and bar staff. I was at uni with the security and bar staff, and we partied hard that night. @@MargaretGuppy
Surprised not to see The Seekers in there, not even in the honorable mentions. Cold Chisel, for me at least, are the greatest band that came from the pub-rock scene so happy to see them at 1. Khe Sanh is one of their most famous songs, but certainly not their best though.
Cheating to have Barnsey at 3 and Chisel at 1 with only one song per band allowed. Can't believe at least We are Australian or Georgie Girl did not get a nod.
@@AndrewFishman given how many songs were in relation to national identity, I was expecting that Barnesy would have only got Working Class Man and that the Seekers would come in at 1.
Not disappointed in something as subjective as this, but certainly surprised.
When the war is over…
no Flame Trees was the best
Flame Trees and Star Hotel are my favourites from an incredible catalogue.
The Saints and the Go Betweens are two glaring omissions in my book
both bands had international success in the late seventies and early eighties and produced some absolute classics
@@myeuphonyzone3958 Even more shocking is a distinct absence of the Pub Rock bands that defined the 80s and 90s. Where were the Gurus (What's my Scene), Radiators (Life's a Gamble), Skyhooks (Living in the 70s. Even Bruce Dickenson covered Women in Uniform) and The Choirboys (Run to Paradise)? Mondo Rock (Waiting for the Countdown)? ROSE TATTOO (PICK ANYTHING)??? The Wiggles, um, sorry, I mean the Cockroaches.
@@AndrewFishman The first Iron Maiden cover of Women in Uniform was the earlier singer Paul Di'anno.
Yeah, Dickenson put it on his solo album
@@taliesinllanfair4338
@@AndrewFishman It was a pretty mainstream list for the most part, many tired old songs Aussie radio wore out to the exclusion of many other deserving acts.
Not even the bands that should have been there had the songs they should have had in large part. @@deaddoll1361 Anything from any Midnight Oil album that came before BSM was better than anything that was on BSM, it was such a disappointment to listen to the first time. And even without the Pub Rock, where were the Bee Gees and LRB? Staying Alive might just be a bit well known, not to mention Spicks and Specks.
Three that should have been in Top 30:
1. The classic Aussie road trip song, 'Wide Open Road' by The Triffids,
2. The ultimate Vietnam Vet's song, 'I Was Only 19' by Red Gum and
3. The song that got indigenous music into mainstream, 'My Island Home' by Warumpi Band.
What about Evie parts 1, 2 and 3? How about We Are Australian or Georgie Girl by the Seekers? Don't Tear It Down? Anything at all by Hoodo Gurus? "Gimme Head like you did just last nnight baby..."? Better? Power and the Passion? Run to Paradise? A bit of a drink,maybe Have a Beer with Duncan? No Bee Gees or LRB? Splt Enz? Mentals? Skyhooks were Living in the 70s. There are so many more worthy songs than many of these.
My favourite road trip song is “we’re going to Bonnydoon” from the Castle.
@@AndrewFishmansplit enz are a very New Zealand band.
Like the choices though.
New Zealand never had a rock band or an actor. Get with our piracy program. @@fugawiaus😉
Ah the serenity...@@hazzargooleypunch5805
Sounds of Then by Ganggajang is probably so good because it perfectly encapsulates the feeling of an electric summer night in Australia. The humidity (mentioned), the lightning in the distance (mentioned, plus cane-fields which used to be much more visible to us townies than these days), I dunno, it just has the true vibe of a summer night. If you want to know what a summer night is like in Australia, listen to that song.
Seeing the cane field burn offs as a kid towards the end of the year, one of my best childhood memories. You'd know summer was on the way when they'd burn the cane fields and you'd see hundreds of cane beetles and gold christmas beetles stuck to the flyscreen.
Agreed! Grew up in a cane country down (Murwillumbah/Mur/bah) and this, Flame trees - now there is an omission (fave cold chisel song) and to her door are all such cane town aussie (and even road trip reminder) ballads
Ooh yes, actually - the lyrics of 'cattle and cane' by the Go-Betweens:
I recall a school boy coming home through fields of cane
to a house of tin and timber
And in the sky a rain of burning cinders' - the black cinder rain from the sky when they burned off the cane!
Those lyrics are written on the wall of the Queensland State Library in Brisbane❤
How on earth can we leave out Peter Allen's emotion stirring " I STILL CALL AUSTRALIA HOME"
FACT
0:48
@@57chevisawsomeness LOL...
So simply the word Australia means its in that category....
Some awesome songs in there but some of the worst versions. These clips don’t do these songs justice .
Some awesome bands but the worst songs. I mean, Anything off 10 - 1, Red Sails or even Species Dececies is better than the pap that came off Blue Sky. Just the horns at the end of Power and Passion, the feeling behind Short Memory or Hercules, the emotion of US Forces, the power of Back on the Border Line, Armistice Day and Stand in Line. How the hell does the least powerful song the Oils ever released become their best? @@katrinacromer984
As a Scot you have to do a reaction to ACDC's "There's A Long Way to the Top if you want to Rock 'n Roll" with it's iconic bagpipes while riding through the streets of Melbourne on a flat-bed truck.
🤣The 70's Aussie School Kid's theme song @@jcldctt
You might be amused to learn, @AFinOz, that many people think that Big Country by Scottish band Big Country is an Australian anthem and rank it up there with Great Southern Land and Solid Rock as best Aussie Anthems.
Actually I thought they did that through New York. 🤷♀️
You were right. Swanston st. Must’ve been another clip I’ve seen. 😊😊
🤣🤣@@jcldctt
Richard Clapton not being mentioned at all is depressing, Girls on the Avenue is a huge pub song.
Oh yes!!!!
absolutely
beat me to it
Girls on the Avenue.
my personal fav of his is Capricorn dancer , takes me to another place and time , a haunting Tune. Russell Morris is another gr8 singer songwriter.
Daddy Cool's "Eagle Rock" and Redgum's "I Was Only 19" were absolute mega hits for ALL Australians, and much more important in both our history and legacy than many of the Triple J (less than 10% of the population) songs that were mentioned on this guy's personal preference list. Those 2 alone should have easily (both) been in the top 10. Cheers.
Yeah the dude put up a solid list but he clearly had biases. I'd agree with you.
Eagle Rock is equal top with Friday on My Mind, Downunder and The Loved One by the Loved Ones and also Long Way to the Top. The Masters Apprentices weren't in it as was Horror Movie, Russell Morris, Little Ray of Sunshine by Axiom etc. etc.
Most on this list are just plonkers from dittyland.
I’m glad The Real Thing got an honourable mention. Deserved more as a massively brilliant producing effort from Molly Meldrum.
Another song that should of been in at least the top 20 the same as Love Is In The Air by JPY
😊
It’s a top 10 song, it’s just old and never played. It absolutely essential to be mentioned.
Russell Morris belted out a ripper with the real thing bloody awesome song
The Real Thing is the best song ever written in Australia.
They missed a trick by not including Aus psychedelic rock with Russell Morris and the Real Thing. I see it was an honourable mention along with Eagle Rock. A bit too 2000s oriented for me. History.
Very much so.
Here's a little treat for you. 'The Real Thing' is labelled as Pts 1 & 2. Find another Russell Morris song called 'Part Three Into Paper Walls'. It starts the way 'TRT' ends (nuclear explosion) and ends the way 'TRT' starts (soft acoustic gtr). Put 'em on a loop!
I love Great Southern Land by IceHouse but my Irish cousin Roisin said that their song " Hey little Girl' was a hit in Ireland. Have to say, I saw them last year in concert and they still sound awesome! So many hits in Australia!!
Those are my two faves closely followed by Man of Colours
Also before they were Icehouse the were The Flowers. I cant help myself by them is my fave. They changed their name to Icehouse so they could release music in the USA, where there was already a band called the flowers.
Icehouse is my favourite Australian band and well worth checking out! My faves are “I don’t believe any more” “Miss Divine” And “Great Southern Land.”
And Hey Little Girl - my favourite.
even go back to when they were the flowers
"Electric Blue" is the most '80s sounding of all Aussie songs.
Street Cafe rates a mention!
@@awf6554 Yes. Great song.
I can't believe they left out the best Australian song of all time Evie Parts I, II & III, by Stevie Wright. 11:11 of perfect Aussie music.
Probably the biggest name not mentioned in many list is the one & only "Slim Dusty" song "I love to have a beer with Duncan". The next biggest name not in many list is "Daddy Cool" song "Eagle Rock". I don't care what era you are from everyone sings along to these two. A couple of modern Indigenous artist are "King Stingray" & "Budjerah" both very bloody talented. I'm a audiophile & a music junkie. This old guy knew all of the songs on there & I have to say not a bad mix. However there is plenty he could have added Xavier Rudd, John Butler Trio, Missy Higgins, Delta Goodrem, Eskimo Joe, Jebediah, LRB (Little River Band), Jeff Lang, Keith Urban, Ash Grunwald, Troy Cassar Daley, & so on....
Also missing Grace Knight, Renee Geyer, Kate Ceberano, Deborah Conway, George, the BeeGees but who to take out??
I totally agree. How did I forget the Bee Gee's. Most of my extras were older(ish) music. I could have said The Rions, Beddy Rays, Rufus De Sul, Flume, Sia to name a few.
Considering that we’ve all been familiar with a Top 40 list every week since we were teenagers, it could have been amended to add ten more. I see that a lot of the replies have listed the same names that we thought should have been included.
C'mon you know you wanted to see Slim Dusty in a Aussie Hit List. lol.... I do know what you're saying, & you're completely correct in what you said. I think that a good % of Aussie kid grew up listening to Rage & other Music shows.
I used to work with an Irishman who'd been in Australia for about 10 years & I asked him which Aussie band he'd never heard of when he got here that he thought deserved to have gone worldwide & he said Icehouse. So yeah have a listen to some of their tunes, they have a lot of them.
And don’t forget when Icehouse were The Flowers. Iva Davies sang more like he was David Bowie, but Can’t Help Myself, We Can Get Together and Walls are amazing songs.
So many people forget their first album was the Icehouse and the band was the Flowers. @@katiescarlettohara So many great songs. Walls is one of my favourites, but even their later stuff, Crazy, Serious etc was great and Dusty Pages is one I could listen to any time.
A reaction to a couple of Ice House's best hits would benefit your Aussie music experience. Also 'Moving Pictures' ~ 'What About Me' is an iconic Aussie classic worth checking out. 1927, Kids in the Kitchen and Bachelor Girl (Busses & Trains) produced some massive songs but seem to fly under the radar.
Iva Davies has a fabulous voice.
They wee boring AF for the most part, a couple of songs that might have charted if they'd lived in the UK.
Bayini (Live) Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu blind Aboriginal singer, so talented...dead now our loss
This is such a beautiful haunting tribute to the love and belonging to the land that resonates through Aboriginal culture
Please take the time to listen .. on UA-cam ....
So agree
About 10 of these songs have reached the status of anthems, as you say. They have helped soothe the souls of many a homesick Aussie over the years, even if the song itself isn’t that great. They are great because they take you back home for a few minutes.
The Flowers released a single and album titled "Icehouse" and later renamed the band as Icehouse. I rate 'Icehouse' as one of their best songs.
When they got to the US, there was already a band named flowers, so they had to change their name.
'we can get together' is also a cracking track - i still have this ten inch!
The Flowers when they first started did a free concert at my High School, sorry guys but they were awful back then, very young and basically learning.
If you're interested in some more recent indigenous music, check out the hip hop artist Briggs. He had a big hit with a rugby league promo he did called "here". He was also part of a colab with paul Kelly on a brilliant update to the classic indigenous story song, "took the children away", by uncle archie roache, called "the children came back", which is beautiful.
Edit- sorry, the second song wasn't with Paul Kelly. It was with another brilliant indigenous artist, professor Gurrummul, who has sadly passed, but should also be reacted to. He has one of the most beautifully haunting voices you will ever hear.
The Paul Kelly collab was Dumb Things. Didn't know that song could be improved upon until I heard this.
Also, Baker Boy!
Australia worked hard on the 70s and 80s to work out their identity and place in the world. This is reflected in the large number of songs from the 80s that are Australiana. In the last 20 years, Australians have focused more on getting wealthy rather than meaning or social cohesion
That's because Australian identity has been attacked from all sides: mass migration, media, BLM etc.
Yes, Bon Scott played the bagpipes on Its A Long Way! John Farnham often performs it as an encore too!
Would love to react to some Icehouse songs. It’s Davies from Icehouse is a polarising figure within Australian music but his song writing skills are unmatched. I’d suggest checking out the big singles Great Southern Land, Hey Little Girl, Crazy and Electric Blue, which he co-wrote with John Oates from Hall & Oates - Oates admitted that if Icehouse hadn’t released it, he would have released it as a Hall & Oates song.
Before Icehouse, Davies performed as Flowers who also had some huge hits in Australia - We Can Get Together and Can’t Help Myself.
It’s all fantastic synth driven pop rock, big choruses and great production.
Gangajang's "This is Australia" is an awesome description of country life.
The biggest name in Aussie indigenous rock at the moment is a young band called King Stingray. They hail from Yolngu country in East Arnhem Land - the same country as Yothu Yindi who had a hit with ‘Treaty’ in the ‘80s. The Yolngu people have blessed us with some of the greatest Australian musicians, dancers, actors and educators of the last 50 years.
I hope he sees this one!
"Let's go" quickly became a favourite song of mine when I first heard them on rage
For me, as born in 1955!, it's Masters Apprentices,and Daddy Cool (saw them live sitting cross-legged in the front row in the student lounge at Monash Uni)
I've also grown to love John Farnham a lot. He was also pretty- as I remember as a 15 y/o plumber's apprentice who started his career with Sadie the Cleaning Lady - and maybe 'One' as well.
Icehouse is brilliant. The lead singer, Iva Davies, is classically trained. Their songs are amazing.
Man of Colours is a more deserving song of greatness by Icehouse to be in the top 30 in my opinion.
As a 16 year old, Ivor Davies was the second oboist for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the opening of the Sydney Opera House.
30 songs isn't enough to cover great Aussie artists/bands. You could do a top 30 for every decade or genre and still not get everyone's favorites. Lots of classics here and lots missed too. It's definitely worth checking out the suggestions in the comments below and not just their number ones, Radiators No Tragedy is rarely mentioned but it's still one of my faves.
Australian music has a huge Scottish influence from the Young brothers, who were all born in Glasgow. Angus and Malcolm are on display for all to see in AC/DC but, arguably, George was the biggest in his writing partnership with Harry Vanda (born in the Netherlands). They were part of the Easybeats - you can see them in the background of the Friday on my mind clip.
Bon Scott... I think he was from Forfar... One of the best singers in the world.
It's a pretty good list of Aussie songs - some missed tracks from me would be "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun, "UFO" by Sneaky Sound System, "I Want You" by Savage Garden, "Cigarettes Will Kill you" by Ben Lee and "Down Again" by SuperJesus
Something to note: the lead singer of the Easybeats was also a music producer. George Young was Angus young's brother, of AC/DC fame. He did the earlier music production for the band.
The lead singer of the Easybeats was Stevie Wright
George was the older brother of both Malcom and Angus.
And he was not the lead singer of The Easybeats, that was Stevie Wright. George and Harry Vander were the song writing team of the Easybeats, then they wrote for Albert's recording artists, JPY, Ted Mulry and others sang and recorded their music.
Watch a documentary called
Blood and thunder, the story of Albert's music. You might learn a lot more than you obviously know. Me, I don't know much about the Australian music scene. I was way to busy working in it to learn anything about it.
@@stephenanthony6508 My producers as well and great guys ( George and Harry ). Was a huge loss when we lost George.
Stevie Wright was the singer. As any Aussie could tell you. George Young and Harry Vanda also enjoyed huge success as the Albert records house writers and in their famed duo act with Hey! St Peter and Down Among the Dead Men. Friday On My Mind was the equal of any Beatles or Stones record at the time of its release. So great even now.
Flash n the pan. That was a bit of fun too.@@kevinwaters5872
So glad Solid Rock is in there. Such a powerful message with a powerful beat. Lots of other things could have been included. Someone mentioned Redgum, yep that deserves to be in there. I see Evie by Steve Wright was in the honourable mentions, what a classic, all three parts tell a story that is in turn joyful, touching, and tragic.
'Great Southern Land' by Icehouse is used to maximum effect in the Indy Smash Hit movie - 'Young Einstein' (a madcap comedy about a young Tasmanian genius, who splits the atom - contains some great music as well).
You asked if there was anyone else who should be on this list? Geoffrey Gurrumul is a full blooded First Nation man. You will hear his language in his music. He was famous world wide. I have two of his albums. Beautiful music. Beautiful man.
A classic icon! Shocking and sad that he wasnt on the list!
He isn't full blooded if he uses the Canadian term "first nation"
@@janeblogs324 First Nation's isnt a localised term to Canada/Turtle Island - indigenous people down under identify as such as well 😊
Who?
@@jefferyhill6245 Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, commonly known in music as Gurrumul, i highly recommend looking him up - great man
Definately think "I was only 19" by Redgum deserves to be in the Top 10. Superbly written song. With so many songs that could be in the top 30, it shows how great our Aussie musicians are - not that I am biased 😂
Some of my favs are 'Real Life' - 'Send Me An Angel'...and...'The Living End' - 'Prisoner Of Society'...and...'Australian Crawl' - 'Reckless'
Real Life are, or should be, up there.
The ice house song has a beautiful film clip of our country
He missed i call Australia home
But no 1 should've been seekers song
I am you are we are Australian
Personally believe it should be our national anthem
It incorporates our full history condensed down into a song must listern
And ironically, it is not even the Seekers best song. That woman has the voice of an angel.I used to go to sleep to her singing Morning Town Ride and Another You on dad's record player :)
You are we are Australia.
For me, the Seekers best song is "The Carnival is Over". It is unworldly. Sublime.
I think one of the great things for Aussie music is the Pub Rock circuit. Even if a band falls down from the top of fame, they can still make the rounds of all the pubs, sports and RSL clubs, and hotel bars.
Meanwhile, on the issue of Indigenous issues, I think the tendency of songs of that theme hit a high in the late 80s because of the Bicentennial (i.e. the 200th anniversary of the landing of the First Fleet in Sydney). I remember a bicentennial concert that included Midnight Oil, and I think "Treaty" dated from then. Indigenous issue always come up every year around the 26th of January as well (Australia Day), but 1988 was a year where it was of higher significance.
@@TheMimiSard 26th Jan is a stupid day for Aus day. We have changed so much as a country why we won't change that meaningless day i will never understand. We shoulda had it on the referendum ballot as well. At least we might have got something for our 400mill!
Feel so lucky to have seen many of these bands/artists and songs live, along with countless others not even mentioned. So much great Aussie music talent out there.
Two songs for Icehouse you need to react to are the one on this, "Great Southern Land" you can see them perform or there is a version that showcases Australia's beauty. The second is "Man of Colours" live version with Michael Paynter (who joined Icehouse in later years)
Michael is truly awesome singing this.
Oh, there are a few others. Serious, one of the highest energy tunes you can find, Dusty Pages, one of the slowest loveliest ballads of all time. The range is amazing, the songs awesome. They should have been one of Australia's major hits.
Stoked Prisoner of Society (living end) that was our theme song during covid rings true! Nick Cave -Red Right Hand- just as good if not beta than into my arms, saw live Silverchair, met POWDERFINGER, met Michael Hutchance met Cold Chisel,saw the oils- US Forces.. AC-DC Men at Work, Little River Band, Richard Clapton, Aussie crawl, The Church, met Hunters, Ganga Gang ❤❤,saw live Yothu Yindi, saw John Butler Trio, Custard, The Whitlams,,Goanna , Icehouse formerly Flowers, met Christie just b4 she past out on stage with the Divynals,😂 I worked at the old Fisherman’s Wharf , we’ve had & still have some wicked underrated bands here, so many indie bands underground poetry at its finest just to many to name but cheers 4 sharing 😊🇦🇺
Chrissy you mean... Chrissy Amphlett...
Powderfinger’s ‘These Days’ is one of the best aussie songs of all time - see the final concert performance - so touching!
The Bourbon band in Kings Cross here in Sydney used to do a version of Khe Sahn that was 20 minutes or so long. Fantastic dance song, and a full dance floor at 4am would all be singing "Last plane out of Sydney's almost gone." Love that song.
What year was that. I was in 2 of the house bands. The most memorable regular dance floor sighting for me was Derryn Hinch, totally off his tits haha.
The Bourbon and Beefsteak ?
@@usèr1234-x1o That's the place.
"is that bagpipes?" fuck man,.... the back and forth duel between bon scott on the baggies and angus young on the axe,... thats peak acca dacca!
Need to check out Kasey Chambers cover of Lose yourself from Civic theater 2022.
She is a successful country singer but what she did is awesome, Eminem gave her the rights for the cover and it is remade.
Good choices. Can't say I'd personally have gone Cold Chisel for number 1, but I get it. Interestingly, Jimmy Barnes who is mentioned twice (once as a solo artist and once as lead singer of Cold Chisel) is originally from Scotland, as is Colin Hay, lead singer of Men at Work. Both have Scottish accents when speaking, undetectable when singing. In itself, that is very indicative of one of Australia's best traits, being that we are a highly multi-cultural nation. Thanks for that. Personal faves I'd have added are 'Leaps and Bounds' by Paul Kelly (as well as 'How to Make Gravy', a heartbreaking Christmas classic), 'Better Be Home Soon' by Crowded House, maybe 'What About Me' by Moving Pictures and 'I Still Call Australia Home' by Peter Allen. I could go on forever really... lol
Look there are tons of songs that could have been included but he did a reasonable job. My own personal list would have The Whitlams - No Aphrodisiac, Natalie Imbruglia - Torn, Brian Cadd - Ginger Man, Skyhooks - Living in the 70s, Moving Pictures - What about me?, Mental as anything - The Nips are getting bigger, Do-Re-Mi - Man Overboard, Baby Animals - One Word, The Go Betweens - Streets of your town, Hoodoo Gurus - What's my scene, Missy Higgins - Scar and of course Redgum - I was only 19. There's lots more but that will do.
Yes. To all of these. Hard to understand how they're not on. I think they're important enough, that were I making a top 30 list, I'd say "Nope, has to be a top 100).
Thanks mate, brought back some emotional memories listening to the 80s stuff.
There are a lot of great indigenous artists at the moment and in a wide variety of genres. Briggs, Baker Boy, King Stingray, Thelma Plum, Emma Donovan to name a few. I think there'll be some lasting classics from these guys.
Mate. At about 15:00 You got it right with ..."is that bagpipes ?". Yes it is. The lead singer of AC/DC at that time was Bon Scott a noted wood-windest and especially bag piper. He played the recorded solo for the song with the pipes.
So... this isn't the last 5-10 years, but check out Djarimirri by Dr G Yunupingu some time. He co-wrote "Treaty", which is probably why he wasn't in the list as a solo artist. This is the highest charting song in an indigenous language.
Djarimirri was released in 2018 posthumously. Incredible album and one of the most beautiful experiences to listen to
LRB had many world hits.. Reminiscing comes to mind. Also not a mention for the Bee Gees who had massive success
INXS should have been in top 5.
60 yo Aussie here. Great video. Grew up with all these. Being ex-military I do agree I Was Only 19 should be in there.
PS some of them had me in tears.
Same here, Khe Shane whilst a great bit of music is totally US of A territory. Not Australian veterans.
I agree with the video-maker that any list where each artist only gets one slot should have two entries for Jimmy Barnes 😀 🥰
Funny, I thought that was cheating. Might as well throw Ian Moss in at 2nd then...
Biggest problem with these "Top Songs" lists is everyone has a different list, it can vary because of age of the person, personal preference, music taste and so on.
There are some great songs on this list but you can be sure nearly every Aussie would have a different list.
One thing is for sure and that is the world missed out on hearing some awesome Aussie bands.
It is great seeing reaction channels like yours bringing so many of them out and exposing them to the world, keep up the good work
Here's a few more Mental as anything ,Skyhooks ,Sherbet ,Hoodoo Gurus,,Little River Band,Daddy Cool,Choir Boys,Radiators,The Seekers,Air Supply.
Archie Roach, Paul Kelly.....
Love that as soon as "To Her Door" dropped, your head started bopping.
Fun fact... the Angels song was a part of a concert... where the next performer on the stage was Jimmy Barnes.
Also... thank god he didn't include Air Supply... but he did miss LRB.
I’d love to see you watch longer videos of individual songs and react. The lead singer of Crowded House is from New Zealand. Neil Finn. Originally in famous NZ band Split Enz with his brother Tim. I’m a Kiwi living in Australia and they like to claim some Kiwis as there own. Australia and New Zealand have produced so much great talent. Keep up great work!
We always nick the best kiwis!!
Only 1 of the 3 members of Crowded house were from New Zealand being Neil Finn, as Nick Seymour (brother of Mark from Hunters & Collectors) and Paul Hester were both Australian, and they formed in Australia as well, so not NZ!
@@jefferyhill6245
Thank you.
People seem to think that just because Neil was from NZ, that the entire band must be a NZ band. But they weren't.
Split Enz... NZ
Crowded House... Australian
That's kinda like saying AC/DC aren't Australian, just because Bon and Brian weren't born in Australia. Ridiculous.
Crowded house was formed in Melbourne after split enz broke up. That makes them an Australian band. Also, two members were native born. So we love you, but the Finn brothers are ours now. Sorry.
New Zealand does produce a lot of great artists. They often come to Australia for more exposure and a bigger scene (and then we claim them 😅)
In this case it's fair to call Crowded House Australian when they formed in Melbourne and 2/3 of the members are Aus born 🤷♂️
As a Kiwi, the Aussies can’t play rugby but they build the best V8’s (I brought one back to NZ) and amazing music to play in them. 🇦🇺🇳🇿
I think Broderick Smith's "My Father's Hands" should be on the list. Love watching your channel!
Australian Crawl were singing "Don't be so reckless, throw down you gun. "
Definitely react to "Long Way to the Top"! It launched ACDC and you'll love the bagpipe/guitar duel.
Actually the song that launched AC/DC in Australia first was Can I Sit Next To You Girl on Countdown then It's ALong Way To The Top
@@richardwebb5633maybe first but it didn't really take off like 'Long Way.." did.
Hi, such a privilege living in Aus (as a Kiwi) so good matching the Aussie culture in song 😍
At great risk of gate crashing, thought you might like some great songs by Kiwi’s, it’s a quick list I’ve done and by no means a top 20, just a few oldies but goody’s.
Hayley Westenra - ‘Now is the Hour’ (lyrics in Maori by Maewa Kaihau 1927, English translation added to the original then followed)
Pixi Williams - ‘Blue Smoke’
Daphne Walker - ‘Pania of the Reef’
Dinah Lee - ‘do de blue beat’, ‘don’t you know yockamo’
Howard Morrison Quartet - ‘Maori Battalion’, ‘Battle of Waikato’, My Old Man’s an All Black’
Split Enz (Tim and Neil Finn) - ‘I got you’ the band preceded regrouping to form the band Crowded House.
Dragon - ‘Are you old enough’, ‘April sun in Cuba’
Hogsnort Rupert - ‘Aunty Alice’, ‘Pretty Girl’
John Clark (aka Fred Dag) - ‘Gumboots’, ‘We don’t know how lucky we are’
Hello Sailor - ‘ Blue Lady’
Graham Brazier - ‘Billy Bold’
Blerta - ‘Dance all around the world’
Sharon O’Neil - ‘Words’
DD Smash (Dave Dobyn) - ‘Welcome Home’, Slice of Heaven’, ‘Whaling’
Coup d’ Etat - ‘Doctor I like your medicine’
Topp Twins - ‘NZ Icon’, ‘Songs of Home: Land of the Long White Cloud’
Shona Laing - ‘Glad I’m not a Kennedy’
Patea Maori Club - ‘Poi E’
Herbs - ‘Long Ago’
OMC - ‘How Bizzare’
Netherworld Dancing Toys - ‘For Today’
Bic Runga - ‘Sway’
12:16 One of my favourites of recent memory are King Stingray - a surf/indie-rock band from the Northern Territory - they blend English lyrics and Yolŋu Matha, and have some great tracks. They formed in 2020 and released their debut album last year - to get a taste, some of my favourites are Milkumana, Camp Dog, Raypirri, Get Me Out, and Lets Go. Another that springs to mind is Baker Boy - he's more on the rap/hip-hop side of things. Happy listening!
King Stingray are future legends IMHO.
Music is good but they need a new singer, flat as a tack.
The Eurogliders with Heaven should be an honourable mention. So many good Aussie bands missing from the list, could easily have been a top 100 list and barely scraped the surface.
30 is not enough. Missing The Seekers (Georgie girl?) Peter Alan (I still call Australia Home).
Ahhh, it was actually, "I Still Call Australia ISD".
One very important song that means a lot to Aussies and believe it should be our National Anthem. The Seekers, I am Australian.
Also, you need to hear the full Angels song to really know how Aussie it really is.
I’m sure they are some Australians who don’t sing along to Khe Sanh, but I’ve never met them. It’s a fair list, though I’d try to squeeze a Mental As Anything song in there. Maybe ‘If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too?’, though they had so many great songs. I’m a massive Whitlams fan, but prefer their album tracks to their singles, so they’d probably not make a general list. Since I’m old, I’d find room for Helen Reddy’s ‘I Am Woman’, and something from The Bee Gees and The Seekers, both of whom had massive success worldwide.
Khe San will always be the number 1 Oz song. What a song.
It was bagpipes indeed. The original singer of AC/DC was Bon Scott, Scottish born as was half the rest of the band lol. He was born in Forfar and lived in Kirriemuir until the age of 6 when he mined to Australia with his family .
Not the original singer for ACDC, he was the second singer. Dave Evans was the original singer.
Agree Dave Evans the original singer not Bon
I met my wife at an Angels concert. 27 years ago and still together.
AC/DC it's a long way to the top, if you want to rock & roll. Yes Bon Scott was & did play the bagpipes.
A couple of the artists and songs from The 2000s this old Aussie has never heard of. I would have included Evie parts one, two, & three by Stevie Right..
Any songs & or Artists you thought of checking out, just DO IT, 😊
The thing to note is that these are live, not studio recordings , something i think Australian bands stand out for. I remember seeing INXS, Divinyls, Boys next door (Nick Cave) Teenage Radio Stars(pre Models) Dragon, Icehouse, Little Heroes, Models etc all live in pubs.
Yep showing my age but oh they were the days of fantastic music so accessible. 😊❤️
This is what happens when some millennial (if he's even that old) thinks they know all about Australian music history. He's probably never heard of The Seekers (4 number one hits in the UK in the 60's) or LRB who were described by the Eagles as the best singing band in the world in the 70's. Still, I guess it's fairly typical of that generation.
That's quite presumptuous of you. The list is subjective. Pretty hard jamming so many great Aussie songs into a top 30 to be fair.
@@skoobs6051 You are correct in your assertion that it is subjective, but like so many Aussies, you obviously have a far greater tolerance of crap than I do. I'm now in my 70th year and would find it quite easy to name about the first twenty or so greatest Australian artists and songs. After that it becomes a struggle. Very few of them rate a mention in this insipid list. The truth of the matter is that a large number of those artists were actually British migrants. Without their influence there would be very little to write home about. I desperately tried to think of any musical contribution from someone born post-1980 that's worth it's salt but alas I came up empty-handed. Sadly, the same can be said for the rest of the world by and large. People have forgotten what music is actually supposed to sound like. There you have it in a nutshell.
Such beautiful things to say about Aussie music mate. Subscribed
Another group worth mentioning is Dragon and their hit - April Sun in Cuba. And how could anyone forget Rogue Traders with Voodoo Child (featured on English classic Dr. Who)?
Except they are from NZ , not australia. But yes a great song.
Although there were 2 aussies in Crowded House, calling them aussie band also pushing it.@@adamparker9765
A New Zealand band
Many artists left out - Master's Apprentices, The Loved Ones, Doug Parkinson, Jeff St John, etc
3. Yes, Bagpipes and Aussie Scots - "It's a long way to the Top", original! Yes, do "The Sounds of Then", (Ganga Jang) "Great Southern Land" (Icehouse) and Yes, do Working Class Man (Jimmy Barnes)! ⭐👍
Thanks so much for this. It’s all awesome ❤
So glad to see the Easybeats up there. Will Russell Morris and the Real Thing make it?
I had forgotten the sheer amount of Bands that have come out of Australia. Like, there's actually just SO many.
This is a very solid list. It would be worth seeing whether of not it would pass the pub test, as all truly great Australian things must.
The honourable mentions show that a great deal of thought went into collating it.
I would consider adding Man Overboard by Do Re Mi - Out Of Mind Out Of Sight by The Models - What About Me by Moving Pictures, Eagle Rock by Daddy Cool, Most Peiple I Know Think That I'm Crazy by Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, My People by The Presets or Duncan by Slim Dusty to any list of great Australian songs.
For indigenous music performed in an indigenous language, check out Mitch Tambo. Also, Budjerah and Briggs.
What about a bit of Baby Animals. One Word, Painless, Early Warning?
How can you fit them all in? Masters Apprentices, Tommy Emmanuel, Vance Joy, The Models, Black Sorrows (or Joe Joe Zepp & The Falcons), Richard Clapton, Little River Band, Dragon, Baby Animals, TISM, Screaming Jets, Johnny O'Keefe, Mi-Sex, Air Supply, The Saints, Regurgitator, The Bee Gees, Savage Garden, Sherbert, Hilltop Hoods, Killing Heidi, Boom Crash Opera, Sunnyboys, John Butler Trio, Skyhooks, Hoodoo Gurus, Mental As Anything, Spiderbait, Choirboys, Noiseworks and The Ted Mulray Gang but the biggest one missing has to be Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, "Most People I Know". There are so many to choose from and I've probably left plenty of big ones out.
Glad to see a TISM mention. Haven't seen anyone shout out for Mr Floppy yet though.
So many classics also to throw in ... Choirboys - Run to Paradise, Moving Pictures - What about Me (or alternatively Angel and the Madman song), The Poor - More Wine waiter Please, Rose Tattoo (many) ... a good list though 👍
Where was John Williamsons classic, "True Blue".
A quintessential Aussie anthem.
That should have also been included. But I guess we couldn't fit every great Aussie song into just 30 songs.
We Aussies are very lucky to have had so many classic and iconic songs.
Especially us older ones who were actually alive when those songs were in the charts.
Black Magic by Baker Boy & Dallas Woods is a more modern indigenous track really important to a lot of us.
I cant necessarily disagree with the video, even as a youngin at 25 a lot of these still hold strong even in youth culture here
Wait icehouse isnt well known in the UK!?!? You guysd love em
Edit: bloody hell i really hoped it was gonna be who can it be now instead of down under 😂
Cold Chisel (Jimmy Barnes band with Ian Moss) - Bow River, Ian Moss with Tuckers Daughter, Jimmy Barnes - Working Class Man. All aussie stories. Watch the original film clip for Working Class Man, they set fire to a canefield up North Queensland which is normal practice. But, as they were filming, heaps of snakes, toads, lizards etc were slithering and hopping around them as they were filming escaping the flames.! And Jimmys gentle side, again another great story, is Flame Trees.
It's a bit hard to put them in the top 30 , many more great Aussie artists , and songs , it depends how far you want to go back, there was Skyhooks , Hush, lobby Loyd and the coloured balls,
Axium, LRB, Daddy Cool, Air supply, Sherbet, Zoot ,
John Paul Young, The Ted Mulry gang 😂😂😂
Although Kiwi's, Aussies also claimed Max Merritt and the meteors, and Dragon, they had huge hits here and did the pub gigs
The list goes on
The Meteors were half and half , Dragon ended up being pretty close to half and half too.
@@RodneyMcMinge
They were good live bands,
Max Merrit , slipping away , was a good song
@@aussiesheila9495 Oddly enough, his most successful song , but i hated it compared to the old soul songs he used to do.He did it really well , but it was a ballad. Something i wouldn't have had expected from him . When i think of them, i'm going back to " Western Union Man and Home is where the heart is ".
@@RodneyMcMinge
Hahaha, yes loved western union man ECT , you must be in my age group , everyone has various taste ,
The live band scene in Aus was the best ,
Pubs and clubs ,
We have had alot of talent here over the years , and still do
@@aussiesheila9495 It was regarded as the best music nursery in the world then. With the likes of John Peel coming out of england and Wolfman Jack coming out of the states, we had different flavours of music going into each ear. Geographically speaking, it was ideal for that. Yep , an old coot now haha. Seems like a few weeks ago , i was a young 50 , not an old 70.
Hi, there’s a few Scotsmen in there. Cold Chisel lead singer, Jimmy Barnes, a few AC\DC and Easybeats, the Young family.
A personal, subjective take on the songs and their order on the list ... but a great list nonetheless. You should play and purposefully listen to the lyrics of Great Southern Land by Icehouse and Sounds of Then (This Is Australia) by Gangajang. They embody the essence of "our place" ... and the melodies are ethereal.
The Easybeats were actually a group of young British lads who met in the migrant camp they lived in after their families had migrated. The same can be said of AC/DC. The Bee Gees were migrant kids who got their start in Queensland before they went global.
Hmmmm a lot of songs/bands missed out on there. The one you should hunt down and react to is Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs playing live on GTK (a TV show on the ABC-think BBC) called Mama. Thorpe was hard blues rock. How hard? Diamond hard...harder than AC/DC.
Billy Thorpe should be in the list, but, probably because of the age of the creator, missed here.
Silverchair just brought out a new memoir book called Love & Pain and its sold really well.
Nah the 60s and 70s were the best time in Aussie music
This list looks like it has been extracted from Triple J and is showing music which came from the alternative scene and made it onto the charts.
Wow, your music must be fairly narrow
@@LindyKeddie Top 30 song ever? Really
Ironic that several of those great indigenous or indigenous related songs are in the top 10 and the country voted NO on the weekend 😢
Not really, the indigenous people did not want it, I did my research before voting mate, did you?
@@redwarpy - But at least he's very virtuous. Just ask him. He can wax lyrical about it all day.
I saw so many of those bands back in the 70’s & 80’s at the pub & clubs. How lucky were we to grow up in Australia in those times 💙