50 Fun Facts About Australian Music

In which city was AC/DC formed in 1973?

The band insists its music is simply rock and roll, whatever critics call it.

What is the surname of the two brothers who founded AC/DC?

Angus played lead guitar in a schoolboy uniform; Malcolm handled rhythm guitar until his retirement.

Which AC/DC singer died of alcohol poisoning in 1980, months after Highway to Hell?

English singer Brian Johnson took over and the band recorded one of the best-selling albums ever that same year.

Which 1980 AC/DC album became one of the best-selling albums of all time?

It was the first album recorded with the band's new frontman after the death of the original singer.

Who was the lead singer of INXS for 20 years?

After his death in 1997 the band tried several replacements, including a winner chosen on a reality TV show.

Which INXS single was the band's only US number one?

It came from the 1987 album Kick, the band's international breakthrough.

What was INXS originally called when it formed in 1977?

Three Farriss brothers were in the line-up, and the final name is a phonetic play on 'in excess'.

Which character did Kylie Minogue play on the soap opera Neighbours?

Her debut single came out the week after the show's famous wedding episode aired in Australia.

Roughly how many records has Kylie Minogue sold worldwide?

That makes her the highest-selling Australian-born female artist of all time, with two Grammys and 18 ARIAs.

Which Midnight Oil frontman later served as an Australian federal government minister?

He won the seat of Kingsford Smith for Labor in 2004 and became Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts.

Which 1987 Midnight Oil album produced 'Beds Are Burning' and 'The Dead Heart'?

Both singles highlighted the plight of Indigenous Australians, and the first hit number one in several countries.

Who is the Scottish-born frontman of Men at Work?

He immigrated with his family in 1967 and first played as an acoustic duo with Ron Strykert.

A 2010 court ruled that the flute riff in 'Down Under' was based on which song?

A TV quiz show first raised the resemblance; the riff was a late addition the producer called a musical joke.

Which Men at Work album topped the US chart in 1983 at the same time as 'Down Under'?

They were the first Australian act with a simultaneous number-one album and single on the Billboard charts.

Who founded Crowded House and remains its primary songwriter?

The band formed in Melbourne in 1985, and its debut gave the US top-ten hit 'Don't Dream It's Over'.

In which city was Sia born and raised?

She started out in an acid jazz band called Crisp before moving to London and singing for Zero 7.

Which young dancer starred in Sia's 'Chandelier' video and its follow-ups?

Sia co-directed the trilogy of videos and hid her own face behind a wig at live shows.

Tame Impala is essentially the studio project of which musician?

He writes, records, performs and produces everything himself, mostly at home in Perth.

In which city did Tame Impala begin in 2007?

The project shares members with fellow psych-rockers Pond from the same isolated west-coast scene.

Silverchair formed in which New South Wales city?

They won a national demo competition in 1994 as teenagers and went on to 21 ARIA Awards, a record for a group.

Where were the Bee Gees' Gibb brothers born?

The family moved to Redcliffe, Queensland, in the late 1950s, where the brothers' career began.

What is the name of Nick Cave's long-running band?

He formed it in 1983 after The Birthday Party, once billed as the most violent live band in the world, broke up.

Who was the lead singer of 1960s folk-pop group The Seekers?

The group was named joint Australians of the Year for 1967, the only band ever given the honour.

Which 1986 John Farnham album became the biggest-selling Australian album by an Australian act?

It spent 25 weeks at number one on the back of 'You're the Voice'.

Which Olivia Newton-John single was Billboard's highest-ranking Hot 100 song of the 1980s?

She had already won a Record of the Year Grammy in 1974 for 'I Honestly Love You'.

Which pub rock band did Jimmy Barnes front before his solo career?

Their 1978 single 'Khe Sanh' is one of the most loved Australian songs, though it stalled on the charts at the time.

In which city was Jimmy Barnes born?

He has said he vividly remembers its slums; by 2022 he had 15 solo number-one albums in Australia, more than anyone.

Powderfinger formed in 1989 in which city?

Fronted by Bernard Fanning, they scored five straight number-one albums and eighteen ARIA Awards.

Who were the two members of Savage Garden?

They won a record ten ARIAs in 1997, and Jones later left music to become a real estate agent.

What were the original Wiggles studying at Macquarie University when they met?

Anthony Field built the first album around early childhood education concepts, and the group never looked back.

In which year were the ARIA Music Awards first held?

Public-voted categories were not added until 2010.

Which radio station runs the annual Hottest 100 listener poll?

It started in 1989 and peaked at more than 3.2 million votes in 2019, earning the tag 'the world's greatest music democracy'.

Who wrote the lyrics of 'Waltzing Matilda' in 1895?

The title is old slang for tramping with a swag, and the song is often called the unofficial national anthem.

In 'Waltzing Matilda', what animal does the swagman steal?

The jumbuck's owner and three troopers chase him, and he drowns himself in a billabong rather than be caught.

In which year was 'Advance Australia Fair' proclaimed the national anthem?

Written in 1878, it had briefly been the anthem under Whitlam before a 1977 plebiscite settled the question.

Country star Keith Urban was born in which country?

He moved to Australia as a child and to the US in 1992, collecting four Grammys along the way.

Which song gave Slim Dusty the first international number one by an Australian?

The pub in question is a real place in Ingham, North Queensland; he later won 38 Golden Guitars.

Gotye, of 'Somebody That I Used to Know' fame, was born in which country?

The 2011 single with New Zealand's Kimbra won Record of the Year at the Grammys.

Which Yothu Yindi song charted on the US dance charts in 1992?

Lead singer Mandawuy Yunupingu was named Australian of the Year for 1992 for his work with the band.

What was Delta Goodrem's 2003 debut album, which topped the ARIA chart for 29 weeks?

It is the second-best-selling Australian album ever, and she recorded the follow-up while being treated for cancer.

Natalie Imbruglia's 1997 hit 'Torn' was a cover of a song by which band?

It topped the US radio chart for eleven weeks and sold more than a million copies in the UK alone.

Which soft rock duo formed in Melbourne in 1975 had eight US top-five hits?

Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock relocated to Los Angeles and have sold 100 million records.

What was Little River Band's only number-one single in Australia?

'Reminiscing' was their biggest US hit at number three, and the band has sold more than 30 million records.

Which 1966 Easybeats single is called the first Australian rock song to succeed overseas?

The five founders were all European migrants who met at the Villawood Migrant Hostel in 1964.

Which Jet single topped the 2003 Hottest 100 and helped the band win six ARIAs?

Their debut album Get Born hit number one in Australia and the top 30 in the United States.

Which sport did Vance Joy play before his song 'Riptide' launched his music career?

'Riptide' topped the 2013 Hottest 100 and became the longest-charting song in ARIA chart history.

How many weeks did Tones and I's 'Dance Monkey' spend at number one in Australia?

It broke Bing Crosby's record of 22 weeks for 'White Christmas', which had stood since 1943.

Which pop star features on The Kid Laroi's 2021 chart-topper 'Stay'?

His mixtape F*ck Love had already made him the youngest Australian solo act to top the ARIA albums chart.

Which grunge band played the very first Big Day Out in 1992?

Promoters needed a support act for a Violent Femmes tour and landed them for the Hordern Pavilion show.

What is the Yolngu name for the didgeridoo?

The instrument was developed in northern Australia at least 1,000 years ago and relies on circular breathing.