There are a bunch of Australian bands that define the 80s for me, some known and some obscure, and include: INXS, Split Enz (although from NZ), The Church, Hoodoo Gurus, Midnight Oil, Spy Vs Spy, Bear Garden, Do Re Mi, Cold Chisel, Kam Sha, Straightjacket Fits and The Chills (more NZ bands), The Venetians, Real Life, Hunters And Collectors, Paul Kelly & The Messengers, The Sunnyboys, Icehouse, The Divinyls, The Boys Next Door (lead vocalist was Nick Cave) and the Bad Seeds.
I've heard of and enjoy several of those myself-- INXS, Split Enz, Cold Chisel, Hunters & Collectors, Icehouse, and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Of those I especially enjoy Hunters & Collectors & Cold Chisel. H&C's rhythm section is groovalicious and Mark Seymour is a solid songwriter with a distinct and enjoyable voice... and they have a horn section to boot!
Cold Chisel! Love Jimmy Barnes man. That cat has a voice on him like nobody's biznitch! It doesn't get much more Aussie than those guys! For their uptempo stuff my fave is probably
Goodbye (Astrid) or the iconic
Khe Sanh for their slower stuff I really dig
When the War Is Over and
Flame Trees. That bit in
When the War Is Over when Jimmy starts singing (I believe the final verse after Prestwich sings the first 2 verses) gives me chills.
