I'll Be Gone is not just the story of an accidental masterpiece, a song written by Mike Rudd and recorded by his seminal Australian band 'Spectrum' in 1969. It is also the story of a time of unprecedented political and cultural upheaval and promise both in Australia and the Western world. Most of all, I'll Be Gone is the story of a unique artist and his unerring artistic vision, often in the face of immense personal hardship and sorrow.
A Melbourne sound that is at once both rakish and debonair. So what specifically is it about Melbourne that, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, it’s able to support around 465 live music venues as compared to 453 in New York, 385 in Tokyo and 245 in London despite its population being a fraction of those major world cities? Despite the flaky weather, the footy and Netflix, Melbournians are committed to going out at night and in great numbers in heat or hail to listen to live music and to find those bands and singers they’ve heard on Spotify or discovered on Soundcloud.
This book uncovers the zany world of Captain Matchbox, but goes far beyond by following the extraordinary careers of Mic and Jim Conway. After Matchbox finally struck out, the brothers were intimately involved with the Pram Factory and Circus Oz. Jim Conway eventually broke free of 'novelty' to become one of Australia's premier blues musicians, while the name Mic Conway has become synonymous with 'new vaudeville' in Australia. But beware, if you choose to climb aboard the Conway roller-coaster you will encounter gratuitous nudity, free love, tumultuous relationships, unashamed namedropping, tragic vehicle crashes, circus acts, an incurable debilitating disease, political satire, ungodly language, and a barrage of puns and bad gags. This book, possibly more than any other, captures the spirit of the Australian 'counterculture' from the 1970s through to today.
The Hottest 100 is a national institution. For 30 years, triple j has held an annual countdown of its listeners' 100 favourite songs of the year, as voted by the public. It has evolved into the single most anticipated musical event of every year for millions of Australians. The Hottest 100 is so much more than music. It's beaches, barbeques, and bonfires. It's joy and despair, drama and debate, friendship and community. This book is a celebration of everything that makes the world's greatest musical democracy so damn iconic. Shoulda Been Higher is the definitive account of the Hottest 100 - a comedic chronicle and love letter. It's the complete picture from Augie March to Ziggy Alberts, 'Amazing' to 'Zombie'.
Daddy Who? is the story of a phenomenon, a band that in eighteen short months changed the course of Australian rock history. Author and musician Craig Horne was with Daddy Cool every inch of the way. With an insider's view, he tracks the journey from when they burst onto the scene in October 1970, with their infectious doo-wop mayhem, and follows their rapid rise to the top—when they were on the front cover of every newspaper and rock magazine in the country, and when radio churned out hits like 'Eagle Rock', 'Come Back Again' and 'Hi Honey Ho!' virtually nonstop. The book reveals the madness of Daddy Cool's three US tours, from their showcase performance at LA's Whisky A Go Go, to New York's famed Madison Square Garden, and supporting the likes of Elvin Bishop, Fleetwood Mac, Deep Purple, Little Feat and Captain Beefheart. "Daddy Who? is the first book to tell the complete story of the enduring legacy of one of the most unique and much loved bands Australia has ever produced. Daddy Cool are one of the most impressive bands I've ever heard ... And 'Eagle Rock' is one of my favourite tracks of all time." — Sir Elton John, 1975
This book follows Australian musician Kim Salmon, from bands The Scientists, Surrealists and Beasts of Bourbon, from childhood in Perth through his many bands, albums, tours, family upheavals, triumphs and disappointments and examines the characters of the music business he collaborates with along the way.
This is an intriguing memoir by Paulie Stewart, a much-loved rock singer, newspaper journalist and social activist whose life story spans an unusually broad swathe of modern Australian life... Written when Paulie was facing the risk of an early death due to drug and alcohol-induced liver failure, the book helped him to realise the extent to which his whole life, including his often self-destructive behaviour, were shaped by the teenage trauma of losing his brother Tony, the 21-year-old HSV7 newsman who was one of the Balibo Five murdered by Indonesian forces in East Timor in 1975. A long-term campaigner for East Timorese independence, Paulie is convinced that a chance encounter with a Timorese nun as he lay in what could have been his deathbed at the Austin Hospital in 2007 played a role in his almost miraculous rescue the next day by a liver transplant. This 'bad boy' of Australian rock and roll has since then devoted himself to social activism and community work ranging from fund-raising for nuns who care for disabled children in Timor-Leste through to helping street kids and refugees get their own lives on track through new careers as musicians and performers. - Peter Wilson (former Australian Journalist of the Year)
A juicy piece of trivia is like a beautiful fresh cut of protein. It needs to be handled just right. Some fillets of trivia work well as a question, others are best posed as a ‘Did you know’. Some have so much flesh on them that they are better served up as a whole story or essay. That is what you will find between these pages, a smorgasbord of trivia treats to feast upon. Like a buffet on a cruise ship, you can start at the beginning and work your way along, you can push in at any point for the one tasty treat that you want, or you can fill a small plate and come back over and over again. This is possibly the most complete book of Rock Trivia ever compiled and the morsels will astonish … Did you know that in 2013 Chubby Checker sued Hewlett-Packard over a 99-cent app called the ‘Chubby Checker’ which allowed users to enter a man’s shoe size to estimate the size of his penis? He claimed that the product would cause damage to his goodwill, tarnishing his image. Trivia with a twist? Did you know that Charles Manson co-wrote a song for the Beach Boys? Plus hundreds of questions to tease and expand the mind. "At last ... a rock trivia book that is not at all trivial! This is a remarkable collection of questions, facts, myths, stories, jokes, riddles and answers. Number one with a bullet!" - Brian Nankervis, ABC Radio and RocKwiz host. "This is the book that we music trivia nuts have been waiting for. Even if you think you know it all there'll be something that surprises you. Read it from front to back or just dip into it when you need a trivia top up. I love it!" - Murray Cook, The Wiggles, The Soul Movers
David Nichols tells the story of Australian rock and pop music from 1960 to 1985 – formative years in which the nation cast off its colonial cultural shackles and took on the world. Generously illustrated and scrupulously researched, Dig combines scholarly accuracy with populist flair. Nichols is an unfailingly witty and engaging guide, surveying the fertile and varied landscape of Australian popular music in seven broad historical chapters, interspersed with shorter chapters on some of the more significant figures of each period. The result is a compelling portrait of a music scene that evolves in dynamic interaction with those in the United States and the UK, yet has always retained a strong sense of its own identity and continues to deliver new stars – and cult heroes – to a worldwide audience. Dig is a unique achievement. The few general histories to date have been highlight reels, heavy on illustration and short on detail. And while there have been many excellent books on individual artists, scenes and periods, and a couple of first-rate encylopedias, there’s never been a book that told the whole story of the irresistible growth and sweep of a national music culture. Until now . . .
