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Top Australian Pop Songs – #’s 5 & 6

Here we are at the Top 6, and from here on out, the ladies rule. We’ve got a couple of first-time appearances on the list today, one band I’m sure you’re all aware of, the other act, probably not…

#6 – Jenny Morris – She Has to be Loved

Jenny Morris is a New Zealand born, Australian pop singer. In her native country she had some Top 20 success with her initial band, Crocodiles, before moving to Sydney and embarking on first, a career as a back-up singer for established acts, then as a in another band called QED before finally finding success as a solo artist. In the U.S., Jenny first appeared singing back-up for INXS on The Swing album. She then recorded a duet with Michael Hutchence, performing Nancy Sinatra’s hit, Jackson, which climbed to #2 on the Australian charts. She then joined the band on their world tour for the Listen Like Thieves album, where I discovered her. Her first of several fantastic solo albums, Body and Soul followed soon after.

She Has to be Loved is the second single from her second and most commercially successful album, Shiver. The jittery, propulsive dance number is infectious and delightful. It’s her highest charting solo single, reaching #5 on the Austrlian charts and #3 on the New Zealand charts. It’s feminist lyrics make it a favorite among her female fans.

#5 – Divinyls – Sleeping Beauty

What can I say about Divinyls? Formed in Sydney in 1980, with core members Chrissy Amphlett and Mark McEntee, Divinyls were a formative force in my musical life from the moment I heard Boys in Town until Chrissy’s untimely death at age 53 from breast cancer and beyond. Chrissy’s unabashed sexual ferocity on stage was notorious as she lashed out at other band members and the audience. I remember an early club show I saw of Divinyls, women at the front of the audience would rest their purses on the edge of the stage, and Chrissy would go through them, pulling out lipstick and other items. Her voice, which seemed uncontrolled and strained was actually laser sharp and a tool that Chrissy wielded with precision and beauty. There are so many amazing songs that Divinyls performed over the years that it was difficult not to fill this list with all of them.

Instead, Divinyls get two in the Top 5, starting with Sleeping Beauty, a gorgeous love-ballad from their second album, What a Life! The album was a huge success climbing to #4 on the charts. In Australia, Sleeping Beauty was the fifth single from What a Life!, peaking at #50. In the States, the lead single, Pleasure and Pain written by hitmakers Holly Knight and Michael Chapman, became their first Top 1oo single, reaching #76. Sleeping Beauty was the follow-up single and while it didn’t chart, it got significant airplay on MTV. I love this song and video so much. It’s a great merging of Divinyls emotional sincerity and dark perversions to create a love song all their own.

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Top Australian Pop Songs – #’s 7 & 8

Took a little break from my list of Top Australian pop songs, but I’m back as we continue to move through the Top 10. These two songs even have a familial connection.

#8 – Throw Your Arms Around Me by Hunters & Collectors

The second song from Melbourne’s Hunters & Collectors to appear on this list is upon first look, a bit of an anomaly for the band. This beautiful ballad is one of the most beautiful love songs ever written. It’s a song that talented songwriter Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House wished he had written. It goes against the propulsive, muscular, political rock songs Hunters & Collectors is usually known for. But frontman Mark Seymour definitely has a sensitive and romantic streak in him, and this song fully embodies it, with such lyrics as “We may never meet again, so shed your skin and let’s get started…”

Throw Your Arms Around Me was released first as a single only in 1984, then included on their breakthrough commercial hit album, Human Frailty in 1986. Many American audiences were exposed to the song during Crowded House’s first U.S. tour, and appearance on MTV Unplugged. Crowded House bass player Nick Seymour is Mark’s younger brother. It’s definitely one of my top love songs of all time.

#7 – Love This Life by Crowded House

Although led by New Zealander Neil Finn, Crowded House was formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1985. Crowded House garnered much success in its home country as well as here in the U.S. Their breakthrough international hit, Don’t Dream it’s Over climbed to #2 in the U.S., #1 in Canada and New Zealand, but curiously, only to #8 in Australia. Songwriter Neil Finn has written so many beautiful songs, and is well known for his songwriting talent. In addition to Don’t Dream It’s Over, songs like Something So Strong, World Where You Live, Better Be Home Soon, Weather With You, and It’s Only Natural could all have appeared on this list.

I’m cheating again a little, because the song I have chosen to represent Crowded House isn’t even a single, but rather in my mind, one of the most beautiful pop songs ever written. Love This Life is an album track lifted from their second album, Temple of Low Men, and I just find the lyrics, and the gorgeous turn of melody from the dark verse to the hopeful and lovely chorus to truly embody was a lovely song is. And I also included by favorite single by the band, also taken from the Temple of Low Men album. When You Come was the second single released from their second album and it didn’t chart in the States, but it hit #27 in Australia.

This entry includes some really outstanding songwriting, and it’s lovely to have them all together in one post.

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Top Australian Pop Songs – #’s 9 & 10

As we enter the Top 10, we get an 80’s classic and the first appearance of a more recent musical find.

#10 – Shark Fin Blues by Missy Higgins

Born in Melbourne, Missy Higgins’ first full-length studio album was released when she was only 21 years old. Since that time she has released four albums, the first three of which have all climbed to the #1 spot on the Australian album charts. Something of a child prodigy when it came to music, she learned classical piano at age 6. She wrote her first song, All for Believing which was recorded on her first album, at the age of 15. Eight years ago, Missy performed alongside best-selling novelist Harlan Coben, at the Boston Public Library. It was delightful to meet such a down-to-earth young woman who learned of her second albums’ Australian gold status while I was chatting with her.

Missy appears twice on this list, both times in the Top 10. This first entry, Shark Fin Blues was lifted off her last full-length album, Oz, an album of covers originally written by Australian artists. Shark Fin Blues was originally recorded by the Drones, and released in 2005. Higgins offers a gorgeous and haunting rendition, accompanied by a stunning video.

#9 – Bitter Sweet by Hoodoo Gurus

Formed in Sydney in 1981, Hoodoo Gurus gained popularity in the States as a alternative/college act. A successful co-headlining tour with the Bangles in the late 80’s was well-received in the States as well. They have released 9 studio albums, their most recent in 2010.

Released as the first single in 1985 off their second album, Mars Needs Guitars, Bittersweet was something of a departure for the Gurus. Lead singer/songwriter Dave Faulkner was quoted as saying, “… I vowed to myself that I would write less comic narratives and try to express my sentiments in a more forthright way. I feel I succeeded with Bittersweet though at the time I didn’t think that a) the band would want to play it and b) our audience would want to hear it. I was happily wrong on both counts.” It climbed to #10 on the Melbourne Record Charts.

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Top 20 Australian Pop Songs – #’s 11 & 12

As we close in on my Top 10 Australian Pop Songs, we get a blast from the past, and the first of three entries from someone who is still actively recording!

 

#12 – Hold On by Models

Formed in 1978, Models is a Melbourne band who released five studio albums in Australia, but only one, Out of Mind, Out of Sight in the U.S. That album, their fourth, was their highest charting album in Australia, climbing all the way to #3. That same album hit #84 on the Billboard Album Chart. Their break out single, the album’s title track was their only #1 song in Australia, and was a Top 40 hit in the U.S. hitting the #37 spot.

Their final studio album, Models’ Media, spawned three top 3o Australian singles, and the third, Hold On, climbed to #21 in 1987.

#11 Alive & Brilliant by Deborah Conway

Australian mainstay, Deborah Conway, got her start with the pop-rock band, Do Re Mi out of Sydney in 1981. Do Re Mi had a surprise Top 5 hit in Australia with Man Overboard and recorded two successful albums before disbanding in 1988. During that time Conway was involved with Paul Hester who would eventually move to the States to join Crowded House. After several other bands, and a career as an actor and model, Conway launched a solo career with the release of String of Pearls in 1991. She has remained active with her ninth studio solo album released last yea.

I could have picked many songs to appear on this list, and Conway does appear three times, twice as a solo artist, once with Do Re Mi. Coming in at #11 is Alive & Brilliant the lead single from her second album, Bitch Epic.

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Top 20 Australian Pop Songs – #’s 13 & 14

#14 – Another Day in the Big World by Eurogliders

Eurogliders are the first Perth-based band to appear on this list, and they came together in 1980. After releasing a first album that didn’t do much for them, their second album, This Island, exploded, peaking at #4 in Australia, and hitting #140 on the Billboard Top 200 albums. It spawned their first Australian Top 10 single, Heaven (Must Be There), which climbed all the way to #2. It reached #65 on the Billboard Hot 100. I saw Eurogliders live at a club in Boston, and had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with keyboard player Amanda Vincent and drummer John Bennetts at a ’til Tuesday show the night before. I think they were surprised anyone knew who they were, and even knew their names!

There are a lot of Eurogliders songs that I loved, and could have chosen for this list but the update single, Another Day in the Big World is definitely one of my favorites. This was the second of four singles released in Australia off This Island, and it peaked at #66.

And I’m sure many of you remember their single, Heaven (Must Be There)

#13 – Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain) by Inxs

Certainly the most well-known band to appear on this list, Inxs were an international sensation. Forming in 1977 as The Farris Brothers, Inxs released their first, self-titled album in 1980. The band hit it big in Australia and made some waves on the alternative scene in the U.S. with their next two albums, Shabooh Shoobah and The Swing. But it was with their fifth album, Listen Like Thieves that they achieved true international success with the single What You Need hitting #2 in Australia, and climbing into the Top 5 in the U.S. They would go on to even greater success with their follow-up album, Kick, and their #1 U.S. hit, Need You Tonight.

For my list, I’ve included their fourth single off the Listen Like Thieves album, Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain). The song becaome their 10th Australian To 20 hit, peaking at #15, but it failed to chart in the U.S. It did however climb to #24 on Billboard’s Album Rock Tracks. The accompanying video was shot in Coober Pedy in South Austrlia. The flew direct form the U.S. to shoot the video overnight, then returned to the U.S. the following day.