50 Most Significant Moments

LISTS are great!! They cause a huge debate about something not at all important in the grand scheme of things!! So it is with Australian Musician magazines 50 Most Significant Moments in Australian Pop/Rock History.... Most discussion has revolved around the lack of perspective on events since 1990 yet I think they only read the press release AND its hard to argue with number ONE....

The 50 Most Significant Moments in Australian Pop/Rock History.
Comments welcome at www.myspace.com/australianmusicianmagazine

Since the early sixties, Australia has produced some of the finest contemporary music in the world, and is often touted as being a testing ground for global music tastes and trends. But how did we get here? What were the events that shaped the Australian music industry as we know it today? We got together eight fairly music literate beings, placed them in a pub one night and wouldn't let them out until they decided upon the 50 MOST significant moments in Australian pop/rock history. Here are the results ... (Want to comment? Do so at www.myspace.com/australianmusicianmagazine)

1 VANDA AND YOUNG Meet in migrant hostel
Had Harry Vanda and George Young not met in the Villawood migrant hostel in Sydney 1964, there would not have been an Easybeats as we know them, possibly no Stevie Wright solo career, certainly not the Albert productions that made AC/DC a huge success, and none of those classic Countdown songs by artists such as John Paul Young, William Shakespeare, Cheetah etc, as well as their own hits under the Flash and the Pan name.

2 COUNTDOWN Goes colour
3 MEN AT WORK Number one in USA and UK simultaneously
4 THE SAINTS I'm Stranded Record of the Week-UK Sounds magazine
5 MIDNIGHT OIL'S Sydney Olympics protest
6 SKYHOOKS Release Living in the 70s with 6 songs banned
7 LEE GORDON Arrives in Australia
8 MUSHROOM RECORDS The label legend begins
9 SILVERCHAIR All five albums go to number one
10 BIG DAY OUT Goes national
11 BEATLES Tour Australia and launch a thousand bands
12 TRIPLE J Goes National
13 BON SCOTT dies
14 CROWDED HOUSE Farewell concert
15 AC/DC It's A Long Way To The Top ... on the back of a truck
16 GO SET Our first real rock magazine
17 SUNBURY FESTIVAL
18 JOHN BUTLER first independent artist to top national chart
19 SLIM DUSTY releases 100th album
20 AUSTRALIAN IDOL The juggernaut begins
21 JET The band that launched a million ipods
22 JOHN FARNHAM Jack's back
23 JOK Our first national rock star
24 COLD CHISEL Khe Sahn-A legend begins
25 KYLIE dates MICHAEL HUTCHENCE and changes forever
26 INXS Sometimes you Kick!
27 FAIRLIGHT COMPUTER Beginning of sampling
28 SICK PUPPIES 13 million You Tube hits and US fame
29 NORMIE ROWE joins the army
30 YOTHU YINDI our first charting koori band
31 RATCAT redefine 'indie'
32 WAVE AID A nation reacts
33 OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN Grease is the word!
34 UP THERE CAZALY Music and Sport unite
35 LRB Reminiscing
36 THE BIRTHDAY PARTY Arrive in Berlin
37 SEVEN AUSTRALIAN ALBUMS IN TOP 10
38 SAVAGE GARDEN most played song for the year in USA for 2000
39 THE RECORD BAN ushers golden era of OZ music
40 STAN ROFE switches from 3KZ to 3UZ
41 BEE GEES return to England, sign to Stigwood.
42 ABBA mania in Australia
43 HOADLEY'S BATTLE OF BANDS shape changing event
44 HELEN REDDY Australia's first Grammy Award
45 DADDY COOL First #1 Album by Australian band
46 SEEKERS First Aussies to have UK number one
47 the WHITLAMS meet Whitlam
48 ROGER SAVAGE arrives in Australia
49 DELTA GOODREM breaks Jack's back
50 ARIA CHART our first official chart