DYNAMITE PARTY - Roddy Ray'da

[1989]

Here's an old school Rage classic I'd forgotten about. Roddy was a mysterious minor cult celebrity in my house at the time. Here was a guy who'd been in The Scientists, Hoodoo Gurus, The Johnnys, The James Baker Experience, The Dubrovniks etc. but he always seemed to leave these bands after their first single, just before they became successful. I never knew if he was just a loose cannon so they fired him or if he chickened out or he thought the bands had sold out or he was just unlucky. He was probably just a mercurial maverick, definitely a catalyst, a true rock'n'roll outlaw and a fucking legend. 

Dynamite Party takes the Aussie 80s garage rock sound towards an obnoxious almost glam metal junction with an insanely dodgy drum sound. The free good time rock'n'roll spirit shines through though.  

*Video also features legendary Radio Birdman guitarist Chris Masuak.

Le Hoodoo Gurus - Leilani [1982] 

Le Hoodoo Gurus were three guitarists and a drummer. This was their first single on the indie Phantom label. By the time of their second single they'd drop the "Le" and two of their guitarists Roddy & Kimble and become a conventional four piece rock group. Ready to become Aussie rock icons.

*The sound on this video is absolutely shite but worth watching for historical purposes. Roddy's up the back in a blue suit sporting a short hairdo.

Hoodoo Gurus - (Let's All) Turn On [1983]

Whilst Roddy didn't play on The Hoodoo Gurus debut album Stoneage Romeos, four of the tunes on the record were co-written by him including Arthur, Death Ship, Leilani and this the barnstorming classic that opens the LP (Let's All) Turn On. 

The James Baker Experience - Born To Be Punched [1985]

Roddy co-wrote and played guitar on this, the B-side to Baker's one and only single I Can't Control Myself. This was a supergroup 80s Sydney style with Salamander Jim members Greg 'Tex' Perkins on bass and Stu Spasm on the other guitar and piano. 

The Dubrovniks - Fireball Of Love [1988]

A driving dreamy pop tune with a sublime wall of sound. This is great stuff, almost shoegaze-y and unlike most things Roddy played on. 

Sharon O'Neill - Losing You

[1983]

Actual hits and memories for Aussies & Kiwis. 

Haven't heard this since 1983 when I was in grade 6. My girlfriend had this exact haircut. How could you not be a spunk with that do.

In the best film clip of the 80s our spunk Shazza sings into a chicken, empties a garbage bag of rubbish, which includes a can fosters, onto her cheating boyfriend's waterbed, tries to garbage disposal his shoe and much much more. Sharon's acting prowess knows no bounds.

Losing You is a synth-rock pop anthem including some choice 80s saxophone and a singing synth robot at the end.  

The Numbers - Five Letter Word

[1980]

More barely hits and memories gold. Five Letter Word was the only Numbers tune to crack the national top 40. 

Annalisse Morrow had the hair, clothes and attitude. Our nonchalant bass playin power pop princess shoulda been a national icon. 

The Numbers were on the Deluxe Records label along with INXS, The Dugites and Toy Love. 

Sorta effortless and pretty minimal and kinda naff. 

Dear Enemy - Computer One

[1983]

Melbourne hits and memories keep coming. I don't think I've heard this number 16 chartbuster since 1983 when I was in grade 6. Actually I think I thought Dear Enemy and the previous post's The Little Heroes were the same band until today. 

Anyway here's some more synth-rock for your 80s FM radio. Mullets with the left ear pierced was the awesome trend of the day for these fellas who packed out Victorian pubs and clubs four nights a week for a coupla years. 

Before chat gpt we had blokes singing to their computers asking it questions about love.

These guys are a lost band. What the hell happened to them? They had Men At Work's producer here but Computer One failed to crack the American top 40, only reaching #58. They only had one more single just scrape into the Aussie top 40, then they were gone.

...but we still have this forgotten futuristic synth anthem from the bogan Kraftwerk. 

One Perfect Day · The Little Heroes

[1982]

Actual hit and memory!

One Perfect Day is a classic synth-y pop rock ballad. Emotional then and emotional now for very different reasons.

This was peak Australia when everyone seemed confident and everything seemed possible and you belonged here in amongst it. Even really shonky commercial music was tops.

Melancholy adult themes designed to sound great on the FM radio dial.

MEO 245 - Lady Love

[1980]

3XY ROCKS Melbourne.

The upbeat synth-rock of Lady Love was a regional hit in Melbourne but surprisingly only made it to number 43 on the national charts. A triumphant blend of prominent synths and loud guitars are the order of the day here. Legendary Antipodean producer Peter Dawkins captured MEO 245 at an inspired peak during this recording. It's got a certain immediacy and contagious bounciness to meet all your new wave needs. 

It' a shame this didn't get released outside of Australia because let's face it Lady Love had Canadian top 10 hit written all over it.

Boys - When You're Lonely

[1980]

More classic non-hits and non memories.

This time we've got Aussie group Boys from Perth with this youthful burst of new wave power pop. How was this not a top ten smash I do not know, only scraping in at number 52. Wait... according to my book When You're Lonely was actually a regional number one hit in Perth. So there you go it's a number one hit and memory to many people over there in WA.

Fashion-wise these guys were regular new wave in black or stripes just like The Pretenders or Blondie but the singer made an interesting choice with his blue singlet. Perhaps it was a strategic marketing ploy as he had teen idol good looks, looked like he could probably put in four quarters of good footy, maybe lay a few bricks, get stuck into a slab, smoke some Winnie Blues and be nice to your mum. Mass appeal assured, well in Perth anyway...

Grain of Sand · The Saints

[1988]

Chris Bailey's post Ed Kuepper Saints shouldn't have been called the Saints because they could never compete with that original band and those three classic LPs. However they were called The Saints and you know what? They had some great tunes and this may have been the last of them.

Grain Of Sand is the sound of 80s Australia. 

The Heats - Remember Me

[1980]

Still bringing you all the misses that you missed and all the memories you never had.

Here's one from forgotten Seattle power pop legends The Heats. Remember Me was surprisingly not released as a single. It appears on their one and only LP Have An Idea which is on the edgier side of new wave power pop. Irresistible pace-y hook laden tunes drenched in harmonies are the order of the day for this album which is the connoisseurs choice for greatest lost power pop record. 

The Smithereens - Behind the Wall of Sleep

[1986]

Bass players named Kim for a thousand. Kim Gordon, Kim Deal and this Kim from some forgotten 80s Boston band, she had hair like Jean Shrimpton and a stance just like Bill Wyman.

Nifty lyrics, crafty tune and a pretty legendary 80s alternative sound. Power pop had spent five years in the wilderness when it was brought back by The Smithereens in a new incarnation that was much darker and heavier. The dude who co-produced REM's first two LPs, Don Dixon, twiddled the knobs to great affect here.

Some albums you taped off your friends and I can picture a TDK D-90 with Especially For You on one side and 1988's Green Thoughts on the other.