Australian indie rock

Australian indie rock is part of the overall flow of Australian rock history but has a distinct history somewhat separate from mainstream rock in Australia, largely from the end of the punk rock era onwards.

Rock and roll in Australia got started in the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by the sounds coming from the United States and UK. Early on, the surf rock sound dominated, though in the mid-1960s, the beat genre from the UK had become established. Numerous garage bands formed in the cities and suburbs, and a vibrant musical culture began.

Isolated from the diversity of genres in the northern hemisphere, Australian mainstream record labels tried to replicate the success of trends imported from overseas and produce radio friendly singles by successful artists such as John Farnham and The Easybeats. In the meantime, Russell Morris enjoyed a surprise hit with singles such as "The Real Thing" http://www.poparchives.com.au/963/russell-morris/the-real-thing,. Produced by music legend Ian Molly Meldrum, and written by singing star Johnny Young, the single encompassed high production values and a psychedelic approach in its use of instruments such as a sitar, sampling of a children's choir, and its 6-minute running time (unusually long for the time). While released by EMI, this domestic production inspired a generation of bands, singers and songwriters that home-grown Aussie talent could produce world-beating music. The single charted well in New York, Houston and Chicago http://www.howlspace.com.au/en/morrisrussell/morrisrussell.htm.

The punk movement began in the mid-1970s, and resulted in an explosion of musical activity. Numerous bands formed, as did many independent record labels, often run out of bedrooms. An early band who gained a following in Australia were, The Saints, who grew out of Queensland and who recorded one of the first punk singles, releasing a single on vinyl before the Sex Pistols. Another important band who came out of Brisbane were the post-punk group, The Go-Betweens, who relocated to Britain in the early 1980s and were one of the most acclaimed bands of the decade.

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