Ten of Australia’s biggest acts of the 70s, 80s and 90s come together for shows on the East Coast

Shane | 19 June 2015 | Reply

Ten of Australia’s biggest acts of the 70s, 80s and 90s come together for shows on the East Coast

Featuring ten of the biggest acts of the 70s, 80s and 90s coming together to take you on a journey back to the wild rock n’ roll days of The Gold Coast, Brisbane and Sydney, these shows will take place at the iconic Jupiters Hotel & Casino, Broadbeach on Friday, 28 August, 2015, and at the Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane on Saturday, 29 August, 2015.

GOLD FM LIVE and 97.3FM High School Reunion will be three hours of hits and memories with ten of Australia‟s most well-loved 70s, 80s and 90s hit makers gracing the stage and taking a whole generation back to a time when rock ‘n roll was a way of life and there wasn‟t a camera phone in sight.

Known for enduring hits such as That’s When I Think of You, Compulsory Hero, ‘To Love Me, Scars, Don’t Forget Me, and, of course, If I Could, 1927 made a devastating entry into the ears of its listeners with the Quintuple Platinum selling album …ish in 1988, which earned the band a slew of ARIA Awards as well as a lot of fans along the way. Following up …ish with the multi-platinum second album The Otherside, a self-titled third album, and countless live shows at home and abroad, the last couple of decades have certainly earned 1927 legendary status. Not content to rest on their laurels, after more than ten years, 1927 released a new studio album Generation i in 2013. It may just be the band‟s finest album yet.

PSEUDO ECHO formed in 1982, releasing their first album, Autumnal Park, in 1984 which skyrocketed the band to household name status across the country. Their second album, Love an Adventure, spawned another string of hits including its title track, Don’t Go, Try, Living in a Dream and their remake of the Lipps, Inc. song Funkytown, which brought the group their biggest international success and spent seven weeks at No. 1 in Australia from December 1986. In 2012 Pseudo Echo celebrated their 30th anniversary and this year released their sixth studio album, Ultraviolet.

SHARON O’NEILL was one of the biggest Australian pop/rock artists of the early 80s. Known for her brilliant song-writing and sultry live performances, SHARON O’NEILL is also a respected composer, having penned songs for an ABC TV series and composed and performed a feature film soundtrack. The New Zealand-born singer won the APRA Top Female Vocalist Award in 1978, 1979 and 1980. She also won the Countdown Rock Awards three times between 1980 and 1985 and the Sounds Pop Poll in 1983 and 1984. SHARON O’NEILL has released 16 albums, the three most successful being “Words”, “Maybe” and “Foreign Affairs” culminating in her Australasian hit single Maxine, released in 1983 which peaked at 16th place on both the Australian and New Zealand charts. SHARON O’NEILL created songs that a generation will never forget!

WENDY MATTHEWS is without doubt one of Australia‟s most respected vocalists. Originally from Canada, Wendy Matthews was part of two of Australia‟s most successful bands, Models and Absent Friends, taking lead vocals on the smash hit, Nobody but You, before embarking on a successful solo career. In the 90s Wendy released a slew of Top 20 singles including Token Angels, Let’s Kiss (Like Angels Do), The Day You Went Away and Friday’s Child and Top 20 albums: You’ve Always Got the Blues (with Kate Ceberano), Émigré, Lily, The Witness Tree and her compilation, Stepping Stones. Matthews appeared on three series of It Takes Two (2006-2008) and in 2014 released The Welcome Fire, her first originals album in 12 years, with songs co-written by Josh Pyke, Megan Washington, Mark Sholtez and many more.

Featuring Grace Knight on vocals and Bernie Lynch on guitar and vocals, EUROGLIDERS took the charts by storm in the 1980s. Audiences were blown away, and Grace Knight captivated fans with her „manic ballerina‟ stage persona. In 1984, EUROGLIDERS released their album This Island, which spawned their No. 2 hit single, Heaven (Must Be There). Heaven also peaked at No. 21 on the United States Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and appeared on the Hot 100. Another Australian top ten album, Absolutely, followed in 1985, which provided three further top ten singles, We Will Together, The City of Soul and Can‟t Wait to See You. Grace and Bernie, along with their superb band, have reunited to once again captivate audiences with their sophisticated and high-energy brand of pop.

THE CHANTOOZIES Originally formed for a one off show in 1986 and after an overwhelming response became one of Australia‟s favourite girl bands, touring extensively. They achieved great success with their original material Wanna Be Up, Kiss And Tell, Walk On and covers of Witch Queen, He‟s Gonna Step on You, Love the One You‟re With and I‟ll Be There; all top 20 hits reaching platinum and gold sales. Throughout the 80‟s and 90‟s they shared the stage with many of Australia‟s biggest acts and supported Billy Joel for an Australian 38 show tour. The girls reunited in 1988 for „The 25 years of Mushroom Music‟ event, the „Countdown Spectacular‟ tour in 2006 and again in 2012 when they supported Rick Astley on his Australian tour. THE CHANTOOZIES released their first new recording in 23 years in 2014, a cover of the Promises hit Baby It’s You.

“Compu-PU-pu-PU-pu-PU Computer Games”! If that chorus from the MI-SEX hit isn‟t familiar to you then you didn‟t live through the early 80‟s. This international hit single preceded the glut of similar-sounding British chart entrants by a year or more and is one of the defining pop-rock songs of the Australasian music-scape. It ascended to #1 on the Australian charts in November ‟79 and hit the top five in New Zealand. By April 1980 Computer Games had charted in more than 20 countries, and had peaked inside the top ten in Canada, France, Austria, Italy, West Germany and South Africa. Lead singer, Steve Gilpin‟s unfortunate death in 1992 forced MI-SEX underground for 20 years and the simple acceptance of an invitation by Steve Balbi to front MI-SEX at a private party and the Christchurch Quake Relief Concert to confirm the right chemistry that would once again ignite their passion for “live performance” and we couldn‟t be happier.

John „SWANEE‟ Swan is a blue blood of the Australian rock scene. In 1978 he released his first album „Into the Night‟ but his first major chart success was a rendition of Tim Hardin‟s If I Were a Carpenter from the album „This Time It‟s Different‟. Success with the next two singles from the album immediately followed. Lady What‟s Your Name and Temporary Heartache both screamed up the charts. SWANEE played all over the country, winning new fans wherever he went. He built a reputation as one of the best and most respected rock n roll singers in the country. Along came the Party Boys self-titled album which went number one in 3 weeks due to the success of the number one single He‟s Gonna Step On You Again and top 10 hits Hold Your Head Up and Gloria. SWANEE is a classic Australian rock artist with a bluesy feel and a voice that never disappoints much to the delight of his loyal fans Australia-wide.

DRAGON formed in Auckland in 1972, relocating to Sydney in 1975, led by enigmatic lead singer, Marc Hunter, and currently led by his brother bass player, Todd Hunter. DRAGON had the nation in mass sing-alongs with their hits the No. 1 smash, Are You Old Enough?, Still in Love with You, Rain, O Zambezi and 1977‟s hit summer anthem, April Sun in Cuba. DRAGON‟s imprint on a generation was affirmed when Are You Old Enough? was used in the opening credits of the hit TV series, Puberty Blues. DRAGON achieved legendary status in 2008 when they were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and in 2012 they celebrated their 40th anniversary with a string of sell out shows across the country.

When GANGgajang’s beloved friend and bass player Chris Bailey passed away in 2013, four original members Cal Callaghan, Buzz Bidstrup, Geoff Stapleton and Robbie James made a pact to continue on as Chris had wished to celebrate 30 years since the band began. GANGgajang released its first single, Gimme Some Lovin‟ in November 1984, reaching the top of the charts in early 1985. Shortly after, their self-titled debut album gained the number one spot in Perth and Brisbane with their quirky anthem Sounds of Then (This Is Australia) quickly finding a place on mainstream radio across Australia. Four classic albums followed including the cult Quicksilver film Mad Wax soundtrack, a retrospective DVD, and countless tours of Australia and Brazil.

KINGS OF THE SUN fronted by flamboyant showman Jeffrey Hoad, deliver hard rock and Uber cool attitude, attributes their fans have come to expect. KOTS roared onto the pub rock circuit in Sydney in the 80s. Their debut single, Bottom of my Heart hit the Australian top twenty in 1986. Not long after the band was discovered by a US talent scout and relocated to the USA signing with RCA Records. 1988 saw the release of KINGS OF THE SUNS’ self-titled debut album spawning the hits Black Leather, which appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 and Serpentine which peaked at No. 19 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart. Full Frontal Attack followed in 1988 and the single Drop the Gun peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard charts. KOTS toured extensively in the 80s and 90s across Europe and the US sharing stages with KISS, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith and Motley Crue, and in Australia, Guns N Roses, Sammy Hagar and Jimmy Barnes.

As if all of this isn‟t enough, GOLD FM LIVE will also be bringing a „mystery guest’ who’ll perform at the show, an artist with one of the biggest hits of all time in Australian rock history! As to who this is, well it‟s a secret until the night of the show!

Tickets go on sale on Monday 22 June at 9.00am and are expected to sell FAST so don’t miss out on your opportunity to see these legendary Aussies on stage.

GOLD FM LIVE – Friday, 28 August, 2015 – Jupiters Theatre, Jupiters Hotel & Casino, Broadbeach, Gold Coast