Initially unsure whether to do a novelty song podcast without the inclusion of Mr R Harris, Rod

Crundwell and Hugh Liney have persisted and herein list a bunch of wacko songs from Australian

music history by characters such as Lucky Starr, John Williamson, Joe Dolce and even more oddly

some sicko Melburnians who hid behind a novelty name —This is Serious Mum or TISM. Hereafter

come many songs people love others just love to hate – what a formula for a top podcast.

Buddy Williams was just BS (Before Slim) and could yodel like a Tyrolean in high distress. Many of

Australia’s country music stars – historically collected then dissected here by Hugh Liney and Rod

Crundwell – have fascinating backgrounds. Like: Did you know Jean Stafford’s father was a native

Navajo American? Jimmy Little’s real musical loves shine on with his gospel and country leanings

rather than the ‘tosh’ some people recorded with him. Tap your heels to three chords and God’s

truth — strewth it’s fun.

Like the Leyland Brothers before them, our bush and beach boffins Hugh Liney and Rod Crundwell

‘travel all over the countryside’ collecting the best songs about the Australian urge to get away from

it all. Greg Quill wanders like a Gypsy Queen, Richard Clapton and The Pigram Brothers dream of

Byron Bay and James Reyne sings another song where we can’t understand a ‘country’ word he said.

The Triffids make sure we know what they mean by repeating the phrase Wide Open Road two

hundred times.

Rod Crundwell and Hugh Liney add to their successful first series of music histories and return to to

the 60s when singers had names like Johnny, Ronnie and Normie, when Lynne Randell and Jimi

Hendrix supported the Monkees (true Fact!) and local bands like The Executives and The Groop

came so close to the always-desired but maybe over-hyped ‘overseas’ success. We find out more

about other significant contributions to Helen Reddy’s I am Woman, including those of men.

Bigger than any Sherbet v Skyhooks feud of the ‘70s was The Saints from Brisbane v Radio Birdman from Sydney. Who was the thrashiest, nastiest punk band in Australia? Maybe the title eventually went south to the fearfully confronting Nick Cave and his Boys Next Door.

Compared to its UK musical precursor Australian Glam was slow to start and quick to finish. Whatever cultural climate change was happening in the ‘70s who can’t raise a real sweat today at the thought of Hush, William Shakespeare and Skyhooks in costumes that would make Gary Glitter blush.

Initially inspired by the harder English sounds of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and then inevitably by the almighty Gods of Thunder themselves Led Zeppelin who toured in 1972, Australian hard rock’s early days flirted with chart success with Zoot and Buffalo. However, it wasn’t until the 80s that an Australian pub-based hard rock sound found success.

Before the world went ‘doof’ and the worldwide explosion of EDM there was synth pop. In Australia in the ‘80s, every second band suddenly had a Yamaha DX7 keyboard, a sequencer, a ‘keytar’ or a Roland drum machine.

Remember Mackenzie Theory? Sons of the Vegetal Mother? Madder Lake? No? Well sample the early days of Midnight Oil and Split Enz before they progged up the charts with songs of more suitable structure and duration…

In Australia we had The Easybeats doing psych, The Masters Apprentices even more so, a monumentally mind-blowing Dave Miller hit, and in recent years one of the world’s truly greatest psychedelia practitioners ever.