4 Australian Bands That Made the 80s a Little More Special

Were there enough bands from Down Under on the American pop/rock music scene to call it an Australian Invasion in the 80s? OK, maybe that’s a stretch. But the 80s still represented a boom time for Aussie bands in the US, at least compared to other decades.

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These four bands represented Australia quite well in the 80s. And they left behind impressive legacies of music, proving that they weren’t merely products of one of the wildest decades in music history.

AC/DC

AC/DC had a little bit of a head start when it came to pre-80s US success. The band had started to break through to the American mainstream with their 1979 album Highway To Hell. Tragedy struck, however, when lead singer Bon Scott died in February 1980. But the band carried on, hiring Welshman Brian Johnson as the new lead singer. With Johnson’s burly vocals out in front of the powerhouse guitar attack of brothers Angus and Malcolm Young, AC/DC rose to the hard-rock heights with their 1980 album Back In Black. That album set them on the thunderous path that they’ve been following ever since, even after the death of Malcolm Young in 2017.

Men At Work

Of the groups on this list, Men At Work experienced the shortest stretch in the spotlight. Combustible relationships between the band members flared up after the relatively disappointing response to their third album (Two Hearts) in 1985. Colin Hay, the face of the band as its chief singer and songwriter, started on a solo path after that. But prior to that implosion, the band released a pair of albums that were brimming with massive hit singles. Their debut (Business As Usual) featured a pair of No. 1 singles in “Who Can It Be Now” and “Down Under”. And sophomore LP Cargo might have been even better in terms of quality level from song to song.

INXS

INXS actually formed in the late 70s, although their first album didn’t appear until 1980.  While their countrymen Men At Work went worldwide in the first half of the decade, they had to settle for more local success in that stretch. Everything started to change on that front with the 1985 album Listen Like Thieves. Producer Chris Thomas pretty much locked them in a room and insisted they deliver a hit single, and they delivered with “What You Need”. The floodgates truly opened with the 1987 album Kick, which spawned a bevy of chart-busting songs. That’s when lead singer Michael Hutchence claimed his spot as one of the era’s most dynamic frontmen.

Midnight Oil

Midnight Oil didn’t seem too likely to ever break through to the American mainstream, if only because that never seemed like something that mattered much to them. Instead, they focused on bringing to light issues that were important to their Australian listeners without prettying them up for mass consumption. Yet the quality of their work eventually gained them US fans. Some MTV exposure helped, as lead singer Peter Garrett certainly possessed intense charisma to spare. Their 1987 album Diesel And Dust, featuring the unforgettable single “Beds Are Burning”, earned them their US breakthrough and a passel of American fans who’ve remained loyal since then.

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