ARIA HALL OF FAME 2006

“Its how you feel today; it’s what you feel in your heart, what your fellow artists feel about you that is most gratifying. The greatest joy you can give to anyone is to honour them and I thank you for this honour tonight. I’ve come to believe that this ARIA Hall of Fame induction is the greatest thing that’s ever happened in my career”.
Smoky Dawson, 11th July 2005

Those were the words of 92-year-old musician Smoky Dawson on his induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame last year. This inaugural event was held in front of 400 industry guests at Melbourne’s Plaza Ballroom, and broadcast nationally on VH1.

Last year Split Enz, The Easybeats, Renee Geyer, Normie Rowe, Hunters & Collectors and self-described ‘old bushie’ himself - Smoky Dawson, were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. Almost one year on and we see the likes of Split Enz selling out arenas around the country and staking out a top 5 position on the ARIA Charts with their Greatest Hits album Spellbound.

ARIA Chairman Denis Handlin said, “ARIA is delighted to stage the 2006 Hall of Fame event to honour iconic local artists that have made such a significant and enduring contribution to our music culture. The inaugural Hall of Fame event in 2005 was a tremendous success and was warmly embraced by all. I am sure that this year’s event will also be a special night of celebration for the artists being honoured, their peers and the music community.”

Off the back of that success, ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) is proud to announce the return of this dedicated event which see the Australian music community pay tribute to those artists who have contributed to this country’s music landscape.

The 2006 ARIA Hall of Fame event will take place on Wednesday August 16th, 2006 at the Plaza Ballroom at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre. With inductees selected by the ARIA Board, on August 16th, other artists will toast their peers and officially induct their forebears into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

“We are really thrilled to be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. It’s a wonderful honour and hell, we’re so chuffed we might even get up and play on the night!”
CHRISSY AMPHLETT and MARK McENTEE

Seminal Australian band of the eighties and nineties, Divinyls emerged as a partnership between guitarist Mark McEntee and one of the most powerful performers to come out of Australia, Christina (‘Chrissy’) Amphlett.

Amphlett became the front-woman of rock, embodying a sexy, brash, punk rock’n’roll ethic, while dressed in her trademark school uniform, high heels and fishnet stockings. The pair along with Jeremy Paul (formerly of Air Supply) and Rick Grossman (later of the Hoodoo Gurus) followed the honest path to rock ’n ’roll’s door, starting out playing small bars in Sydney.

They came to prominence in the early eighties after appearing in Ken Cameron’s film Monkey Grip and releasing the potent single from the soundtrack, “Boys in Town”. The single was a hit with fans and critics, reaching the Top Ten in Australia and winning the band a record contract with Chrysalis.

The group went on to record numerous albums – Desperate (1983), What a Life! (1985) and Temperamental (1988) producing rock songs that still define the genre today, some of the most memorable being “Pleasure and Pain”, “Science Fiction” and “Hey Little Boy”. Their 1991 self-titled album featured the singles “Make Out Alright” and the controversial “I Touch Myself”, which was their most successful single, reaching Number 1 in Australia and Number 4 on the mainstream charts in the USA.

Later in their career, Divinyls toured extensively as a duo with the help of world class session musicians, taking their raw, rock ’n ’roll spirit and blistering, mesmerising live show around the globe. 1995’s darker album Underworld included the singles “Heart Of Steel”, “I’m Jealous” (featured on TV’s Melrose Place), “Sex Will Keep Us Together” and the heart-rending “Human On The Inside”. An overview of their work (plus covers and rarities) Make You Happy (1981-1983) released in 1997 was followed by a stunning live album, simply titled Live (2001) as well as a definitive collection Pleasure and Pain which was released in 2003.

In a male-dominated world of rock, Amphlett’s role as part of Divinyls was a thrilling phenomenon; here was a woman who expressed both violence and vulnerability in her music, and whose ardent, sexually charged performances took audiences to new heights, and who became an icon and an inspiration to women in rock around the world.

“There is no doubt that this induction to the ARIA Hall of Fame is the crowning highlight for Icehouse and I am very pleased to accept it on behalf of the band and all those who have contributed to the successes”.
IVA DAVIES

Originally formed in 1977 as Flowers by lead singer Iva Davies and bass player Keith Welsh, Icehouse was one of the most successful Australian bands of the eighties and nineties. With various incarnations Icehouse delivered an incredible body of work for over 20 years. With an uncompromising approach to music production they created songs that ranged from pure pop escapism to edgy, lavish synthesised pieces and their career served as a platform to launch Iva Davies as an internationally successful composer of ballet and film scores.

Central to the sound of Icehouse is the voice of Iva Davies who is credited as one of the finest vocalists to come out of Australia. Flowers’ first album, Icehouse (1980), sold the equivalent of five times Platinum and spent an incredible 9 months in Top 40 Charts. It featured the debut hits “Can’t Help Myself” and “We Can Get Together”. After a name change from Flowers to Icehouse in 1981, the band began to cut their teeth internationally, touring extensively and achieving chart success.

Icehouse went on to produce no less than 8 Top Ten albums, 20 Top Forty singles, multiple top ten hits in Europe and North America and album sales in excess of 28 times Platinum in Australasia alone. With classic songs like “Crazy”, “Hey Little Girl” and “Great Southern Land” to name a few, Icehouse confirmed their place in the Australian music psyche.

Icehouse pioneered the use of emerging music technologies to produce landmark albums such as Primitive Man (1982), Sidewalk (1984), Measure for Measure (1986) and 1987’s Man of Colours which was voted Australia Album of the Year at 1988 ARIA Awards. The Number 1 single “Electric Blue” also won Most Performed Work at the 1989 APRA Awards. Man of Colours still holds the distinction of being the highest selling album in Australia by an Australian band. In 1988 the band capped off 13 months of international touring with a performance at the World Expo closing ceremony.

During the nineties, Icehouse released a further 4 albums including the multi platinum award album Code Blue (1990). Throughout their career, Icehouse has created a rich Australian music legacy, ripe with the character of the time. Their evocative songs, succinct with poetic lyrics, allude to not only the vicissitudes of love and lust, but also capture a distinct sense of place and identity unique to the Australian continent.

“The Hall of Fame is filling up fast with great Australian talent so Daddy Cool is very happy to have secured a berth in the 2006 induction. Since our reunion last year for the Tsunami Benefit Concert Hanna, Wayne, Gary & myself have realized that when us 4 guys get together we will always be Daddy Cool and we’re looking forward to showing you what a unique thing that is when we perform at the ARIA Hall of Fame on August 16.” ROSS WILSON

The Daddy Cool story is one of the pivotal chapters in Australian rock history. Their debut single and LP were the biggest selling Australian records ever released up to that time, and ushered in a new phase of Australian rock, which began to seek new audiences beyond our own shores. Originally a side-project for Ross Wilson (rhythm guitar, vox) and Ross Hannaford (guitar), Daddy Cool exploded onto the Australian scene in late 1970.

With Gary Young on drums and Wayne Duncan on bass, their fifties style rock ’n ’roll music played with a seventies attitude caught the attention of producer/label owner Robie Porter, who took the band into the studio to record their first single, the one and only “Eagle Rock”, which rewrote the books for Australian pop music. It stayed at Number 1 nationally for 8 weeks and Number 1 in Melbourne for a record-breaking 17 weeks. Charting for 25 weeks in all, it was the best selling Australian single of 1971. July 1971 saw their debut album Daddy Who? Daddy Cool released and featuring another mega-hit, “Come Back Again”, it immediately soared to Number 1 and smashed all previous sales records. It went Gold within a month and went on to become the very first Australian album to sell 100,000 copies.

Daddy Who? Daddy Cool was also released in the US and the band toured in support of the release. A second album, provocatively titled Sex, Dope, Rock ’n Roll - Teenage Heaven was released in mid-January 1972 and again reached the Top Ten in Australia. After less than 3 years Daddy Cool called it a day in August 1972. Since then, Daddy Cool has made memorable festival reformations for Sunbury in 1974 and 1975, but never performed again until 2005 for a Tsunami benefit concert in Melbourne.

“Eagle Rock” was named the second Greatest Ever Australian Song by APRA in May 2001 and was voted one of the Top Ten Australian Songs of All Time at the ARIA Awards in 2001. Such were the ripples created by this song around the globe that Elton John and Bernie Taupin quoted “Eagle Rock” as the prime inspiration for the massive hit “Crocodile Rock”. Daddy Cool is an undeniable part of Australian rock ’n ’roll folklore; purveyors of pure pop genius, they lifted the bar to define new possibilities for Australian music on an international level.

As with the previous event, ARIA intends to keep a component of the Hall of Fame for the Music Awards in October. Last year Jimmy Barnes was the final artist to be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame for 2005 and this will continue to be tradition within the ARIA Music Awards each year.

The 2006 ARIA Hall of Fame event will be broadcast exclusively on subscription television. Foxtel and Austar Digital subscribers will be able to see this special telecast on VH1 on Sunday, August 20th at 8.30pm.

Don’t miss the opportunity to witness the legendary performers and songwriters who have had an impact on music culture in Australia and stand by for further ARIA Hall of Fame announcements.

2006 ARIA Hall of Fame
Wednesday August 16th, 2006
Plaza Ballroom, Regent Theatre, Melbourne
With inductees Divinyls, Icehouse, Daddy Cool, and more to be announced.