Split Enz first reached New Zealand’s attention with an appearance on the New Faces talent show in 1973, where they finished second-to-last. Their early material was too weird for the mainstream, comparable to early Genesis or Roxy Music, and Phil…
Robert Forster and Grant McLennan met at the University of Queensland. Despite McLennan’s lack of musical experience, they formed a band, combining the tunefulness of The Monkees with the edge of The Velvet Underground. Their first album was recorded as…
Dire Straits emerged at the height of punk in the UK, where Mark Knopfler’s smooth and accomplished guitar playing was at odds with the prevailing trends. Along with Mark Freuder Knopfler’s style choices, like sweatbands, Dire Straits were never cool.…
The late John Martyn never enjoyed the mass acclaim that his immense talent deserved. Nonetheless he delivered a string of great records in the 1970s and early 1980s. He started as a folk artist, emerging in the late 1960s alongside…
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel met in 1953, when they appeared in their school’s production of Alice in Wonderland – Simon played the White Rabbit and Garfunkel the Cheshire Cat. Learning to harmonise together, they released their first single, ‘Hey…
Paul Simon’s songs are part of the American landscape, a thoughtful man documenting his inner dialogue in popular song. From Simon and Garfunkel songs like ‘America’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ to solo songs like ‘American Tune’ and ‘Graceland’, his…
Michigan’s Stevland Hardaway Morris started his recording career young – taking the name Little Stevie Wonder, he recorded his first album at the age of 12. His second album, Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius, and his 1963 single…
When Mike Scott formed The Waterboys he was the group’s only member, recording most of their self-titled 1983 debut alone in the studio. Since then, The Waterboys have churned through more than 85 members – Scott believes this is a…
Gene Clark is best-known as an original member of The Byrds. He was the first to leave the group – with a fear of flying he disliked touring, while the other members resented his song-writing royalties. The most accomplished songwriter…
Hüsker Dü are among the embarrassment of riches to emerge from Minnesota in the 1980s – their state’s contemporaries include Prince, The Replacements, and Soul Asylum. The three-piece band played energetic and emotive music – they started playing hardcore punk,…
A quirky alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, the Pixies effectively bridged two eras in guitar rock; the underground bands of the 1980s like Hüsker Dü and the mega-selling 1990s alt-rock bands like Nirvana and Radiohead. The four-piece guitar band…
Despite his talent, it took Billy Joel a long time to find success. He played piano on the Shangri-Las’ ‘Remember (Walking in the Sand)’ in 1964 as a teenager – although it’s unclear whether he appeared on a demo or…
