While it can’t really compare in size or impact to the 1960s British Invasion led by the Beatles, there was something that happened during an eclectic time in American pop music history in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which has come to be known as the Aussie Invasion. A diverse collection of Australian bands and solo artists was popular around the same time, expanding the world’s perspective of this continent best known at that point for the rugged outback inhabited by exotic animals like kangaroos, emus, and dingoes.
Music fans would become enchanted by the unique blend of pop, folk-rock, jazz, and country they served up, often in a fun, laid-back style. Though Australia has a long and unique musical history going back to bush ballads and indigenous music, this was the first real Aussie pop music movement and would make a lasting impression. These are 10 of the top Australian acts to come out of the Aussie pop music invasion.
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10 Rick Springfield
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Following a string of mostly one-off acting roles in 1970s TV series like The Incredible Hulk, Australian entertainer Rick Springfield made his mark in the U.S. as a singer during the height of the Aussie Invasion with the release of the catchy song “Jessie’s Girl” from his 1980 album Working Class Dog. The sexy, good-looking Springfield became a teen heartthrob as the single climbed the charts to #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. He also scored early 1980s hits with singles: “I’ve Done Everything for You,” “Love Is Alright Tonite,” and “Don’t Talk to Strangers,” which reached #2.
Springfield quickly landed a long-term acting gig on the soap opera General Hospital and added many more TV and film credits to his resume over the years. Decades later, he combined his abilities as an actor and pop singer, co-starring opposite Meryl Streep in the 2015 dramedy Ricki and the Flash.[1]
9 Andy Gibb
The younger brother of the Bee Gees members Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, teen idol Andy Gibb achieved success as a solo pop star in the U.S. during the Australian Invasion. The charming, cute, soft-spoken Andy sent the hearts of many a teenage girl a flutter performing songs like “I Just Want to Be Your Everything” (1977), written by eldest brother Barry, which became the first big hit for Andy. The following year, he had three top ten hits from his Shadow Dancing album, including the title track co-written by Andy and the Bee Gees, which went platinum.
His well-publicized drug addiction would contribute to his death in 1988 at the age of 30, even though he had reportedly overcome the addiction by then. The age gap between Andy and his brothers, which kept him out of the Bee Gees, gave him the opportunity for a sparkling if brief, solo career among the many highlights of the Aussie Invasion.[2]
8 Helen Reddy
After years of struggling to reach the top, Australian-American singer Helen Reddy became a household name with her female liberation anthem “I Am Woman” in 1975. While this was definitely the biggest highlight of her career, Reddy, who had grown up in a theatrical family and toured in Vaudeville at an early age, would continue to be a prominent entertainer throughout the Aussie Invasion. She had multiple hit songs during this period, including “Make Love to Me” (1979), her cover of “You’re My World” (1977), and her last hit single, “I Can’t Say Goodbye to You,” released in 1981.
In an era dominated by disco, funk, and edgy rock, Reddy’s mellow romantic voice performing easy-listening ballads was reminiscent of more traditional music, representing the jazzier, blues-influenced aspect of Australian pop. Though her singing career faded in the early ’80s, Reddy’s work as an actress and TV personality continued for many years.[3]
7 Peter Allen
Born Peter Woolnough in 1944 in the small town of Tenterfield, Australia, which he would, one day, immortalize in song, the flamboyant entertainer, later known as Peter Allen, began the American phase of his career working with future mother-in-law Judy Garland in 1964. Ten years later, Peter Allen had gone solo, divorced Liza Minnelli, and reinvented himself as an intriguing combination of introspective balladeer and charismatic showman.
After finding success playing cabaret circuits and penning hit songs for other artists like Olivia Newton-John and Melissa Manchester, Allen came into his own during the Aussie invasion when writing and performing his own material, including his signature dance number “I Go to Rio.” The song made him a popular live entertainer, selling out venues like Radio City Music Hall, where his famous Christmas shows with the Rockettes took place.
Bicoastal, his second album to chart in the U.S., yielded a hit single on the adult contemporary chart with “Fly Away.” He won an Oscar in 1982 as co-writer of “Arthur’s Theme.” A decade after his 1992 death from AIDS, Allen’s music was revived in the Broadway show “The Boy from Oz” starring Hugh Jackman in the biographical musical, which helped new generations discover what made Peter Allen an integral part of the Aussie Invasion.[4]
6 Men at Work
Formed in Melbourne in 1978, Men at Work was one of the most memorable rock bands of the Aussie Invasion, taking the pop music world by storm in the early 1980s. Made up of members Colin Hay, Greg Ham, Ron Strykert, Jerry Speiser, and John Rees, the group is not easily defined, recording music that fits into several different rock sub-genres, including punk, new wave, and pop/rock. Their extremely popular 1981 release “Business as Usual” made them the first Australian artists to have the #1 album and single in the U.S. at the same time.
Men at Work stood out for their fun, somewhat eccentric style of music and the humorous music videos for songs like “Down Under” and “Who Can It Be Now?” which helped drive record sales. However, the group also earned respect from the music industry, winning a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1983. The band broke up by 1986, but ten years later, two of the original members, Hay and Ham, reunited under the name Men at Work, which included several new musicians. They performed together until 2012, the year Ham died. Hay began touring with another band in 2019 called Men at Work, although he was the only original member.[5]
5 Little River Band
𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐝 – 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 – 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 – 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟗
Among the most enduring bands of the Australian Invasion, Little River Band has focused on international success from its inception in 1975. According to a 2016 VMP article: “One of their goals upon formation was to get on American radio by writing songs with a strong vocal focus, featuring four or five-part harmonies coupled with melodic, not-too-heavy guitar and catchy progressions.” They far exceeded this ambition. By 1982, the band had set a Billboard record with six consecutive years of top hits in the U.S., including “Reminiscing,” “Lonesome Loser,” and “The Night Owls.”
The laid-back soft-rock style set them apart from flashier Aussie Invader peers. It may be the lack of trendiness and the reliance on well-crafted songs that have helped Little River Band to remain popular for so long. It wasn’t just its brand of music that was mature; the band was made up of seasoned musicians with backgrounds in well-known Australian bands. It was the joining together of these already accomplished artists and their immediate success that labeled them a super-group from the start. After selling over 30 million records, the band is still active five decades after its formation.[6]
4 Olivia Newton-John
Born in England in 1948, Olivia Newton-John was primarily raised in Australia. Though she found success as a country and pop artist before The Aussie Invasion, the singer-actress’s best years would align with this chapter in pop music history marked by soulful ballads “Hopelessly Devoted to You” (1978), “A Little More Love” (1978), and the Cliff Richard duet “Suddenly” (1980). Her wholesome, girl-next-door image was refreshing during this relatively jaded era in pop music. This persona was reinforced through her portrayal of straight-laced Sandy in the hit film Grease.
Like Sandy’s character, Olivia Newton-John would one day surprise everyone by revealing a sexier side to her personality when she recorded early 1980s hits like “Physical” and “Make a Move on Me.” Just as Grease resulted in the release of several hit singles for Newton-John, the theme to her campy 1980 film Xanadu would become one of this cherry songstress’s most memorable songs. Olivia Newton-John continued to sing and act for many years until her death in 2022.[7]
3 INXS
The new wave rock band INXS started as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The group included Andrew Farriss, who was the main composer and keyboardist, along with lead singer and primary lyricist Michael Hutchence, bassist Garry Gary Beers, guitarist Tim Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, and guitarist/saxophonist Kirk Pengilly. The band’s songs, even in these early years, were often more raw and experimental than what listeners had come to expect from Australian pop.
Another thing that set them apart from other Aussie invaders bands was their decision to launch the group internationally before they had made it Down Under. Their danceable music and the sex appeal of Hutchence, in particular, threatened to categorize them as a typical party band, an image they fought against.
While the group would evolve over their 35-year run, they had already shown significant growth by 1981 with their second album, Underneath the Colours. Though some of their most popular songs would be released during the late ’80s and early ’90s, INXS made a real impact with their 1982 breakthrough international single “Don’t Change,” which the Guardian called the band’s “first genuine anthem.” It would go on to be covered by multiple artists, including Bruce Springsteen.[8]
2 Bee Gees
The most famous group associated with the Australian Invasion was actually an English transplant, having immigrated to Queensland, Australia, in 1958, when the Brothers Gibb were all children. However, they were pioneers of Aussie pop music, cutting their teeth as professional musicians as the genre was developed in the late 1950s and early ’60s. While the group, comprised of Barry, Robin, and Maurice, would succeed in the 1960s, their biggest, most enduring contributions were made during their phenomenal comeback in the 1970s, buoyed by the 1977 Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
The Bee Gees would become synonymous with disco, which revived their career and, a few short years later, all but destroyed it. Though the brothers did eventually enjoy a resurgence in popularity, the period between 1975 and 1979 was the band’s golden era, memorable for such hit singles as “Jive Talkin’,” “How Deep is Your Love,” “Stayin’ Alive,” “Night Fever” and “Too Much Heaven.” The Bee Gees’ impact went beyond music as they became pop culture icons of the 1970s, but it is obvious that their talent as songwriters and recording artists was the backbone of the group’s accomplishments, allowing them to defy music trends and rise from the ashes more than once over the years.[9]
1 AC/DC
One of the most famous hard-rock bands of the ’70s and ’80s was from Australia, the bad boy heavy metal group AC/DC, whose meteoric rise coincided with the Aussie Invasion. Initially a glam-rock band based in Sydney, AC/DC started in 1973, formed by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. It wasn’t until 1977 that a decidedly grittier incarnation released their first album to land on the U.S. charts, Let There Be Rock.
A powerful live act whose name was well-suited to their electric onstage presence, AC/DC scored another hit with the concert album If You Want Blood, You’ve Got It, enthusiastically embraced by fans and critics. However, their biggest triumphs were still ahead with the multi-platinum-selling Highway to Hell”(1979) and the even more successful Back to Black recorded just after the tragic 1980 death of lyricist and second lead-singer Bon Scott.
The shockingly irreverent band would eventually sell more than 200 million records worldwide. There’s no doubt AC/DC has experienced plenty of behind-the-scenes turbulence during their 50+ years, but as Rock 95 says: “Their perseverance paid off, making them one of the most influential rock bands in history.”[10]