Skunkhour - 1997 - Chin Chin FLAC

Breathing Through My Eyes/Chew/Morning Rolls/Tommorrow's Too Soon/Foam/Unison/Opportunist/Another Childish Man/Old Shoe Horn/Weightlessness/Nature Stripped/Pulse





Skunkhour are an Australian funk rock band that were formed in Sydney in 1991. They released four studio albums, Skunkhour (July 1993), Feed (April 1995), Chin Chin (July 1997) and The Go (May 2001) before disbanding in November 2001. Feed peaked at No. 21 on the ARIA Albums Chart while Chin Chin reached No. 34. Four of the groups songs, "Up to Our Necks in It" (1995), "Weightlessness" (1997), "Home" (1999), and "Kick in the Door" (2000) were listed in the annual Triple J Hottest 100. The group has reformed periodically since 2009 for occasional concerts and festival appearances.

Skunkhour began as an urban funk band with the Sutherland brothers Dean on bass guitar and Michael on drums and Warwick Scott on lead guitar. They relocated to Sydney by 1992 and were joined by the Larkin brothers Aya on lead vocals and Del as a rapper both of whom had a background in ska bands. Del's departure in late 1996 marked a stylistic shift from funk and rap to more melodic funk-based rock.Chin Chin is the third album by Australian band Skunkhour. It was released in 1997 and peaked at No.34 on the Australian album charts in August. The album was the second on the Sony/Epic label and was produced by Magoo, whose credits included Regurgitator and Powderfinger.

Three singles were taken from the album—"Breathing Through My Eyes" (May 1997), "Weightlessness" (August) and "Morning Rolls" (November).
 

 The album was the band's first after the departure of founding vocalist/rapper Del Larkin, who quit to pursue a career in Walt Disney Animation Studios. Bassist Dean Sutherland told the Herald Sun the lineup change forced a reshaping of the band's sound from funk-influenced hip hop to robust electronic soul. "It's the exit of the rap and the entrance of melody," he said. "I love hip hop, but with Del leaving, we weren't going to try and fill his shoes by getting another rapper, so we just continued without him."

The band conceived and developed many of the tracks while touring in Europe in early 1997 and said the sound bore some European influences. "We get a lot of our musical ideas from sound checks," guitarist Warwick Scott told The Age. "We just jammed and a lot of the new material came from those sound checks all over Europe."

Kate Ceberano - 1996 - Blue Box FLAC

Change/Blue Box/Love And Affection/The Rules/Living With Lies/Looking At You/All That I Want Is You/One Small Request/Something That You Really Need/Around This Time Of Day/Mantra/Save Your Love For Me/Brilliant Lies (From The Motion Picture)



Catherine "Kate" Ceberano AM (born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer. She achieved success in the soul, jazz and pop genres, as well as in her brief forays into musicals—with Jesus Christ Superstar—and film. She has also achieved success as a songwriter, with the hit "Pash" receiving a gold sales certification in 1998.

Blue Box is a 1996 album released by recording artist Kate Ceberano. The album's second single, "Change" was nominated for two ARIA Awards in 1996.  

Following the success of the 1992 Australian leg of Jesus Christ Superstar, Ceberano was inundated with interest from various record labels. She elected to go with Elektra Records and moved to New York to record an album with producer Fred Maher. On the eve of delivering the album to the label, Elekra records named Sylvia Rhone as its chairman and CEO. Rhone sacked seventy-eight artists (including Ceberano) as she wanted to turn the Elektra into a hip hop label and Ceberano's album was scrapped.  Some of these songs appeared on Blue Box.

Ceberano returned to Australia where she filmed the TV show and recorded the album Kate Ceberano and Friends, which was released in January 1994. Ceberano hired Richard East as her manager and they signed with Mushroom Records to record a new album. Ceberano and East travelled to London to write and record and whilst East was stayed in London to work on the musical Mamma Mia!, Ceberano travelled to Los Angeles and worked with Mark Goldenberg on a number of songs. Mushroom Records eventually released the album in 1996, which consisted of songs from all of these recording sessions. In her 2014 autobiography, Ceberano said "I'm not sure how the [new] material sat with the Globe songs. After all the arguing, with myself and with other people, over what kind of singer I was, whether I was a jazz singer or a pop singer, Blue Box gave me the confidence to think of myself simply as a singer".

Kings Of The Sun - 1990 - Full Frontal Attack FLAC

Crazy/Lock Me Up/Drop The Gun/There Is Danger/Hooked On It/Vampire/Rescue Me/Full Frontal Attack/Howling Wind/I Get Lonely/Haunt You Baby/Overdrive



 Kings of the Sun (also abbreviated K.O.T.S.) is an Australian hard rock band formed by Jeffrey Hoad and Clifford Hoad in Sydney in 1986.


In 1986 the band was signed to Mushroom Records, where they recorded their first single. During this time both Tommy Poulter and John McKinnon left the band and Anthony Ragg was brought in to take McKinnon's place. Their debut single, "Bottom of My Heart", was released in 1986 with "Bad Love" as its B-side. After its release "Bottom of My Heart" charted in the ARIA Singles chart at #47. Both songs would later be re-recorded for their 1988 debut album, Kings of the Sun.

The band was signed to RCA Records after the RCA executive Simon Lowe saw them perform in Sydney and the band traveled to New York City to work on their first album. Bandmate Ron Thiessen did not accompany them, as he left prior to the band being signed, and he was replaced by Anthony Ragg.  In 1988 the band released their self-titled debut album Kings of the Sun, which was produced by Eddie Kramer and mixed by Dave Thoener.

 A single from the album, "Serpentine", placed on the 19th position of the U.S. Mainstream Rock Songs chart `and in Australia, made it to position 48.  The album's second single, "Black Leather", made the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at 98th position. After the album released Glenn Morris joined the band to play lead guitar and the group toured the United States and Europe.  They returned to Australia in 1988 to open for Guns N' Roses, but were kicked out of the tour after Clifford Hoad "dropped his pants in front of the audience and bad-mouthed Guns N' Roses publicly".  There had also been tension due to a remark Hoad made in an interview for the Australian On the Street magazine, where he claimed that Guns N' Roses took much of their image from Rose Tattoo.  Years later Hoad responded to this by stating "When I said those things, I meant them. It wasn’t necessarily aimed at Guns N’Roses. It was aimed at the Australian press and public. ‘OK, make a fuss over Guns N’Roses but at least know that Rose Tattoo exists.”

More lineup changes occurred in 1986 after Morris left the band to join The Screaming Tribesmen, although he rejoined KOTS before the band released their second album, Full Frontal Attack in 1990.


Full Frontal Attack was released in August 1990 and was produced by William Wittman. Dave Thoener returned to mix the album.  The album's first single, "Drop the Gun", received a positive reception and reached the 30th position in the Billboards Mainstream Rock Songs chart. Other singles released include "Haunt You Baby" and "I Get Lonely". After the album's release Kings of the Sun toured with The Screaming Jets in 1991. Full Frontal Attack was the last album the band released through RCA Records and Morris and Ragg left the band in 1992. 

The band's third album Resurrection was released in 1993 through Mushroom Records.  It was recorded at A&M Studios and Paramount Studios and was mastered at Precision Mastering.  Phil Soussan and Brad Spurr both contributed to the record and Spurr joined the band after its release.

Kings Of The Sun self-produced the album except for two tracks by mixer Mark Dearnley, "First Thing About Rock'n'Roll (I Remember)" and "Fuzz".  Two singles were released from the album, "Trapped Inside Your Heart" and "Road to Nowhere", and the band supported Jimmy Barnes on his Australian tour during 1993. 

 Spurr left the band around 1995 and was replaced by Dean Turner on bass.  The single Bombs Away was independently released in 1995.


The band recorded their album Daddy Was A Hobo Man!! in 1997 and was not released until 2011, when it was made available as an independent release.  Of the album, Clifford Hoad stated that they did not want to release an album similar to their prior releases and that "This album, we wanted to record with no commercial pressure what so ever, also, at the time we wanted to record as a 3 piece and live in the studio, this is what you’re hearing."

In 1998 the band supported Sammy Hagar's Australian tour. Kings of the Sun officially disbanded in 2001.

GANGgajang - 1996 - The Essential FLAC

 Sounds Of Then (This Is Australia/Gimme Some Lovin'/Hundreds Of Languages/Ordinary World/Giver Of Life/Distraction/Talk To Me/The Bigger They Are/Initiation/Maybe I/American Money/The Shadow Of Your Love/The Luck Of The Irish/Ambulance Men/Tree Of Love/House Of Cards/To The North/Initiation (Mad Wax Mix)Sounds Of Then (Mad Wax Mix)



 GANGgajang was formed in 1984 after several songwriting sessions for the ABC TV program Sweet & Sour. Some of the songs were used in the show but Mark "Cal" Callaghan from The Riptides, former members of The Angels drummer Graham "Buzz" Bidstrup and bassist Chris Bailey, together with Kayellen Bee and Marilyn Delaney, decided a brand new band would best showcase their songs.

After adding former Aliens guitarist and keyboard player Geoffrey Stapleton and Adelaide born guitarist Robert James, "GANGgajang" became their self titled debut album. With sales in excess of 120,000, it spawned the hit singles Gimme Some Lovin, House of Cards, Giver of Life, The Bigger They Are and the now unofficial Australian national anthem, Sounds of Then (This is Australia).

In 1987, GANGgajang's music was featured exclusively in the Quiksilver surf movie Mad Wax. The film became a cult surf classic and introduced the band to a worldwide audience. GANGgajang was named "World's Best Band" two years in a row by the World Pro Surfers' Association.

A second album, gangAGAIN in 1987, completed the first phase of the band as everyone took some time to pursue individual projects. Over the next few years Cal released a solo album, Buzz played sessions, produced albums and movie soundtracks, Chris worked with artists as diverse as Jimmy Barnes, Alannah Miles and Nathan Cavaleri, Geoff formed The Dukes with Sean Kelly and Rob wrote a book, "The Second Best Book of Disunderstandabilism" and recorded his songs with Wendy Matthews. In 1991, the band reformed (without Kayellen and Marilyn, who had gone on to successful careers in the film industry), and took to the road for one brief tour. The audience response was so overwhelming it encouraged the band to record the 3rd album, Lingo which was released in 1994 on Rooart and chalked up another three hit singles, Hundreds of Languages, Talk To Me, and Ordinary World. Lingo is now available on BMG records. In 1995, the first two albums were repackaged into The Essential GANGgajang, which has now sold over 30,000 on the Shock label.

  The GANG also toured Brazil for the first time, playing to over 60,000 rapturous fans in ten concerts through nine cities and in 1996 the Nine TV Network adopted Sounds of Then (This is Australia) for its 1996 year promotion, sparking a revived interest in the band's live dates around Australia. The GANG continue to perform across Australia and beyond and in February 2001 they completed their third tour of Brazil, performing to enormous crowds . When not performing or recording together as GANGgajang each member is otherwise occupied. Singer Mark Callaghan is General Manager of Shock Music Publishing, drummer Buzz Bidstrup has managed Australian music legend Jimmy Little since the release of his 1999 ARIA award winning CD "The Messenger", while guitarist Robert James released his first solo album Suzannah Suite and is now recording a second in between touring Australia in solo mode and with Australian icons Yothu Yindi.

Keyboard player and resident artist Geoffrey Stapleton is now living in Adelaide and preparing his next exhibition of paintings to be called "Oceans and Deserts" while maintaining and developing www.GANGgajang.com. Chris Bailey is working in a wide variety of music cultures in Sydney and has produced an album for singer/songwriter Dave Debs. Chris also plays in Jimmy Little's live band. The steady requests for GANGgajang live appearances at events across Australia gives them the valued opportunity to continue doing what they do so well. The band has played together for over twenty years and every live performance is as special as their last. They love what they do and so does the audience. The GANG played the Sydney Opera House and Darling Harbour as part of the Corroboree 2000 celebrations and during the Olympics the band was in demand for concert appearances around Sydney as part of the Olympic Arts Festival

October 2002 saw the release of the long awaited fourth album, "Oceans and Deserts" to critical acclaim and extensive airplay across Australia on ABC radio. A live concert featuring a selection of new songs and some of the classics was filmed for the ABC's "Live At The Basement" series for screening on 25th May 2004.

Linda George - 1974 - Linda FLAC

Hard To Be Friends/Indian Summer/The Singer/Mama's Little Girl/You And Me Against The World/How Many Days/Give It Love/Memphis Nights/Love Me/Between Her Goodbye And My Hello


Linda George was born in 1951 in the United Kingdom and emigrated with her family to Australia in 1964 where they settled in Adelaide, South Australia in the Satellite migrant town of Elizabeth. By 1968, George had already worked professionally as a duo and moved to Melbourne to find more musical experiences. George had joined her first band Nova Express, a jazz fusion group similar in repertoire to United States acts Chicago and Blood Sweat and Tears in 1973.

Linda George signed with independent label, Image Records, and released her first solo single "Let's Fly Away" in May In March 1973, she took the role of Acid Queen in the Australian stage production of The Who's rock opera Tommy. Her fellow cast included Daryl Braithwaite, Colleen Hewett, Billy Thorpe, Ross Wilson, Jim Keays, Doug Parkinson, Broderick Smith, Wendy Saddington, Bobby Bright and The Who's own Keith Moon (as Uncle Ernie for the Melbourne show only). It was later televised by the Seven Network and received a TV award for the year's most outstanding creative effort. For the Sydney show, Australian music commentator Ian "Molly" Meldrum replaced Moon. George won the TV Week King of Pop award for "Best New Female Artist" (1973).

The raised exposure helped promote her second single in July, her cover version of the Gladys Knight & the Pips US hit "Neither One of Us", arranged by the Australian music writer and pianist Peter Jones, which peaked at No. 12 on Go-Set's National Top 40 singles chart. George's follow up single, a remake of Ruby and the Romantics 1963 hit "Our Day Will Come" with a co-production between Peter Jones music arranger and Image records., reached the Top 40 in February 1974.

Her debut LP album, Linda, appeared in August on Image Records. Session musicians were used and US record producer Jack Richardson (Alice Cooper, The Guess Who, Poco and Bob Seger) was brought to Australia by label boss, John McDonald, The first single from Linda was her biggest hit and became her signature song, "Mama's Little Girl" (previously by Dusty Springfield), which went to No. 8 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. The second single, "Give It Love", did not reach the top 40. Linda peaked at No. 32 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and stayed in the top 100 for five months. George won awards for "Best Female Vocalist" and "Best Female Single".

 She appeared both in the 1973 and at the 1975 Sunbury Pop Festival in January. Richardson also produced her second album, Step by Step, which was released in December. It featured a tougher rock sound compared to the previous album's soul and pop sound. After the first album Linda she parted ways with her management company. To promote it she formed the Linda George Band which performed throughout 1976 to positive reviews. The album's first single "Shoo Be Doo Be Doo Dah Day" charted reasonably well in former hometown Adelaide, but public reaction in the rest of Australia was lukewarm. The album peaked in the Top 40. A third single, the title track, was released in May 1976 but failed to make the charts. George then released a non-album single "Sitting in Limbo" in November 1978, a cover of the Jimmy Cliff song, it also did not chart. George left Image to continue working as a session singer and raise her children. Throughout this time George continued to be in demand for live television performances throughout Australia, and occasional solo performance shows. Peter Faiman produced an iconic segment with George in the "Paul Hogan" show and she featured regularly on the 'Naked Vicar show', and Don Lane and Bert Newton shows.