M@tt Finish - 1984 - Word 0f Mouth FLAC Cassette

Out On Those Moments/Tai Ming Money/Come On Over/Light Up My Days/Always Another/Died In Love/Does It Feel/Words And War/Still Roads (I Need It)/Blind And Running


 Formed in 1978 by vocalist/guitarist Matt Moffitt and drummer John Prior, the sound owed much to Matt’s impassioned voice and lyrical songwriting and John’s dynamic musical arrangements, complete with Jeff Clayton’s melodic, economical guitar parts and Rick Grossman’s muscular bass.
from the Matt Finish website

 After two years of performing eight shows a week on the Australian pub circuit, Matt Finish was signed to Peter Dawkins’ The Giant Recording Company. At the finish of 1980, the band released their debut double-A-side single, “Matt Finish Plays Africa” with the songs “C.I.A.” and “Mancini Shuffle”

The following year, 1981, saw the release of the band’s first album Short Note, followed by the live EP Fade Away. Finally, as a result of Moffitt’s declining health, the band split up at the end of the year.
A year passed before Moffitt, Prior and Clayton reformed in 1983, joined later in the year by Bertie Dorset. The new line-up recommenced touring and, in November, released Matt Finish. This EP was followed in 1984 by the album Word of Mouth.

The band again broke up in 1985 when Moffitt decided to start a solo recording career.

In 1990 Matt Finish reformed with original members Moffitt and Prior joined by Jennifer Barrett (guitar), former Eurogliders members Guy Le Claire (guitar) and Lindsay Jehan (bass). In 1991 the band split.

 Moffitt released a limited edition solo acoustic CD EP, “Euroka”, in April 1992.

In June 1992, Matt Finish released “One Day at a Time”, the first Matt Finish single produced in eight years.

 The line-up changed once again, and in 1993 the band, comprising Moffitt, Paul Dawkins (keyboards), Rohan Cannon (guitar), Bobby Christian (bass) and Adrian Cannon (drums) recorded Matt Finish’s third album, By Heart, and released the EP Earthbound. The following year the band released the singles “Blue” and “Will I Ever Know?” recorded with Eliot Reynolds and Justin Leaf. Moffitt, Reynolds and Dawkins co-wrote many new tracks but the band split yet again. Dawkins and Moffitt continued to work together for a couple of years after, including the recording and mixing of an (at the time of writing) unreleased album that contained ten songs

In 2001, Matt Moffitt and Rick Grossman formed the band Fire Hand Ember, with Joseph Calderazzo (guitar/bv) and Wayne Gretch (drums). FHE performed about 20 times, sometimes under the names “Matt Finish” and “Matt Moffitt”, including at the launch of Just a Short Note (The Best Of) in December.

    On 13 August 2003, Matt Moffitt died in Sydney in his sleep from a stroke at the age of 46.

Various - 1980 - Andrew Durant Memorial Concert Cassette FLAC

Back Again/Pick Up The Pieces/Paradise/Jive Time/Good Times/Last Of The Riverboats/Jupiter Creek/Ocean Deep/Look After Yourself/Innocent Bystanders/Iceman/Solitaire/Wasted Words/Song For The Road/Mighty Rock/Knockin' On Heaven's Door


Andrew MacLeish Durant (1955 – 6 May 1980) was an Australian musician-songwriter. He was a member of country rock group Stars (1976–79) providing guitar, harmonica, and backing vocals. He was also a session and backing musician for a range of artists. He died of cancer, aged 25. On 19 August 1980 a tribute performance was held in his honour, with a live double-album recorded by various artists, Andrew Durant Memorial Concert, which was released on 9 March 1981. All but three tracks were written by Durant. It peaked at No. 8 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and reached No. 40 on the End of Year Top 100 Albums Chart for 1981.



  Back Again  (Mick Pealing)
  Pick Up The Pieces (Feat. Glyn Mason of The Rebels, Chain, Home & Ariel) 
  Paradise (Feat. Renée Geyer) 
  Jive Town  (Mick Pealing)
  Good Times (Feat. Mick Pealing & Jimmy Barnes) 
  The Last Of The Riverboats (Feat. Jimmy Barnes) 
  Jupiter Creek (Feat. Broderick Smith) 
  Ocean Deep (Feat. Broderick Smith) 
  Look After Yourself (Feat. Mick Pealing & Richard Clapton) 
  Innocent Bystander (Feat. Richard Clapton) 
  Iceman (Feat. Broderick Smith) 
  Solitaire (Feat. Ian Moss) 
  Wasted Words (Feat. Mick Pealing, Jimmy Barnes & Renée Geyer) 
  Song For the Road  (Mick Pealing)
  Mighty Rock (Feat. Mick Pealing, Jimmy Barnes & Renée Geyer) 
  Knockin' on Heavens Door (Feat. Ian Moss, Mick Pealing, Broderick Smith, Jimmy Barnes) & Renée Geyer) 

Spy Vs. Spy - 1989 - Trash The Planet Cassette FLAC

The Hard Times/What The Future Holds/ Take It Or Leave It/Our House/Have No Fear/Clear Skies/Trash The Planet/Hooligans/Don't Fall Asleep At The Wheel/A New Start/Oceania



 Spy vs Spy, also known as v. Spy v. Spy, The Drug Grannies and The Spies, are an Australian ska/pub rock band from Sydney formed in 1981. They became known for tackling political issues through their music, including racism, homelessness and contemporary drug culture.They were named after a comic strip, "Spy vs. Spy" in the US Mad magazine.

The band's initial line-up was the trio of Craig Bloxom on bass guitar/lead vocals, Cliff Grigg on drums/percussion and Mike Weiley on lead guitar/vocals. Spy vs Spy's early music was ska-influenced indie rock, exemplified by their debut single "Do What You Say" on the independent Green label in April 1982. They released an EP Four Fresh Lemons in August. Their music became more straightforward hard rock for their pub audiences. The band broke up in early 1983 only to reform mid-year, by which time they were using the name v. Spy v. Spy to avoid legal problems with Mad magazine. They were eventually signed to Midnight Oil's label Powderworks and managed by Oils manager, Gary Morris. Their first full-length album Harry's Reasons was released in March 1986 and produced by Leszek Karski. They switched labels to WEA and had their highest charting success in February 1987 with their single "Don't Tear It Down" on the Australian singles chart and the associated album A.O. Mod. TV. Vers. peaked at No. 12 on the Australian albums chart.

Spy vs Spy's follow-up album, Xenophobia was released in March 1988 peaked at No. 15 in Australia. It was produced by Karski and Guy Gray and released by WEA in 14 countries. Their 1989 album Trash the Planet peaked at No. 22 on the ARIA Charts. None of their subsequent releases reached the Australian Top 40. The band split and reformed a number of times but still developed a strong following in Brazil.

Party Boys - 1987 - Party Boys Cassette FLAC

Hold Your Head Up/Is This The Way To Say Goodbye/He's Gonna Step On You Again/She's A Mystery/Rising Star/Gloria/Small Talk/It Could've Been You/Gonna See My Baby Tonight/High Voltage


 The Party Boys are an Australian rock supergroup with a floating membership commencing in 1982. Created by Mondo Rock's bass guitarist, Paul Christie as a part-time venture for professional musicians with downtime from their other projects, the group had temporary members from acts such as Status Quo, The Angels, Sherbet, Skyhooks, Rose Tattoo, The Choirboys, Australian Crawl, Divinyls, Models, Dragon and Swanee plus international stars including Joe Walsh, Eric Burdon, Alan Lancaster and Graham Bonnet. In March 1983 their debut album, Live at Several 21sts, peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. In June 1987 they had a number-one hit on the related Singles Chart with a cover version of John Kongos' hit, "He's Gonna Step On You Again". It also peaked at No. 10 on the New Zealand Singles Chart.


The Party Boys is self-titled album by Australian rock band The Party Boys. It was the band's first and only studio album. Tracks 2, 4, 5 and 8 were originals, the rest of the songs were originally recorded by (in order): Argent, John Kongos, Them, The Angels, La De Da's and AC/DC, however "It Could Have Been You" was originally released by Party Boy's lead singer John Swan as a single in 1985.

Mi-Sex - 1980 - Space Race Cassette FLAC

Space Race/Pages And Matches/Living In September/I Don't Know/Slippin' Out/ It Only Hurts When I'm Laughing/People/Good Guys Always Win (Satire)/Ghosts/ Burning Up/Ice Cold Dead


  Mi-Sex (also styled as MiSex) is a New Zealand new wave rock band that was originally active from 1977 to 1986. Led by Steve Gilpin as vocalist, Kevin Stanton as guitarist and songwriter and Don Martin as bassist. They provided top ten singles, "Computer Games" in October 1979 (No. 1 in Australia, No. 5 in New Zealand) and "People" in 1980 (No. 6 and No. 3, respectively). Their first two albums both reached the New Zealand top 10, Graffiti Crimes (July 1979) and Space Race (No. 1, June 1980). They were known for their cutting edge production and dynamic live shows. Gilpin died in January 1992, two months after a serious car accident from which he never recovered.

For their second album, Space Race (June 1980), the label provided a "massive promotional campaign for which 'Are you a clone? . . . No, I'm in the Space Race' was the slogan, and little rubber mannequins of the alien featured on the front cover popped up all over the place." Ed Nimmervoll of Howlspace website felt that the album was "talking about overpopulation, environmental issues, genetic engineering and other issues of great importance for the future."

Dawkins produced the album, recording it in January 1980. In New Zealand it peaked at No. 1 and in Australia it reached No. 6. Space Race provided another top 10 single, "People", which reached No. 3 in New Zealand and No. 6 in Australia. The title track was the next single and peaked in the top 20 in New Zealand and top 30 in Australia. Although Mi-Sex toured Australia and New Zealand through 1981 – performing 366 gigs in that year – the group "found its popularity in slow decline."

Burns told The Australian Women's Weekly's Susan Moore that "When we arrived new wave was very full-on and we had pretty much a street image. Then when we did Space Race, which we felt was an extension of what we were doing, I guess some people didn't like the idea of a concept album ... we copped a lot of flack."

Boom Crash Opera - 1987 - Boom Crash Opera (Cassette) FLAC

Gap That Opened/Hands Up In The Air/Love Me To Death/City Flat/Her Charity/Sleeping Time/Great Wall/Bombshell/Caught Between Two Towns/Too Hot To Think


Boom Crash Opera is the first album by Australian rock band Boom Crash Opera, released in 1987. Singles released from the album include two which reached the top 20 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, "Great Wall" and "Hands Up in the Air".

In 1986 Boom Crash Opera signed with Dirty Pool Management and WEA Records. The band recorded their first two singles in 1986 with English producer Steve Brown (ABC, The Cult and Wham!) at Platinum Studios in Melbourne. Their debut single, "Great Wall", which was released in May 1986 reached No. 5 on the (Australian) national chart. Their second single, "Hands up in the Air", followed in late July, peaking at No. 16. Following which the band toured nationally with Icehouse.

 At the ARIA Music Awards of 1987 the group were nominated for three awards: Highest Selling Single for "Great Wall", Best New Talent for both singles, and Best Video for "Hands up in the Air". At the Countdown Music and Video Awards of 1986, held in July 1987, "Great Wall" won Best Debut Single.

The label then flew the band to London to record their debut album at RAK Studios with producer, Alex Sadkin (Simply Red, Grace Jones, Talking Heads) and engineer, Will Gosling (Big Country). Both "Great Wall" and "Hands up in the Air" were remixed for their album versions. After recording the album Sadkin travelled to the Bahamas to work, where he died in a car accident in July. The self-titled album was released in September 1987, reached No. 19 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart and went on to achieve Gold record status. It spawned a further three singles, "City Flat" (June 1987), "Her Charity" (September 1987) and "Love Me to Death (March 1988).

In an interview Farnan said "The whole idea of the album was to capture a live band feel, rather than a meticulously layered, constructed studio artist sound. We just wanted to capture a fairly live feel and wanted people feeling there were musicians playing and performing, rather than, you know, machines."