This episode is on the legendary band The Atlantics and their instrumental classic, Bombora. We speak with The Atlantics lead guitarist Jim Skaithitis. When it comes to surfing, Australia has always been at the forefront of the sport and that’s no different when it comes to surf music, with Sydney band The Atlantics leading the charge. The instrumental rock craze was inspired by the UK band The Shadows – there was Shadow-wanna be bands spring up all over the globe.  The Shadows inspired a...

Long before Bluey, the Emmy Award winning animated series and in a time prior to becoming an international cartoon-voicing mega star, Dave McCormack fronted one of the coolest bands in the land, Custard. In this episode, we take a look at Custards biggest hit Girls Like That (Don't Go For Guys Like Us). The video for the song won an ARIA Award and in the annual Triple J Hottest 100 for 1998 Girls Like That came in at No.3  You can check out the video here...

Spectrum are an iconic band from the 1970's, that has continued to make great music into the 2000's and beyond. The band is best known for their classic No.1 hit single, I'll Be Gone and it is a song that continues to be ranked amongst the "Best Aussie Songs of All Time" lists. Our special guest is Spectrum's Mike Rudd and this episode takes a look at his song Xavier Rudd is Not My Son. Its a great tune and it's sure to give you a laugh.

Lucky Starr has had an amazing 60 year career. He has had No,1 hit records and was the first Australian Rock n Roll star to gain any real sustained success in the USA. Together with songwriter Geoff Mack, Lucky is best know for his smash hit song I've Been Everywhere, however, Lucky Starr's career is far more than just one hugely successful song. Lucky Starr is still performing today and wowing crowds, just as he was when Rock n Roll first landed on Australian shores in the...

Lonnie Lee is a legend of Australian music. Together with his band The Leemen, they found chart topping success when the first wave of Rock n Roll hysteria was at its peak. With over 60 years of living the Rock n Roll lifestyle, Lonnie has carved out a career that commands enormous respect.  Lonnie Lee and The Leemen were the first Australian act signed to Lee Gordon's record label, Leedon...... yes, a lot of Lee's mention in that previous sentence, but rest assured what it means is Lonnie...

Just like the success he had with his No.1 hit single Bloke, when Aussie comedian Chris Franklin wrote the Covid 19 lockdown anthem 'Stay The F*** At Home', he instantly hit the mark. Chris reached out to a host of Australian music icons and he formed the lockdown band The Isolaters. These legends included Angry Anderson, Russell Morris, Murray 'Red Wiggle' Cook, Ella Hooper, Bob Spencer, Dave Gleeson and Kevin Bloody Wilson to name just a few of the stars involved.  Stay The F*** At Home...

The Ted Mulry Gang were one of Australia's most popular bands throughout the 1970's. Best known for their classic song Jump in my Car, the Ted Mulry Gang had 10 hit singles, as well as 4 albums making the charts. In terms of popularity as a band, TMG stood alongside contemporaries such as Sherbert, Skyhooks and they often had a young AC/DC along for the ride as their support band.  I sat down with Ted's younger brother Steve and we had a great chat about Ted and his days as the leader of...

Ted Mulry's solo career is often overshadowed by the enormous success of his time as leader of the the Ted Mulry Gang. The singer / songwriter first found fame working with Harry Vanda and George Young at the famed Albert Studios in 1970. A creative pop balladeer, Ted found chart success with 5 singles prior to meeting up with the Gang. I sat down with Ted's younger brother Steve and we had a great chat about about Ted and his music. Sadly Ted passed away in 2001, aged just 53, however,...

The Mighty Guys - Leon's Story Part 4 At a time when The Fonz was king, The Mighty Guys and their brand of authentic Rock 'n' Roll proved to be a winner. In 1981, they released their debut album, Rockin' All Thru The Night and it went Gold on the ARIA Album charts. The Mighty Guys also had a mighty reputation as a live band. The line up of The Mighty Guys were Mick Hamilton (formerly of The Moods & The Vibrants) vocals and guitar, Phil Eizenberg (formerly of The Ferrets) vocals and...

The Beatles to Bee Gees - Leon's Story Part 3 Long before social media, The Rajahs fame blew up literally overnight. If there was a Twitter in the 1960's #THERAJAHS would have been sure to be trending in the 'twitter-verse'. The Rajahs had already achieved plenty of success as Dig Richards and the R'Jays, however, when Dig went solo, they changed their name from to The Rajahs and it was the start of an amazing musical journey. Via a 'throw-away' recording session, The Rajahs became known...

Digby Richards - Leon's Story Part 2 As Australia's very first teenage idol, Dig Richards was the pretty boy of Rock n Roll, often compared in looks to actor James Dean, he was a serious musician who realised there wasn't much of a future in being a 'teenager pop star pin up'. Going by his full name Digby Richards he went on to carve out his own place in Australian music  history. As a singer / songwriter he released 30 singles and 7 full length albums. His music was released in America,...

"Digging" with Louis Armstrong and JOK - Leon's Story Part 1 In the early days of Rock 'n' Roll in Australia, Dig Richards & the R'Jays were one of the biggest bands in the land. With movie-star good looks, Dig was Australia's very first teenage idol, and with his band the R'Jays, they were at the forefront of the Rock 'n' Roll revolution. They were the first Aussie band to release a full length album through Festival Records and as a live act, they were as popular as any local...

The Dynamic Hepnotics were one of the coolest bands in the land during the 80's. Their smooth, soulful style saw them stand out on the Aussie pub rock scene. They topped the charts with the single Soul Kind of Feeling and backed it up with another Top 10 hit, Gotta Be Wrong. Our special guest is the bands frontman and the songwriter of Soul Kind of Feeling, 'Continental' Robert Susz.

Ayers Rock were the first Mushrooms Records band to sign an international recording deal. And not just with any old 'Mickey Mouse' American record label either - no less than A&M Records run by the legendary Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss Ayers Rock created some incredible rock jazz soundscapes and they were the first Australian band to tour the American stadium circuit, playing before massive crowds in the years prior to the Aussie onslaught by the likes of LRB, AC/DC, INXS. Our special...

This episode is part of our Anzac Day Special. We speak with the legendary singer Normie Rowe.Normie was conscripted into the Army and was sent to Vietnam to fight the Viet Cong - from Pop Star to Soldier - Normie talks about his experiences in the jungle and also about the struggles that Vietnam Veterans faced once they returned home to Australia.

This episode is part of our Anzac Day Special. We speak with Australian music royalty Col Joye and his experiences touring Vietnam. Col was on stage performing for the troops at the base in Nui Dat when the ferocious Battle of Long Tan broke out. Before he could take a chopper ride to safety, he was kidnapped by some well meaning Aussie soldiers.

This episode is part of our Anzac Day Special. We take a look at Digby Richards and his tour of Vietnam entertaining the troops.

This episode is part of our Anzac Day Special. We take a look at legendary group The Delltones and their time touring Vietnam entertaining the troops.We speak with The Delltones bass man Pee Wee Wilson, as well as their lead singer Col Loughnan

This episode is part of our Anzac Day Special and we remember Cathy Wayne, the 19 year old Australian singer who was tragically killed on stage while she was performing for American troops. Fellow performers Col Joye and Leon Issackson talk about Cathy and that fateful day.

This episode is part of our Anzac Day Special and features The Rajahs, the first Australian band to entertain the Aussie troops during the Vietnam War. They even filled in for Bob Hope at a New Years Eve gig abroad the 17 storey warship, the USS Kittyhawk before 5000 Americans troops. The Rajahs also played concerts for the local Vietnamese, giving the locals their first taste of rock n roll.

This episode of Awesome Aussie Songs is part of our Anzac Day Special and features another of our pioneer musicians Lucky Starr We speak with the I've Been Everywhere Man about his time entertaining the troops in Vietnam and his incredible experiences.  

Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs are one of the most iconic bands in the history of Australian music. Led by the late, great Billy Thorpe, the various versions of The Aztecs dominated the music scene for several decades. Although the line up of the band may have changed several times over the years, one constant of the group that remained was  Billy Thorpe leading the charge.This episode takes a look at their No.1 hit Poison Ivy. The band stared down the English Invaders for a while and Poison Ivy...

The Choirboys formed in the late 70’s and are one of the bands that typify Pub Rock. They’ve gone onto become one of the most melodic, hard-rocking bands ever produced in Australia.All up The Choirboys have released 8 studio albums and they’re still rocking today.This episode is on The Choirboys and their classic hit song Run to ParadiseOur special guest is the bands frontman and songwriter, Mark Gable

Little Quirks are an indie folk-rock band from the Central Coast of NSW. We take a look at their song Crumbled.Apart from creating catchy music, and their energised live shows, what originally stood Little Quirks out from the crowd was their young age and also the fact the group is made up entirely of family members. Sisters Abbey and Mia Toole and their cousins Jaymi and Alex.They first kicked off in their original line up in 2015 when guitarist Abby was aged 12, Jamie on mandolin was 15,...

Diana Trask is an entertainment trail blazer – she was the first female Australian to star on prime-time television in America, she was nominated for a Grammy and is one of the few artists to cross over from Jazz and pop, to go onto have a successful career in country music.Very few ‘outsiders’ break into Nashville, however, Diana has had 18 singles make the Billboard Country Charts. As a songwriter, she wrote a US top 10 hit for the Osmond Brothers and throughout her career Diana’s friends...