Games Britannica Quizzes Britannica Menu History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture

Australian Popular Music

Question: Which hugely successful Aussie band received a Grammy for lifetime achievement in 2015?
Answer: While often only remembered for their disco hits, the Aussie-British band the Bee Gees were one of the biggest recording acts of all time.
Question: Name the Aussie band that sang about “traveling in a fried-out Kombi.”
Answer: The line comes from the band’s huge international hit “Down Under.”
Question: Which Aussie band shares its name with a swimming stroke?
Answer: Melbourne band Australian Crawl had a series of hits from 1978 to 1986.
Question: The title of Sherbet’s 1976 hit “Howzat” comes from which of these sports?
Answer: In cricket, a member of the fielding side will appeal to the umpire by saying “How was that?” (pronounced “Howzat”) if they believe a batsman should be dismissed.
Question: What is the stage name of the Aussie country legend who was born David Gordon Kirkpatrick?
Answer: With a career spanning nearly seven decades, Slim Dusty was an icon of Australian country music.
Question: Which classic Aussie rock band had national and international hits with “Friday on My Mind” and “She’s So Fine”?
Answer: Formed in Sydney in 1964, the Easybeats were the first Aussie band to score an international hit, with “Friday on my Mind” in 1966.
Question: Frogstomp was the first album by which Aussie band?
Answer: Formed in Newcastle as the Innocent Criminals, Silverchair released Frogstomp as their debut album.
Question: What is the subject of Cold Chisel’s Aussie rock classic “Khe Sanh”?
Answer: Fronted by Jimmy Barnes, Cold Chisel became one of Australia’s most successful and most loved rock bands.
Question: Which Aussie band holds the record for playing to the largest crowd ever at a concert in Australia?
Answer: An estimated crowd of more than 200,000 attended the Seekers’ 1967 homecoming at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne in 1967.
Question: Name the multitalented Aussie who fronted bands such as the Birthday Party, the Bad Seeds, and the Boys Next Door.
Answer: Born in Wangaratta in 1957, Nick Cave went on to have a long and successful career as a singer, songwriter, and actor.
Question: Which singer, now a member of the Australian Music Hall of Fame, was unkindly nicknamed the “Singing Budgie” early in her career?
Answer: After first achieving fame for her role in the soap opera Neighbours, Kylie Minogue maintained a career as a pop diva since the late 1980s.
Question: Name the Aussie guitarist famous for wearing a schoolboy outfit onstage.
Answer: Lead guitarist for AC/DC, Angus Young dressed in a variety of costumes before settling on his signature schoolboy look.
Question: In which Victorian town was Divinyls singer Chrissy Amphlett born?
Answer: Divinyls singer Chrissy Amphlett was born in Geelong in 1959.