If there's one band that has shown great perseverance over the years it's Dragon. At one stage early in their career they were in danger of losing their recording contract, so their manager locked them in a room until they came up with a hit. Plus as Dragon's Todd Hunter explains the band has had more than it's fair share of tragedy.
Their debut show was on the day we learnt that Elvis Presley died and since then Mental As Anything has become one of Australia's longest serving bands. Here two founding members reveal some embarrassing (and funny) on-stage moments. They tell which superstar challenged Greedy to a boxing match and name the Mental As Anything hit that Martin wrote by drawing chords out of a hat!
New Zealand's Tim Finn looks back on a very varied musical career. With Ian Keenan he discusses his bad-hair days with Split Enz and the continued partnership with his brother Neil in Crowded House. There's the great start to his solo career to reminisce about while Tim also reveals some disappointments and the one thing he would NEVER do with his music.
There's a great tale behind the career of Diesel. In fact, there's many great stories from a life that's taken him half-way around the world. American Mark Lizotte began playing in bands at a young age but it was in Australia he found fame with "Johnny Diesel and The Injectors". He talks about his career challenges as well as working with his famous brother-in-law.
Singer/songwriter Richard Clapton has always been a Bob Dylan fan....and boy does he have a great Bob Dylan anecdote! If you grew up in Australia in the 70's his songs like "Girls On The Avenue", "Deep Water", "Capricorn Dancer" and "Down In The Lucky Country" will form part of your personal soundtrack and here you can discover the stories behind those hits.
When it comes to discussions about Australia's greatest guitarists Ian Moss of Cold Chisel is always one of the first names mentioned. As well as his work with the legendary Chisel, "Mossy" has had a very successful solo career. The hit stories behind his best known solo chart-toppers feature in this interview with Ian Keenan.
He's one of Australia's most famous rock'n'rollers. Ross Wilson fronted the legendary Daddy Cool in the early 70's, produced the ground-breaking Skyhooks albums later in the 70's and then in the 80's returned to the concert stage as the singer for Mondo Rock. Here he shares memories which include a great fan story from his time with Mondo Rock.
In the 80's The Divinyls were one of Australia's most distinctive bands, largely thanks to the stage antics of Chrissie Amphlett. Like a female version of AC/DC's Angus Young, Chrissie appeared on stage in a short school tunic and with plenty of "attitude". The Divinyls might have been dismissed as a gimmick act if not for the songwriting talent of Chrissie Amphlett.
Australia's Hunters and Collectors formed in 1981 and finally called it a day in 1998. Here their singer and major songwriter, Mark Seymour, reveals the hit stories behind two of their songs which are now considered Aussie classics. One has often been used as a sporting anthem, so it may surprise you to hear that Mark Seymour wrote it as a very personal love song.
Behind every great band there's usually a great songwriter. In the case of the Australian bands Moving Pictures and 1927 that songwriter is Garry Frost. It's a rare thing for the man who wrote songs "What About Me", "If I Could" and "Compulsory Hero" to tell the stories behind those classics. You'll also discover how the bands were given their interesting names.
