Australian

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

awards are a series of inter-related national awards that gave recognition to popular musical artists and have included the ''

Go-Set ''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...

'' pop poll (1966–1972); ''

TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...

'' King of Pop Awards (1967–1978); ''TV Week'' and ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' Music Awards (1979–1980); the ''Countdown'' Awards (1981–1982) and ''Countdown'' Music and Video Awards (1983–1987). Early awards were based on popular voting from readers of teenage pop music newspaper ''Go-Set'' and television program guide ''TV Week''. They were followed by responses from viewers of ''Countdown'', a TV pop music series (1974–1987) on national broadcaster

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

(ABC). Some of the later award ceremonies incorporated listed nominees and peer-voted awards. From 1987 the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA) instituted its own peer-voted

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

1966–1972:''Go-Set'' pop poll results

Teen-oriented pop music newspaper, ''

'' was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll during 1966 to 1972 of its readers to determine the most popular personalities. Readers were provided with coupons to vote for their choice, with initial categories of 'Male Vocal', 'Female Vocal' and 'Group' for both Australian and International acts – in later years new categories were introduced and old categories renamed or retired.

1966

Printed in ''Go-Set'' on 5 October 1966, pages 12 & 13.

1967

Printed in ''Go-Set'' on 9 August 1967, pages 12 & 13. Categories were renamed, e.g. Male Vocal became Top Male Singer.

1968

Printed in ''Go-Set'' on 19 June 1968, pages 12 & 13.

1969

Printed in ''Go-Set'' on 28 June 1969, pages 10 & 12. Categories back to original names, e.g. Top Male Singer returns to Male Vocal.

1970

Printed in ''Go-Set'' on 11 July 1970, pages 6 & 7. New categories introduced: Guitarist, Drummer, Composer. Ceremony for the Australian acts was held at Dallas Brooks Hall,

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government areas of ...

, and was broadcast on 30 June by

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

1971

Printed in ''Go-Set'' on 10 July 1971, pages 2 & 3. New categories introduced: Best Album, Best Single, Best Bass Guitarist.

1972

Printed in ''Go-Set'' on 30 December 1972, pages 5 & 6. New category introduced: Newcomer (only for Australian acts); with old categories retired: Best Guitarist, Best Drummer, Best Bass Guitarist.

1967–1978: King of Pop Awards

Teen-oriented pop music newspaper, ''

'' was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll of its readers to determine the most popular personalities. In 1967 the most popular performer was

Normie Rowe Norman John Rowe (born 1 February 1947) is an Australian singer and songwriter of pop music and an actor of theatre and soap opera for which he remains best known as Douglas Fletcher in 1980s serial '' Sons and Daughters''. As a singer he was ...

and when the results were televised on the unrelated ''

The Go!! Show ''The Go!! Show'' (also known simply as ''Go!!'') was an Australian popular music television series which aired on ATV (Australia), ATV-0, Melbourne, Australia, Melbourne, from August 1964 to August 1967. It was produced by DYT Productions at th ...

'' there was a crowning of Rowe as 'King of Pop'. In the following years, ''

'' provided coupons for readers to vote for their choice, a similar system had been in use for TV's

Logie Award The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

s since 1960. The 'King of Pop' awards ceremony was broadcast by the 0–10 Network from 1967 to 1975, and from 1976 to 1978 by the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

. On the 0–10 Network, from 1972, it was run by

Johnny Young Johnny Young (born Johnny Benjamin de Jong; 12 March 1947) is a Dutch Australian singer, composer, record producer, disc jockey, television producer and host. Originally from Rotterdam, The Netherlands, his family settled in Perth in the early ...

's production company (Lewis-Young Productions) which also provided ''

Young Talent Time ''Young Talent Time'' is an Australian television variety program produced by Lewis-Young Productions and screened on Network Ten. The original series ran from 1971 until 1988 and was hosted by singer-songwriter and record producer Johnny You ...

''.

1967

*King of Pop –

1968

*King of Pop – Normie Rowe

1969

*King of Pop –

Johnny Farnham John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...

*Best Female Artist –

Allison Durbin Allison Ann Giles, who performed as Allison Ann Durbin (born 24 May 1950), is a former New Zealand Australian singer, known for her success in the late 1960s and 1970s as the " Queen of Pop". Durbin's visual trademark at that time was her lustrou ...

Durbin is often referred to as the 'Queen of Pop', however:

1970

*King of Pop – Johnny Farnham *Best Female Artist – Allison Durbin

1971

Ceremony details: Held on 22 October 1971 at ATV-0, Melbourne. Hosted by

, Dal Myles, Ross D Wyllie, Jeff Phillips. Guest presenter:

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Award winners: *King of Pop – Johnny Farnham *Best Female Artist – Allison Durbin *Best Album – '' Bloodstone'' (

Russell Morris Russell Norman Morris (born 31 July 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s. On 1 July 2008, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) recog ...

) *Best Bass Guitarist –

Beeb Birtles Beeb Birtles (born Gerard Bertelkamp, 28 November 1948) is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has been a member of various Australian groups including Zoot (1967–71), Mississippi (1972–74), Little River Band (1975 ...

(Frieze) *Best Dressed Female Performer – Allison Durbin *Best Dressed Male Performer – Johnny Farnham *Best Drummer – Gary Young (Daddy Cool) *Best Group – Daddy Cool *Best Lead Guitarist –

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

( Zoot) *Best Organist – Jenny Johnson (New Dream) *Best Songwriter – Russell Morris for " Mr America" *Outstanding Newcomer –

Jamie Redfern Jamie Redfern (born 9 April 1957) is an English-born Australian television presenter and personality and pop singer. Redfern was an original cast member of children's variety show, ''Young Talent Time'' from April 1971 to early 1972, before leav ...

1972

Award winners: *King of Pop – Johnny Farnham *Queen of Pop –

Colleen Hewett Colleen Hewett (born 16 April 1950) is an Australian singer and actress. Hewett's top 40 singles on the Kent Music Report include " Super Star", " Day by Day" (both 1971), "Carry That Weight" (1972), "Dreaming My Dreams with You" (1980) ...

*Best Arranger – Geoff Hales *Best Dressed Female –

Judy Stone Judith Anne Stone AM (born 1 January 1942) is an Australian pop and country music singer. For much of the 1960s she was a regular performer on the music variety ''Bandstand'', Stone's top 20 singles on the national charts are "I'll Step ...

*Best Dressed Male – Jeff Phillips *Best New Talent – Robin Jolley *Best Songwriter –

Billy Thorpe William Richard Thorpe AM (29 March 1946 – 28 February 2007) was an English-born Australian singer-songwriter, and record producer. As lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, he had success in the 1960s with "Blue Day", " Poison Iv ...

(Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs) *Biggest Selling L.P. – ''

Teaser and the Firecat ''Teaser and the Firecat'' is the fifth studio album by Cat Stevens, released in October 1971. At the Australian 1972 King of Pop Awards the album won Biggest Selling LP. Overview The album contains 10 songs, including the hits " Morning Has ...

'' (

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

) *Biggest Selling Single – "The Rangers Waltz" (The Moms & Dads) *Contribution to Teenage Television – Brian Henderson *Most Popular Australian Album – ''When You Wish Upon a Star'' (Jamie Redfern) *Most Popular Australian Musician – Rick Springfield (solo) *Most Popular Australian Single – "Walking the Floor" (Johnny Farnham) *Most Popular Group –

Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were an Australian rock band formed in Sydney, New South Wales. The group enjoyed success in the mid-1960s, but split in 1967. They re-emerged in the early 1970s to become one of the most popular Australian hard-ro ...

*Most Popular Overseas Group –

The Bee Gees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

*Most Popular Overseas L.P. – '' American Pie'' (

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song " American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early ...

) *Special Gold Award for '20 years service to the Industry' –

Johnny O'Keefe John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include " Wild One" (1958), " Shout!" and "She's My Baby". In his twenty-year career, O'Keefe rel ...

1973

Guest presenter: Davy Jones (ex-

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

)
Award winners: *King of Pop – Johnny Farnham *Queen of Pop – Colleen Hewett *Best New Talent – Linda George *Best Songwriter –

Brian Cadd Brian George Cadd AM (born 29 November 1946) is an Australian singer-songwriter, keyboardist, producer and record label founder, a staple of Australian entertainment for over 50 years. As well as working internationally throughout Europe and the ...

*Contribution to Australian Pop Industry – Brian Cadd *Most Popular Australian Album – ''Hits 1: Magic Rock 'N' Roll'' (Johnny Farnham) *Most Popular Australian Group – Sherbet *Most Popular Australian Musician – Brian Cadd *Most Popular Australian Single – "Venus" (Jamie Redfern)

1974

Ceremony details: Held on 25 October 1974, guest presenters:

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother, Shirley Jones), in t ...

, Gary Glitter. A

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

titled ''King of Pop '74–'75'' was released with tracks supplied by previous winners and guest presenters. Next to the list of various artists, the cover depicts the trophy that was presented to award winners.
Award winners: *King of Pop – Jamie Redfern *Queen of Pop –

Debbie Byrne Debra Anne Byrne (born 30 March 1957), formerly billed as Debbie Byrne, is an Australian pop singer, variety entertainer, theatre and TV actress and writer, director and choreographer of cabaret. From April 1971 to March 1975 she was a founding ...

*Best New Talent – Benjamin Hugg *Best Songwriter – Harry Vanda & George Young *Contribution to Australian Pop Industry – Brian Cadd *Most Popular Australian Album – '' My Name Means Horse'' (

Ross Ryan Ross Edwin Ryan (born 13 December 1950) is an American-born Australian singer-songwriter and producer. His signature tune, " I Am Pegasus", was released in September 1973, which peaked at No. 2 on the Australian Singles. Its parent album, ' ...

) *Most Popular Australian Group – Sherbet *Most Popular Australian Musician – Brian Cadd *Most Popular Australian Single – "Hitch a Ride" (Jamie Redfern)

1975

Ceremony details: Held October 1975, live performance:

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

High Voltage High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant spec ...

"
Award winners: *King of Pop –

Daryl Braithwaite Daryl Braithwaite (born 11 January 1949) is an Australian singer. He was the lead vocalist of Sherbet (1970–1984 and many subsequent reunions). Braithwaite also has a solo career, placing 15 singles in the Australian top 40, including t ...

(Sherbet) *Queen of Pop – Debbie Byrne *Australian Record of the Year – "

Horror Movie Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

" (

Skyhooks Skyhook, sky hook or skyhooks may refer to: Fiction * 'Skyhooks' or 'Skyhooks II', parts 1 and 8 respectively of the Adventure Time Elements (miniseries), Elements miniseries. * ''Sky Hook'', a Hugo-award nominated science fiction fanzine * Sk ...

) *Best Australian Songwriter – Greg Macainsh (Skyhooks) *Best New Talent –

Mark Holden Mark Ronald Holden (born 27 April 1954) is an Australian singer, actor, TV personality, record producer, songwriter, and barrister. He was a pop star in the 1970s and had four top 20 hit singles, "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" (May 1976 ...

*Contribution to Australian Pop Industry – ''

'' *Most Popular Australian Album – ''

Ego is not a Dirty Word ''Ego Is Not a Dirty Word'' is the second studio album released by Australian rock band, Skyhooks, in July 1975. The album was the follow-up to their highly successful debut album, '' Living in the 70's'' (1974). As with the former album, it wa ...

'' (Skyhooks) *Most Popular Australian Group – Sherbet *Most Popular Australian Single – " Summer Love" (Sherbet)

1976

Award winners: *King of Pop – Daryl Braithwaite (Sherbet) *Queen of Pop –

Marcia Hines Marcia Elaine Hines, AM (born July 20, 1953), is an American-Australian vocalist and TV personality. Hines made her debut, at the age of 16, in the Australian production of the stage musical ''Hair'' and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene ...

*Best Australian International Performer –

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

*Best Australian Record Producer –

Richard Lush Richard Lush is a British-born Australian recording engineer and producer. He began his career in the mid-1960s as an assistant engineer at the EMI Abbey Road Studios in London. Working alongside producer Sir George Martin and senior engineer G ...

*Best Australian Songwriter – Harry Vanda & George Young *Best Australian TV Performer – Supernaut *Best Cover Design – '' Straight in a Gay Gay World'' (Skyhooks) *Contribution to Australian Pop Industry – Johnny O'Keefe *Most Popular Australian Album – ''Howzat'' (Sherbet) *Most Popular Australian Group – Sherbet *Most Popular Australian Single – "Howzat" (Sherbet) *Most Popular New Group – Supernaut *Most Popular New Talent – Mark Holden

1977

Performer: Mark Holden
Award winners: *King of Pop – Daryl Braithwaite (Sherbet) *Queen of Pop – Marcia Hines *Australian Record of the Year – "

Help Is on Its Way "Help Is On Its Way" is a song by Australian band Little River Band, released in April 1977 as the lead single from the group's third studio album, ''Diamantina Cocktail''. The song peaked at number one on the Australian Kent Music Report single ...

" (

Little River Band Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums rea ...

) *Best Australian International Performers – Little River Band *Best Australian Record Producer – Peter Dawkins *Best Australian Songwriter –

Glenn Shorrock Glenn Barrie Shorrock (born 30 June 1944) is an English-born Australian singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of rock bands the Twilights, Axiom, Little River Band and post LRB spin-off trio Birtles Shorrock Goble, as well as being a solo ...

*Best Australian TV Performer – The Ferrets on ''Countdown'' *Best Cover Design – ''Trees'' (

Doug Ashdown Douglas "Doug" Wesley Ashdown (born 29 July 1942) is an Australian singer-songwriter who had a minor hit with " Winter in America", also known as "Leave Love Enough Alone", which reached No. 13 on the Dutch Singles Chart in 1978. In 1988 th ...

) *Most Popular Australian Album – ''

Photoplay ''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film (another name for ''photoplay'') fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded '' Motion Picture Story,'' a magazine also directed at fans. For mo ...

'' (Sherbet) *Most Popular Australian Country Musician –

Slim Dusty Slim Dusty, AO MBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He was an Australian cultural icon and one of the country's most awarded stars ...

*Most Popular Australian Group – Sherbet *Most Popular Australian Single – "Magazine Madonna" (Sherbet) *Most Popular New Group –

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

*Most Popular New Talent –

John St Peeters John St Peeters (born Johnny Lo Piccolo, 3 October 1956) is an Australian musician, TV presenter and songwriter. His top 40 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart are "Deep Inside of Me" (July 1978) and "So Many Ways" (April 1979). St ...

1978

Ceremony details: Held on 13 October 1978, hosted by Glenn Shorrock, guest presenters:

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...

Leif Garrett Leif Garrett (born Leif Per Nervik; November 8, 1961) is an American singer, actor, and television personality. He worked as a child actor, then in the 1970s became famous as a teen idol in music. He later received much publicity for his dru ...

Award winners: *King of Pop –

John Paul Young John Inglis Young, OAM (born 21 June 1950), known professionally as John Paul Young, is a Scottish-born Australian pop singer who had his 1978 worldwide hit with " Love Is in the Air". His career was boosted by regular appearances as a perfor ...

*Queen of Pop – Marcia Hines *Australian Record of the Year – "

Reminiscing "Reminiscing" is a song by Australian soft rock music group Little River Band, released in June 1978 as the second single from their fourth studio album ''Sleeper Catcher''. The song was written by the band's guitarist, Graeham Goble, and sung ...

" (Little River Band) *Best Australian Record Producer – Harry Vanda & George Young *Best Australian Songwriter – Harry Vanda & George Young *Best Australian TV Performer – Skyhooks "Hotel Hell" on ''Nightmoves'' and Little River Band "Help Is on Its Way" on '' Paul Hogan Show'' *Best Cover Design –

Peter Ledger Peter Ledger (25 October 1945 – 18 November 1994) was an Australian cartoonist, comic book artist, commercial airbrush artist, and illustrator. Biography In addition to studying art, Ledger worked with surveying teams in the Australian outba ...

for the album cover of The Angels' '' Face to Face'' *Most Popular Australian Album – ''

Sleeper Catcher ''Sleeper Catcher'' is the fourth studio album by the Little River Band, released in April 1978. It peaked at No. 4 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and No. 16 on the Billboard 200. The album was RIAA certification, cer ...

'' (Little River Band) *Most Popular Australian Country Musician – Slim Dusty *Most Popular Australian Group – Sherbet *Most Popular Australian Single – " Love Is in the Air" (John Paul Young) *Most Popular New Group –

The Sports The Sports were an Australian Rock music, rock group which performed and recorded between 1976 and 1981. Mainstay members were Stephen Cummings on lead vocals and Robert Glover on bass guitar, with long-term members such as Paul Hitchins on dru ...

*Most Popular New Talent – Paul O'Gorman *Outstanding Contribution to Australian Music Industry – ''Nightmoves'' (Australian TV series) *Outstanding Local Achievement – Dragon

1979–1980: ''TV Week''/''Countdown'' Music Awards

'' was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine ''

'' which had sponsored the previously existing 'King of Pop' Awards. The ''TV Week''/''Countdown'' Rock Music Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards. ''The award year below relates to the year of achievement and not the year they were presented.''

1979

Ceremony details: Held on 13 April 1980, broadcast on ''Countdown'' by ABC-TV, the ''TV Week'' Rock Music Awards for 1979 presented a revamped awards ceremony with 'King of Pop' title replaced by 'Most Popular Male' and 'Queen of Pop' replaced by 'Most Popular Female'. Hosted by

, there were three live performances: Christie Allen " He's My Number One", Australian Crawl " Beautiful People" and

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built a ...

" I Got You". Various music industry personalities explained the categories, announced nominees and presented the 1979 awards. 'Most Popular' awards were voted for by readers of ''TV Week'' sending in printed coupons, with the three highest reader responses read out as nominations. Industry awards were voted for by radio programme directors, rock magazine editors and journalists. Presenters included

Darryl Cotton Darryl Grant Cotton (4 September 1949 27 July 2012) was an Australian pop, rock singer-songwriter, television presenter and actor. He was a founding member of Australian rock group Zoot in 1965, with Beeb Birtles, and were later joined by Rick ...

, Richard Gower (

Racey Racey are a British pop group, formed in 1976 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, by Clive Wilson and Phil Fursdon. They achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with hits such as " Lay Your Love on Me" and "Some Girls". The ...

), John O'Keefe (son of

John Farnham John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...

, Graeme Strachan, Ian "Molly" Meldrum, and Harry Casey (

KC & the Sunshine Band KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "That's the Way (I Like It)", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", ...

). Award winners and nominees: *Best Australian Album ** ''

First Under the Wire ''First Under the Wire'' is the fifth studio album by Australian group Little River Band, released in July 1979 by Capitol Records. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart NOTE: Used for Australian Singles ...

'' –

*** '' Breakfast at Sweethearts'' –

Cold Chisel Cold Chisel are an Australian pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums and Don Walker on piano and keyboards. They were soon joined by Jimmy Barnes (at the ...

*** ''

Graffiti Crimes ''Graffiti Crimes'' was the debut studio album by New Zealand new wave music group Mi-Sex, released in July 1979. The album peaked at number six on the New Zealand albums chart and number 16 on the Australian Kent Music Report. the album was cert ...

'' –

Mi-Sex Mi-Sex (also styled as MiSex) is a New Zealand new wave band originally active from 1978 to 1986, and led for much of its existence by Steve Gilpin as vocalist, Kevin Stanton as guitarist and songwriter, Murray Burns as keyboardist and songwr ...

*** '' Face to Face'' – The Angels *Best Australian Single ** " Computer Games" –

*** "Lonesome Loser" – Little River Band *** "The Nips Are Getting Bigger" – Mental As Anything *Best New Talent (

Memorial Award) **

*** Christie Allen ***

Mental As Anything Mental As Anything are an Australian New wave music, new wave and pop rock musical ensemble, band that formed in Sydney in 1976. Its most popular line-up (which lasted from 1977 to 1999, and recorded all of their charting singles and albums) w ...

*Best Recorded Songwriter **

Terry Britten Terence Ernest Britten (born July 1947) is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, who has written songs for Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Status Quo and Michael Jackson amongst many others. Britten (along w ...

– " He's My Number One" by Christie Allen ***

Graeham Goble Graeham George Goble, (born 15 May 1947)Goble, Graeham (2006Graeham Goble: Biography. Retrieved on 14 July 2008. is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as a founding member of Australian rock group Little Riv ...

– "I'm Coming Home" by

Birtles & Goble Birtles & Goble were an Australian pop music duo composed of Beeb Birtles (born 28 November 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands) and Graeham Goble (born 15 May 1947 in Adelaide, Australia). Although they were both full-time members of Little River ...

*** Don Walker – " Choirgirl" by Cold Chisel *Countdown Producers Award (''for continued co-operation, enthusiasm and professionalism'') ** The Angels *Most Outstanding Achievement ** Little River Band *** Mike Brady *** Jon English ***

*Best Australian Producer ** Peter Dawkins – ''Graffiti Crimes'' for

*Best Australian Record Cover Design ** '' Breakfast at Sweethearts'' –

*Most Popular Album or Single ** "Computer Games" – Mi-Sex *** "

Goosebumps ''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror fiction novels by American author R. L. Stine, published by Scholastic Publishing. The protagonists in these stories are tweens or young teens who find themselves in scary circumstances usually i ...

" – Christie Allen *** "

Up There Cazaly "Up There Cazaly" is 1979 song by Mike Brady, written to promote Channel Seven's coverage of the Victorian Football League (VFL). It was first performed by the Two-Man Band, a duo of Brady and Peter Sullivan, and has since become an unofficial ...

" – The Two-Man Band *Most Popular Female Performer ** Christie Allen ***

***

*Most Popular Group **

***

*** Sherbs (a.k.a. Sherbet, Highway) *Most Popular Male Performer **

Jon English Jonathan James English (26 March 1949 – 9 March 2016) was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He emigrated from England to Australia with his parents in 1961. He was an early vocalist and rhythm guitarist for ...

***

*Best Disc Jockey (winners only, by State) **Ian McCray 2SM Sydney, New South Wales **Wayne Roberts 4BK Brisbane, Queensland **Steve Curtis 5AD Adelaide, South Australia **Jim Franklin 7HT Hobart, Tasmania ** Greg Evans 3XY Melbourne, Victoria **Lionel Yorke 6PM Perth, Western Australia

1980

Ceremony details: Held on 16 March 1981 at Regent Theatre Sydney, and broadcast live to air on the same night, it was hosted by ''Countdown'' host Ian "Molly" Meldrum and international guests

Suzi Quatro Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of hit singles that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, reaching No. 1 in th ...

and

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and bassist. He is best known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of The Jackson ...

. Presenters included: Lee Simon,

Donnie Sutherland Donald Sutherland OAM (born 22 December 1946) is an Australian radio and television presenter. He was the host of TV pop music show ''Sounds'' between 1975 and 1987. Sutherland has also worked as a TV producer and music journalist, and is asso ...

Marc Hunter Marc Alexander Hunter (7 September 195317 July 1998) was a New Zealand rock and pop singer, songwriter and record producer. He was the lead vocalist of Dragon (1973–11/1979, 8/1982–1989, 1995–11/1997), a band formed by his older brother ...

James Freud James Randall Freud (born Colin Joseph McGlinchey; 29 June 1959 – 4 November 2010) was an Australian rock musician-songwriter. He was a member of Models during the 1980s and wrote their two most popular singles, "Barbados" and " Out of Mind, O ...

Graham Russell Graham Cyril Russell (born 11 June 1950) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, producer and guitarist of the soft rock duo Air Supply. In 1975, with Russell Hitchcock, he formed Air Supply in Australia. The duo have been singing and p ...

Russell Hitchcock Russell Charles Hitchcock (born 15 June 1949) is an Australian musician and lead vocalist of the soft rock duo Air Supply. Early life Born in Melbourne, Hitchcock attended South Brunswick State School, and later studied at Princes Hill High ...

and

David Tickle David Tickle (born 6 September 1959) is a British record producer and engineer. As a producer, he is noted for his work with Split Enz, and in Canada, for his mid-1980s work with Red Rider, Platinum Blonde and Gowan. He later produced Joe Cocke ...

. Performers were:

History Never Repeats "History Never Repeats" is a single written by Neil Finn and recorded by Split Enz. It was released in March 1981 as the second single from their sixth studio album, '' Waiata.'' The song remains one of their most popular. It was also used as the ...

Flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

" Icehouse",

The Swingers The Swingers were a New Zealand rock band who were together from 1979 to 1982 and whose biggest single was the song " Counting the Beat". Background Formed out of the remnants of the Suburban Reptiles, the founding members were Phil Judd (guit ...

" Counting the Beat",

Air Supply Air Supply is a soft rock duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975. It consists of Englishman Graham Russell (vocals, guitar) and Australian Russell Hitchcock (vocals). They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight top-five hit ...

" Lost in Love", "Every Woman in the World" and "

All Out of Love "All Out of Love" is a song by British/Australian soft rock duo Air Supply, released as a single in 1980 from their fifth studio album '' Lost in Love''. The song was written by Graham Russell and Clive Davis. The song's lyrics describe the ...

", Australian Crawl "

The Boys Light Up ''The Boys Light Up'' is the debut album from Australian pub rock band Australian Crawl, which was released in 1980 and contains the title track, " The Boys Light Up", "Indisposed", "Downhearted" and their previously released debut single " Beau ...

performed the last live number, "My Turn to Cry", to close the show and then trashed their instruments and the set. Sponsors ''TV Week'' withdrew their support for the awards and ''Countdown'' held its own awards ceremonies thereafter. The awards were voted by music industry sectors including, record companies major and independent, publishers, booking agents, radio stations and specific 'most popular' awards voted by the public. Award winners and nominees: *Best Australian Album **''

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

'' – Cold Chisel ***'' Icehouse'' –

(later called Icehouse) ***'' True Colours'' –

*Best Single Record **" I Got You" – Split Enz ***"

Downhearted "Downhearted" is the third single released by Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl from their debut album ''The Boys Light Up''. The song was written by Sean Higgins, Guy McDonough and Bill McDonough. All three songwriters had been band ...

" – Australian Crawl ***" State of the Heart" –

Mondo Rock Mondo Rock are an Australian rock band, formed in November 1976 in Melbourne, Victoria. Singer-songwriter Ross Wilson founded the band, following the split of his previous band Daddy Cool. Guitarist Eric McCusker, who joined in 1980, wrote man ...

*Best New Talent (Johnny O'Keefe Memorial Award) **Flowers (later called Icehouse) ***

The Dugites The Dugites were an Australian rock band who formed in the late 1970s and went on to record three albums in the early 1980s. The Dugites combined elements of power pop, new wave and electronic, producing songs with strong melodies, hooks and a ...

***

INXS INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...

*** Karen Knowles *Most Outstanding Achievement (''for excellence in the presentation or production of Australian rock music by an individual performer, group or group member'') **Cold Chisel ***

***Split Enz *Best Recorded Song Writer ** Don Walker – Cold Chisel ***

Iva Davies Ivor Arthur Davies, AM (born 22 May 1955), known professionally as Iva Davies, is an Australian singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Davies' music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in t ...

– Flowers/Icehouse ***

Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is known for being a member of Crowded House, Split Enz (which he co-fronted with brother Tim), and Fleetwood Mac. Finn rose to prominence in the late ...

– Split Enz *Best Australian Producer **

Mark Opitz Mark Opitz (born 1952) is an Australian record producer and audio engineer. He started his career with Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in 1971. He has produced AC/DC, the Angels, Australian Crawl, Cold Chisel, Divinyls and INXS. He ...

– ''East'' by Cold Chisel ***

Cameron Allan Cameron Beck Allan (July 9, 1955 – June 25, 2013) was an Australian-born American-based composer, record producer, filmmaker and former label owner. In September 1978 he co-founded the record label Regular Records with fellow filmmaker Martin ...

*** Peter Dawkins *Best Australian Record Cover Design **''East'' – Cold Chisel ***''

'' – Australian Crawl ***''Icehouse'' – Flowers ***''True Colours'' – Split Enz *Most Popular Female **Christie Allen ***Annalise Morrow ( The Numbers) ***Lynda Nutter (The Dugites) *Most Popular Group **Cold Chisel ***Australian Crawl ***Split Enz *Most Popular Male Performer **

James Reyne James Michael Nugent Reyne OAM (born 19 May 1957) is an Australian rock musician and singer-songwriter both in solo work and, until 1986, with the band Australian Crawl. Biography Early years Reyne was born in Lagos, Nigeria. His father, Ro ...

(Australian Crawl) ***

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best- ...

(Cold Chisel) ***

*Most Popular Record **''East'' – Cold Chisel ***''The Boys Light Up'' – Australian Crawl ***''True Colours'' – Split Enz *Best Disc Jockey (winners only, by State) **Ian McCray 2SM Sydney, New South Wales **Wayne Roberts 4BK Brisbane, Queensland **Steve Curtis 5AD Adelaide, South Australia **Jim Franklin 7HT Hobart, Tasmania **Greg Evans 3XY Melbourne, Victoria **Garry Shannon 6 pm Perth, West Australia

1981–1986: ''Countdown'' Australian Music Awards

'' was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine ''

'' which had sponsored the previously existing 'King of Pop' Awards. After Cold Chisel performed at the 1980 awards ceremony, and then trashed their instruments and the set, sponsors ''TV Week'' withdrew their support and ''Countdown'' held its own awards ceremonies until the 1986 awards which were broadcast in 1987. The awards ceremony was co-produced by Carolyn James (a.k.a. Carolyn Bailey) during 1981–1984 in collaboration with the

(ARIA), which provided peer/industry voting for all awards except for "most popular" awards voted by the public ''Countdown'' provided coupons in the related ''Countdown Magazine'' for viewers to vote for some awards including 'Most Popular Male Performer', 'Most Popular Female Performer', 'Most Popular Group' and 'Most Popular International Act'. From 1987 ARIA instituted its own entirely peer-voted

. ''The award year below relates to the year of achievement and not the year they were presented.''

1981

Ceremony details: Broadcast on 18 April 1982, hosted by Ian "Molly" Meldrum with presenters:

Greedy Smith Andrew McArthur "Greedy" Smith (16 January 1956 – 2 December 2019) was an Australian vocalist, keyboardist, harmonicist and songwriter with Australian pop/ new wave band Mental As Anything. Smith wrote many of their hit songs including " Live ...

, Ross Wilson,

Michael Hutchence Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Hutchence co-founded the rock band INXS, which sold over 75 million records worldwide and was inducted into th ...

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

Sharon O'Neill Sharon Lea O'Neill (born 23 November 1952) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and pianist, who had an Australasian hit single in 1983 with " Maxine" which reached No. 16 on both the Australian Kent Music Report and Recording Industry Association ...

Renée Geyer Renée Rebecca Geyer (born 11 September 1953) is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with "It's a Man's Man's Worl ...

John Swan John Swan may refer to: * John Swan (engineer) (1787–1869), British marine engineer, pioneer of the screw propeller and inventor of the self-acting chain messenger *John Swan (Bermudian politician) (born 1935), British-Bermudian politician * John ...

, Alex Smith and

Angry Anderson Gary Stephen "Angry" Anderson (born 5 August 1947) is an Australian rock singer, songwriter, television personality and actor. He has been the lead vocalist with the hard rock band Rose Tattoo since 1976. As a solo artist, he is best known f ...

. Performers were:

Men at Work Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as " Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", " Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is C ...

, Sharon O'Neill, Renée Geyer,

, Billy Field,

and the

Divinyls Divinyls () were an Australian rock band that were formed in Sydney in 1980. The band primarily consisted of vocalist Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. Amphlett garnered widespread attention for performing on stage in a school unifo ...

. Award winners and nominees: *Best Australian Album **''

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

'' – Mondo Rock *** ''

Cats & Dogs ''Cats & Dogs'' is a 2001 spy-comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman and written by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. It stars Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins and Alexander Pollock, with the voices of (among others) Tobey Maguire, Alec Bal ...

'' – Mental As Anything *** ''

Sirocco Sirocco ( ), scirocco, or, rarely, siroc (see below) is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season. Names ''Sirocco'' derives from ...

'' – Australian Crawl *Best Australian Single **" If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too?" – Mental As Anything *** "

Boys in Town "Boys in Town" is the debut single by Australian rock band Divinyls, released in 1981. The song was written in 1979 and was used on the soundtrack of the 1982 film '' Monkey Grip'', along with several other Divinyls tracks written and recorded fo ...

" – The Divinyls *** "

Cool World ''Cool World'' is a 1992 American live-action/animated black comedy fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi and written by Michael Grais and Mark Victor. Starring Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne and Brad Pitt, it tells the story of a cartoonist w ...

" – Mondo Rock *** "

Down Under The term ''Down Under'' is a colloquialism which is differently construed to refer to Australia and New Zealand, or Pacific Island countries collectively.Oxford English Dictionary (Electronic), Version 4.0, entry fordown under. The dictionary ...

" – Men at Work *Best Australian Songwriter **Eric McCusker – Mondo Rock *** Billy Field *** Tim Finn – Split Enz *Best Debut Album **'' Business as Usual'' – Men at Work *** ''Bad Habits'' – Billy Field *Best Debut Single **"

Who Can It Be Now? "Who Can It Be Now?" is a song recorded by Australian band Men at Work. It was released in Australia in 1981, prior to the recording of their 1981 debut album '' Business as Usual'', on which the track was later included. "Who Can It Be Now?" r ...

" – Men at Work *** "Boys in Town" – The Divinyls *Best New Talent **Men at Work *** The Divinyls *** Moving Pictures *Most Outstanding Achievement **Air Supply *Best Australian Producer **Peter Dawkins *** Peter McIan *** Mark Moffatt *Most Popular Female **Sharon O'Neill *** Renee Geyer *** Marcia Hines *Most Popular Group ** Australian Crawl *** Men at Work *** Split Enz *Most Popular Male Performer **

(Australian Crawl) *** Billy Field (solo) *** Neil Finn (Split Enz) *Most Consistent Live Act ** Cold Chisel *** The Angels *** Mental As Anything *** Midnight Oil *** Mondo Rock

1982

Ceremony details: Held on 19 April 1983. The program opened with Goanna performing " Solid Rock". Nomination required product to be released. As Co-producer of the event, Carolyn James programmed

The Reels The Reels was an Australian rock band which formed in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1976. It disbanded in 1991, and reformed in 2007. Its 1981 song " Quasimodo's Dream" was voted one of the top 10 Australian songs of all time by a 100-member panel ...

to perform "

Quasimodo's Dream ''Quasimodo's Dream'' is the second album by Australian group The Reels, released in May 1981 by Polygram Records. It is considered to be the band's best work and contains the iconic title track, which was voted as number 10 on APRA's list of To ...

" to much objection from Ian Meldrum. Tim Finn as presenter of Best Songwriter award introduced their performance: "Countdown has done some questionable things over the years, but this redeems all..Ladies and Gentlemen Dave Mason and the Reels 'Quasimodo's Dream" Award winners and nominees: *Best Australian Album **'' Time and Tide'' –

***''

Circus Animals ''Circus Animals'' is the fourth studio album by Australian band Cold Chisel, released on 8 March 1982. It was recorded and mixed at Paradise Studios and EMI Studios 301, Sydney (Sep-Dec 1981). It reached number one on the Australian charts, ...

'' – Cold Chisel ***'' Primitive Man'' – Icehouse ***''

Shabooh Shoobah ''Shabooh Shoobah'' is the third studio album by Australian rock band INXS. It was released on 13 October 1982. It peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart and remained on the chart for 94 weeks. It was the band's first album to be released wor ...

'' – INXS ***'' 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1'' – Midnight Oil *Best Australian Producer **

***Iva Davies ***Mark Moffatt ***

Vanda & Young Vanda & Young were an Australian songwriting and producing duo composed of Harry Vanda and George Young. They performed as members of 1960s Australian rock group the Easybeats where Vanda was their lead guitarist and backing singer and Young wa ...

*Best Debut Album **''

Spirit of Place Spirit of place (or soul) refers to the unique, distinctive and cherished aspects of a place; often those celebrated by artists and writers, but also those cherished in folk tales, festivals and celebrations. It is thus as much in the invisible ...

'' –

Goanna A goanna is any one of several species of lizards of the genus '' Varanus'' found in Australia and Southeast Asia. Around 70 species of ''Varanus'' are known, 25 of which are found in Australia. This varied group of carnivorous reptiles ranges ...

***'' Monkey Grip'' – Divinyls ***'' Pink Suit Blue Day'' – Eurogliders ***''

Hunters & Collectors Hunters & Collectors are an Australian rock band formed in 1981. Fronted by founding mainstay, singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, they developed a blend of Pub rock (Australia), pub rock and funk, art-funk. Other mainstays are John ...

'' – Hunters & Collectors *Best Debut Single **" Solid Rock" – Goanna ***"Without You" – Eurogliders ***"

Talking to a Stranger ''Talking to a Stranger'' (1966) is a British television drama, written by John Hopkins for the BBC, which consists of four separate plays recounting the events of one weekend from the viewpoints of four members of the same family. The play cycl ...

" – Hunters & Collectors *Best Australian Single **" What about Me?" – Moving Pictures ***"

Great Southern Land "Great Southern Land" is a song by Australian rock band Icehouse. It was released on 9 August 1982 as the lead single from their second studio album '' Primitive Man''. It peaked at No. 5 on the Australian Singles Chart, it was later featured ...

" – Icehouse ***"One Thing" – INXS ***"

This Guy's in Love with You "This Guy's in Love with You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and recorded by Herb Alpert. Although known primarily for his trumpet playing as the leader of the Tijuana Brass, Alpert sang lead vocals on this solo recording, arr ...

" – The Reels ***"

Six Months in a Leaky Boat "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" is a song by New Zealand art rock group Split Enz. It was released in May 1982 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, '' Time and Tide''. The title is a reference to the time it took pioneers to ...

" – Split Enz *Best Song Writer (presented by Tim Finn) **

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowd ...

***Iva Davis (Icehouse) ***Colin Hay (Men at Work) *Best New Talent (Johnny O'Keefe Memorial Award) **

*Most Outstanding Achievement **Men at Work *Most Popular Female **

Chrissy Amphlett Christine Joy Amphlett (; 25 October 1959 – 21 April 2013) was an Australian singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the frontwoman of the rock band Divinyls. She was notable for her brash, overtly sexual persona and subversive hu ...

(

) ***Renée Geyer ***Sharon O'Neil ***

Wendy Stapleton Wendy Anne-Marie Stapleton (born 8 July 1954) is an Australian pop/rock singer-songwriter, musical theatre performer and television actress and presenter Stapleton has performed as a backing singer, session musician and a solo artist; she fronte ...

*Most Popular Group **Split Enz ***Australian Crawl ***Icehouse ***INXS ***Men at Work ***Moving Pictures *Most Popular International Act **

***

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

*** Madness *** Simple Minds *Most Popular Male Performer **

( Icehouse)

1983

Ceremony details: Held on 15 April 1984 at the Palais Theatre, presenters included: Ross Wilson,

Pat Wilson Pat Wilson (born Patricia Mary Higgins; 11 June 1948) is an Australian singer and journalist. Wilson wrote for ''Go-Set'', a 1960s and 1970s pop music newspaper, under the pen-name "Mummy Cool" during 1971–1972. Wilson released several s ...

, Graeme "Shirley" Strachan,

Greg Ham Gregory Norman Ham (27 September 1953 – 19 April 2012) was an Australian musician, songwriter, and actor, best known as a member of the 1980s band Men at Work. He played saxophone, flute, organ, piano, and synthesizer. Early life Ham was born ...

, Ian "Molly" Meldrum,

Jon Farriss Jonathan James Farriss (born 10 August 1961) is an Australian drummer and founding member of rock band INXS. Biography Jon Farriss was born to Dennis and Jill Farriss, and is the second youngest of four children: brothers and fellow band me ...

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

. Live performers:

Kids in the Kitchen Kids in the Kitchen are an Australian pop, funk and new wave band which formed in 1983. They enjoyed chart success with four top-20 hits on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, "Change in Mood" (1983), "Bitter Desire" (1984), "Someth ...

" Bitter Desire",

Models A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

I Hear Motion "I Hear Motion" was the first single from ''The Pleasure of Your Company'', the third studio album by Australian new wave rock band Models. It was a Top 20 success on the Australian Kent Music Report singles chart, peaking at No. 1 ...

", Ross Wilson and Pat Wilson "Strong Love",

Pseudo Echo Pseudo Echo are an Australian new wave band that formed in 1982 by founding mainstay Brian Canham on vocals, guitar and keyboards. Other original members were Pierre Gigliotti (as Pierre Pierre) on bass keyboards and bass guitar, and Tony Lugt ...

"A Beat for You", Billy Idol "Rebel Yell",

"In a Minor Key". The closing live performance was by an ensemble including Shorrock,

Lynne Randell Lynne Randell (born Lynne Randall, 14 December 1949 – 8 June 2007) was an English Australian pop singer. For three years in the mid-1960s, she was Australia's most popular female performer and had hits with "Heart" and "Goin' Out of My Head" in ...

Jim Keays James Keays (9 September 194613 June 2014) was a Scottish-born Australian musician who fronted the rock band The Masters Apprentices as singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonica-player from 1965 to 1972 and subsequently had a solo career. He ...

, Strachan, Keith Lamb,

, and Hunter to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of

's version of " Shout!". Award winners and nominees: *Best Australian Album **'' Escapade'' – Tim Finn ***'' Desperate'' – Divinyls ***''

Cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

'' – Men at Work ***'' Creatures of Leisure'' – Mental as Anything ***'' The Pleasure of Your Company'' – Models *Best Single **" Power and the Passion" –

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by ...

***"

Rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

" – Dragon ***"Fraction too Much Friction" – Tim Finn ***"

Original Sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 (t ...

" – INXS ***"

" – Models ***" Come Said the Boy" –

*Best Debut Album **''

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...

'' –

Real Life Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the characters they portray. It has become a popular term on th ...

***''The Expression'' – The Expression ***''Live at the Wireless'' – JJJ *Best Debut Single **"

Bop Girl "Bop Girl" is the debut single by Australian pop singer Pat Wilson. The song was written by her then-husband, Ross Wilson of the bands Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock. "Bop Girl" was released in September 1983, peaking at number two on the Austr ...

" –

***"

Australiana Australiana includes the items, people, places, flora, fauna and events of Australian origins. Anything pertaining to Australian culture, society, geography and ecology can fall under the term Australiana, especially if it is endemic to Austra ...

" – Austen Tayshus ***" Change in Mood" –

***"Listening" –

***"Send Me an Angel" – Real Life *Best Promotional Video **Tim Finn's "Fraction too Much Friction" –

Richard Lowenstein Richard Lowenstein (born 1 March 1959) is an Australian filmmaker. He has written, produced and directed: feature films, including ''Strikebound'' (1984), ''Dogs in Space'' (1986) and ''He Died with a Felafel in His Hand'' (2001); music videos ...

***The Expression's "With Closed Eyes" ***Mental as Anything's "Spirit Got Lost" ***Midnight Oil's "Power and the Passion" ***Pat Wilson's "Bop Girl" *Best Record Producer of the Year **Mark Moffatt and

Ricky Fataar Ricky Fataar (born 5 September 1952) is a South African-English multi-instrumentalist of Cape Malay descent, who has performed as both a drummer and a guitarist. He gained fame as an actor in ''The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash'', a spoof on ...

for work with Tim Finn, Renée Geyer, Pat Wilson ***Bruce Brown and Russell Dunlop for work with Machinations, Reels, and Mental as Anything ***Charles Fisher for work with Moving Pictures, Hoodoo Gurus, The Expression ***Mark Opitz for work with Australian Crawl, INXS, Divinyls *Most Outstanding Achievement **

*Most Promising New Talent (Johnny O'Keefe Award) **Real Life ***Kids in the Kitchen ***Pseudo Echo *Songwriter of the Year **Tim Finn ***

Colin Hay Colin James Hay (born 29 June 1953) is a Scottish-Australian musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and the sole continuous member of the band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist. Hay's music ha ...

***Eric McCusker *Special Achievement **

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

for services to entertainment ** Austen Tayshus for "Australiana" *Most Popular Female **

***

Christina Amphlett Christine Joy Amphlett (; 25 October 1959 – 21 April 2013) was an Australian singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the frontwoman of the rock band Divinyls. She was notable for her brash, overtly sexual persona and subversive hum ...

***

*Most Popular Group ** Australian Crawl ***INXS ***Men at Work ***Split Enz *Most Popular International Act **

***

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

***

Culture Club Culture Club are an English pop band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass guitar) and formerly included Jon Moss (drums and percussion). Emerging in the New ...

***

*Most Popular Male Performer **Tim Finn (solo) ***

1984

Ceremony details: Held on 19 May 1985 at

Sydney Entertainment Centre Sydney Entertainment Centre (later known as Qantas Credit Union Arena) was a multi-purpose arena located in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia. It opened in May 1983, to replace Sydney Stadium, which had been demolished in 1970 to make way for the ...

, and broadcast on 25 May, it was hosted by

, presenters included: Brian Mannix,

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

, Vicki O'Keefe,

, Ian "Molly" Meldrum,

Nik Kershaw Nicholas David Kershaw (born 1 March 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Kershaw came to prominence in 1984 as a solo artist. He released eight singles that entered the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart during the ...

Grace Knight Grace Ethel Knight (born 23 December 1955) is an English-born Australian vocalist, saxophone player and songwriter. During the 1980s she was a mainstay of Indie pop group Eurogliders which formed in Perth, Western Australia. Knight later became a ...

and Bernie Lynch (

Eurogliders Eurogliders are a band formed in 1980 in Perth, Western Australia, which included Grace Knight on vocals, Bernie Lynch on guitar and vocals, and Amanda Vincent on keyboards. * First edition (online copy): * Second edition: In 1984, Eurogli ...

Julian Lennon Julian Charles John Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon; 8 April 1963) is an English musician. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, and he is named after his paternal grandmother, Julia Lennon. Julian i ...

, Jenny Morris, Sean Kelly and James Freud (

), Alan Johnson and Danny Simcic (

), Suzanne Dowling (''Rock Arena'' TV show host).

won seven awards and closed with a live performance of " Burn for You", dressed in

Akubra Akubra is an Australian hat manufacturer. The company is associated with bush hats made of rabbit fur felt with wide brims that are worn in rural Australia. The term "Akubra" is sometimes used to refer to any hat of this kind, however the compa ...

s (hats) and Drizabones (outdoor coats/oilskin jackets). Award winners and nominees: *Best Album **'' The Swing'' – INXS ***'' Body and the Beat'' – Dragon ***'' Red Sails in the Sunset'' – Midnight Oil *Best Debut Album **''

Stoneage Romeos ''Stoneage Romeos'' is the debut album by Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus. Released in March 1984 by Big Time Records in Australia, the album's release saw them receive record sales to complement their already strong reputation for live perf ...

'' –

Hoodoo Gurus Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981, by the mainstay Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, ha ...

***''

Autumnal Park ''Autumnal Park'' is the debut studio album by Australian new wave band Pseudo Echo. ''Autumnal Park'' peaked at No. 11 in Australia and produced two Top 20 singles, including "Listening", which peaked at No. 4 in Australia. It was released in ...

'' – Pseudo Echo ***''Animal Magic'' – QED *Best Debut Single **" Trust Me" – I'm Talking ***"Shake This City" – Non Stop Dancers ***"Big Girls" – Electric Pandas *Best Female Performance in a Video **"

Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

" – Sharon O'Neill ***" Big Girls" –

Lin Buckfield Linda Mary Buckfield is an Australian television producer, journalist and musician. Buckfield was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the pop rock band Electric Pandas from 1983 to 1987. Buckfield's television work commenced in 1990, and ...

(

Electric Pandas Electric Pandas were an Australian pop rock band, fronted by vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Lin Buckfield, which formed in Sydney in 1983. Fellow founders were Warren Slater on bass guitar, Mark Stinson on drums and Tim Walter on guitar. T ...

) ***" Trust Me" – Kate Ceberano (I'm Talking) ***"Girl on the Wall" –

Jane Clifton Jane Clifton (born 10 April 1949) is a Gibraltar-born Australian actress, singer, writer and voice artist. She is best known for her role in TV serial ''Prisoner'' as tough prison bookie Margo Gaffney. As a singer, she had a stint with Jo Jo ...

***"

In My Life "In My Life" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It appeared on their 1965 album '' Rubber Soul''. Its lyrics were written primarily by John Lennon, credited to Lennon–McCartney. George Martin contributed the piano solo bridge. ...

" – Christina Amphlett (Divinyls) *Best Group Performance in a Video **" Burn for You" – INXS ***"Heaven (Must Be There)" – Eurogliders ***"Apocalypso" – Mental As Anything ***" Read About It" – Midnight Oil ***"Big on Love" – Models *Best Male Performance in a Video **" No Second Prize" – Jimmy Barnes ***"Short Memory" – Peter Garrett (Midnight Oil) ***"Phantom Shuffle" – Austen Tayshus ***"Burn for You" – Michael Hutchence ***" Gymnasium" –

Stephen Cummings Stephen Donald Cummings (born 13 September 1954) is an Australian rock singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from 1976 to 1981, followed by a solo career which has met with critical acclaim but ha ...

*Best Producer **

Martin Armiger John Martin Armiger (10 June 1949 – 27 November 2019) was an Australian musician, record producer and composer. He was one of the singer-songwriters and guitarists with Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from August 1978 to late 1981, which ...

*** Charles Fisher ***Mark Moffatt & Ricky Fataar ***Mark Opitz *Best Promotional Video (tie) **"Apocalypso" –

**"Burn for You" – INXS ***"Saturday Night" – Cold Chisel ***"Heaven (Must Be There)" – Eurogliders *Best Single **" Heaven Must Be There" –

***"

No Say in It "No Say in It" is a song recorded by the Australian synthpop band Machinations. It was released in August 1984 as the lead single from the band's second studio album, ''Big Music''. The song peaked at number 14 on the Australian Kent Music Report ...

" – Machinations ***"Burn for You" – INXS ***" I Send a Message" – INXS ***" Soul Kind of Feeling" – Dynamic Hepnotics ***"Bravo Bravo" – D.D. Smash *Best Songwriter **

Andrew Farriss Andrew Charles Farriss (born 27 March 1959) is an Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist, backing vocalist, and main composer for rock band INXS. Farriss released his debut studio album in 2021. Caree ...

and

(INXS) ***Jimmy Barnes *** Richard Clapton ***Neil Finn ***Bernie Lynch (Eurogliders) ***Sharon O'Neill *** Don Walker *Most Outstanding Achievement **INXS *Most Popular Australian Group **INXS ***Midnight Oil ***Pseudo Echo ***Split Enz *Most Popular Female Performer **Sharon O'Neill ***

***Grace Knight ***Jenny Morris *Most Popular International Act **Duran Duran ***

*** U2 ***

Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more ...

*Most Popular Male Performer **Michael Hutchence (INXS) ***Brian Canham (Pseudo Echo) ***Iva Davies (Icehouse) ***Tim Finn *Most Promising Talent (Johnny O'Keefe Memorial Award) **

I'm Talking I'm Talking are an Australian funk-pop music, pop rock band, which featured vocalists Kate Ceberano and Zan Abeyratne. They formed in 1983 in Melbourne and provided top ten hit singles "Trust Me (I'm Talking song), Trust Me", "Do You Wanna Be?" ...

***

1985

Ceremony details: Held on 14 April 1986 at

Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre The Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre (originally known as the Swimming and Diving Stadium and now known commercially as the AIA Vitality Centre) is a sports administration and training facility located in the Melbourne Sports and Entert ...

, and broadcast on 20 April, it was hosted by Ian "Molly" Meldrum and presenters included:

and Bernie Lynch (

), Rick Mayall and

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'' and ''Bla ...

('' The Young Ones''), Sting,

Vince Sorrenti Vince Sorrenti (born 21 March 1961) is an Australian stand-up comedian, writer and television presenter from Punchbowl, New South Wales. He is of Italian descent. Sorrenti performs nationally and internationally. He performs at sports hospitalit ...

, Brad Robinson,

Zan Abeyratne Suzanne Marguerite Abeyratne (born 1961), who performs as Zan or Xan, is an Australian-based singer born in London. Abeyratne was a co-lead vocalist of I'm Talking (1984–87), alongside Kate Ceberano. She provided lead vocals on their single, ...

, Richard Page,

, Brian Canham,

Brian Mannix Brian Mannix (born 7 October 1961 in Melbourne) is an Australian rock music singer and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of 1980s band Uncanny X-Men. Career Early life Mannix won a 'beauty contest' in his childhood after being entered ...

, Dee C Lee and Suzanne Dowling.Alt URL
/ref> Performers were:

"Living in a Dream", Eurogliders "Absolutely", Do-Ré-Mi "Theme from Jungle Jim",

" Current Stand", Mr. Mister "

Kyrie Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of (''Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, "Kyrie, eleison," "Lord, have mercy" derives f ...

"Let's Build it Up",

"Do You Wanna Be?". At the awards ceremony fans of INXS and

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X ...

scuffled and as a result ARIA decided to hold their own awards, which were the entirely peer-voted

first held in 1987. *Best Album **''Fundamentals'' – Mental As Anything ***''Working Class Man'' – Jimmy Barnes ***''What a Life!'' – Divinyls ***''Absolutely'' – Eurogliders ***''Mars Needs Guitars'' – Hoodoo Gurus ***''Listen Like Thieves'' – INXS ***''Out of Mind, Out of Sight'' – Models *Best Debut Album **'' Domestic Harmony'' – Do-Ré-Mi ***''Gang Gajang'' – Gang Gajang ***''Shine'' – Kids in the Kitchen *Best Debut Single **"

Man Overboard "Man overboard!" is an exclamation given aboard a vessel to indicate that a member of the crew or a passenger has fallen off of the ship into the water and is in need of immediate rescue. Whoever sees the person's fall is to shout, "Man overboa ...

" – Do-Ré-Mi ***"Too Young for Promises" – Koo De Tah *Best Female Performance in a Video **" Pleasure and Pain" –

***"Love Don't Live Here Anymore" – Kate Ceberano ***"Man Overboard" – Deborah Conway *Best Group Performance in a Video **" Live it Up" – Mental As Anything ***"Pleasure and Pain" – Divinyls ***"What You Need" – INXS ***"Barbados" – Models ***"Out of Mind, Out of Sight" – Models *Best Male Performance in a Video **"

Working Class Man "Working Class Man" is a song performed and made famous by Australian singer Jimmy Barnes. It was written by Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain. "Working Class Man" is generally considered Barnes' signature song as a solo artist. At the 19 ...

" – Jimmy Barnes ***"I'd Die to Be with You Tonight" – Jimmy Barnes ***"World's Away" – Mark Edwards ***"My Heart's on Fire" – Fred Lonegan ***"Live It Up" – Greedy Smith *Best Producer **Mark Opitz for his work with Jimmy Barnes, the Venetians, Models *Best Video **INXS's "What You Need" – Richard Lowenstein and Lyn-Marie Milbourn *Best Single **" Out of Mind, Out of Sight" – Models **"Live it Up" – Mental As Anything ***"Pleasure and Pain" – Divinyls ***"What You Need" – INXS *Best Songwriter **

(Mental As Anything) – "Live it Up" *Most Outstanding Achievement **Bob Geldof –

Oz for Africa Oz for Africa was an Australian concert held on 13 July 1985 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. It was organised by Bill Gordon who also organised the EAT Concert held at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne at the end of January 1985. That event was ...

**INXS *Most Popular Australian Group **INXS ***Kids in the Kitchen ***Models ***Pseudo Echo ***Uncanny X-Men *Most Popular Female Performer **Kate Ceberano ***Chrissy Amphlett ***Lin Buckfield ***Tina Cross ***Grace Knight *Most Popular International Act **Duran Duran ***A-ha ***Dire Straits ***Madonna ***Wham! *Most Popular Male Performer **Michael Hutchence ***Jimmy Barnes ***Brian Canham ***Scott Carne ***Brian Mannix *Most Promising New Talent (Johnny O'Keefe Memorial Award) **Do-Ré-Mi ***Rockmelons ***Koo De Tah

1986

Ceremony details: Held on 19 July 1987 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre; it followed the last regular ''Countdown'' show. It was hosted by Ian "Molly" Meldrum who revealed his bald head in imitation of

Peter Garrett Peter Robert Garrett (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician. In 1973, Garrett became the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. As a performer he is known for his sign ...

. Performers included: Icehouse "Crazy",

"Suddenly",

"He's Just No Good", Boom Crash Opera "City Flat",

You're the Voice "You're the Voice" is a song written by Andy Qunta, Keith Reid, Maggie Ryder and Chris Thompson, and recorded by the Australian singer John Farnham and released as a single in September 1986 ahead of his album '' Whispering Jack''. "You're t ...

" and English pop group,

Swing Out Sister Swing Out Sister are a British pop group best known worldwide for the 1986 song " Breakout". Other hits include "Surrender", " Twilight World", " Waiting Game", and a remake of the Eugene Record soul composition "Am I the Same Girl?" Histor ...

" Breakout". By the time of the last ''Countdown'' award ceremony, the

(ARIA) had already instituted its own entirely peer-voted

, with its first ceremony held on 2 March 1987 at the Sheraton Wentworth Hotel in Sydney.

was the host but the ARIAs were not televised with presenters including Basia Bonkowski,

and

. *Best Album **''

Whispering Jack ''Whispering Jack'' is the twelfth studio album by Australian adult contemporary pop singer John Farnham. It was produced by Ross Fraser, and released on 20 October 1986, peaking at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Album Charts. NOTE: ...

'' –

***''

Crowded House Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later ban ...

'' – Crowded House ***''

Gossip Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling. Gossip is a topic of research in evolutionary psychology, which has found gossip to be an important means ...

'' – Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls ***''

Human Frailty ''Human Frailty'' is the fourth studio album by Australian rock band Hunters & Collectors, which was released on 7 April 1986. It was a commercial and critical success. The album peaked at No. 10 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums C ...

'' – Hunters & Collectors *Best Debut Album **''Crowded House'' –

***''

Bear Witness ''Bear Witness'' is the first and only studio album by Australian pop rock band I'm Talking. The line-up was Zan Abeyratne and Kate Ceberano on co-lead vocals, Stephen Charlesworth on keyboards, Ian Cox on saxophone, Robert Goodge on lead g ...

'' – I'm Talking ***''

Wa Wa Nee Wa Wa Nee was a 1980s Australian funk band. Career Singer/songwriter Paul Gray and guitarist Steve Williams formed the band in 1982. They were joined by Geoff Lundren (bass), Elizabeth Lord (keyboards, backing vocals) and Chris Sweeney (drums) ...

'' – ''

'' *Best Debut Single **"

Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against Eurasian noma ...

" – Boom Crash Opera ***" Mean to Me" – Crowded House ***"Hungry Town" – Big Pig ***"Stimulation" – Wa Wa Nee *Best Debut Act **Crowded House ***

*** Boom Crash Opera ***

Big Pig Big Pig was an Australian funk, rock and pop band that existed from 1985 to 1991. An early line-up was Sherine Abeyratne on lead vocals and percussion (ex-Editions, Bang); Tony Antoniades on vocals and harmonica; Neil Baker on drums; Nick Disb ...

*Best Female Performance in a Video **"You're Gonna Get Hurt" – Jenny Morris ***"Do You Wanna Be" – Kate Ceberano ***"Guns & Butter" –

Deborah Conway Deborah Ann Conway (born 8 August 1959) is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and had a career as a model and actress. She was a founding member of the 1980s rock band Do-Ré-Mi with their top 5 hit "Man Overboard". Conw ...

*Best Group Performance in a Video **"Kiss the Dirt" by INXS ***"Mean to Me" – Crowded House ***"Let's Go to Paradise" – Mental As Anything ***"

Funkytown "Funkytown" is a song by the American disco/funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music gen ...

" – Pseudo Echo ***"

Don't Dream It's Over "Don't Dream It's Over" is a song by rock band Crowded House, recorded for their 1986 self-titled debut studio album. The song was composed and written by New Zealand frontman Neil Finn, and released in October 1986 as the fourth single from ...

" – Crowded House ***"

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African ...

" – INXS & Jimmy Barnes *Best Male Performance in a Video **"

" – John Farnham ***"Ride the Night Away" – Jimmy Barnes ***"

Before Too Long "Before Too Long" is a song by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, released as the first single from their debut double album, ''Gossip''. It was released in June 1986 on the original White Label Records, a subsidiary of Mushr ...

" Paul Kelly ***"

Bad Moon Rising "Bad Moon Rising" is a song written by John Fogerty and performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was the lead single from their album '' Green River'' and was released in April 16, 1969 four months before the album. The song peaked at No. ...

" –

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock mu ...

*Best Producer **Mark Opitz *** Charles Fisher ***Ross Fraser *Best Video **"Don't Dream It's Over" – Crowded House ***"You're the Voice" – John Farnham ***" Kiss the Dirt" – INXS ***"

Listen Like Thieves ''Listen Like Thieves'' is the fifth studio album by Australian Rock music, rock band INXS. It was released on 14 October 1985. It spent two weeks at number one on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. Considered an internati ...

" – INXS *Best Single **"

" – John Farnham ***"Before Too Long" – Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls ***"

The Dead Heart "The Dead Heart" is a song by Australian rock band Midnight Oil. It was first released as a single in Australia in 1986 and in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1988 after it had been included on the 1987 album, '' Diesel and Dust''. ...

" – Midnight Oil ***"Don't Dream It's Over" – Crowded House *Best Songwriter **Neil Finn ***Paul Kelly *Most Outstanding Achievement **''

'' – John Farnham *Most Popular Australian Group **Pseudo Echo ***INXS ***Uncanny X-Men ***

*Most Popular Female Performer **

Kate Ceberano Catherine Yvette Ceberano ( or , born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the soul, jazz, and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as '' Jesus Christ Superstar''. Her song " Pash" received a gold ...

***

***Jenny Morris *Most Popular International Act **

a-ha A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...

***

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

*Most Popular Male Performer **Brian Canham ***Michael Hutchence *Johnny O'Keefe Award For Most Promising New Talent **Big Pig *** Ups & Downs *** Cattletruck ***

Kings of the Sun ''Kings of the Sun'' is a 1963 DeLuxe Color film directed by J. Lee Thompson for Mirisch Productions set in Mesoamerica at the time of the conquest of Chichen Itza by Hunac Ceel. Location scenes filmed in Mazatlán and Chichen Itza. The film mark ...

***Mannequins

Notes

References

{{Music of Australia Australian music awards Australian music industry Australian popular music