Icehouse (band)
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Icehouse are an Australian
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band, formed in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
in 1977 as Flowers. Initially known in their homeland for their
pub rock Pub rock is a rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particu ...
style, the band later achieved mainstream success playing new-wave and
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...
music and attained Top 10 singles chart success locally and in both Europe and the U.S. The mainstay of both Flowers and Icehouse has been
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 ...
(singer-songwriter, record producer, guitar, bass, keyboards,
oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...
) supplying additional musicians as required. The name "Icehouse", adopted in 1981, comes from an old, cold flat Davies lived in and the strange building across the road populated by itinerant people. Davies and Icehouse extended the use of synthesisers particularly the
Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith and John Bowen in 1977, who used microprocessors, then a new technology, to create the first polyphonic synthesizer with full ...
(" Love in Motion", 1981), Linn drum machine ("
Hey Little Girl "Hey Little Girl" is a single released by Australian band Icehouse, the second single from the band's 1982 album, '' Primitive Man''. The album and single were co-produced by band member and the track's writer, Iva Davies, and Keith Forsey. I ...
", 1982) and
Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commercial lic ...
(''
Razorback The feral pig is a domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorback and wild hog are Americanisms applied to feral pigs or boar-pig hybrids. Definition A feral pi ...
'' trailer, 1983) in Australian popular music. Their best known singles on the Australian charts include "
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 i ...
", "Hey Little Girl", "
Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or t ...
", " Electric Blue" and " My Obsession"; with Top Three albums being ''
Icehouse Icehouse or ice house may refer to: * Ice house (building), a building where ice is stored * Ice shanty, a shelter for ice fishing also known as an ''Icehouse'' * Ice skating rink, a facility for ice skating. * Ice hockey arena, an area where ice ...
'' (1980, as Flowers), '' Primitive Man'' (1982) and ''
Man of Colours A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...
'' (1987). Icehouse was inducted into 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)
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
on 16 August 2006. ARIA described Icehouse as "one of the most successful Australian bands of the eighties and nineties... With an uncompromising approach to music production they created songs that ranged from pure pop escapism to edgy, lavish synthesised pieces..." Icehouse has produced eight top-ten albums and twenty top-forty singles in Australia, multiple top-ten hits in Europe and North America and album sales of over 28-times platinum in
Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
alone.


1977–1980: Flowers

Flowers were formed in Sydney in 1977 by Iva Davies (vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, oboe), a classically trained musician, and their main creative force; with bass player Keith Welsh. Davies was working as a part-time cleaner at a Lindfield squash court managed by Welsh's mother, they lived nearby and were both interested in forming a band. Additional musicians used by Flowers in 1978 were Michael Hoste on keyboards and Don Brown on drums. The band built up a strong following as a live act around the pub circuit, providing distinctive
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of songs by
Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...
,
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 ...
,
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
,
T-Rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...
,
Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...
and
Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
. The band performed at
Cloudland The Cloudland Dance Hall, originally called Luna Park, was a famous entertainment venue located in Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was demolished in 1982 and the site was subsequently developed into an apartment complex. On its ...
on 28 July 1979, with The Numbers and British group
XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...
. By the middle of 1979 John Lloyd (ex- Paul Kelly and the Dots) replaced Don Brown on drums, with Anthony Smith (who was sometimes called Adam Hall), on keyboards, replacing Michael Hoste who remained associated with the band and later rejoined. After signing to the independent Regular Records label, distributed by
Festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
, Flowers released their debut single in May 1980, " Can't Help Myself" (written by Davies), Note: requires user to input song title e.g. CANT HELP MYSELF which hit the Australian Top 10 in June 1980. This was followed by their debut album ''
Icehouse Icehouse or ice house may refer to: * Ice house (building), a building where ice is stored * Ice shanty, a shelter for ice fishing also known as an ''Icehouse'' * Ice skating rink, a facility for ice skating. * Ice hockey arena, an area where ice ...
'', which reached No. 4 on the National albums chart and became one of the year's biggest selling albums in Australia. The album, co-produced by Cameron Allan (
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 ...
's producer) and Davies, made use of
synthesisers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
, including the
Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...
, Solina Strings and
Oberheim OB-1 The Oberheim OB-1 was a monophonic, programmable, analog synthesizer introduced by Oberheim Electronics in 1978. It originally sold for $1,895 and was the first analog synthesizer capable of storing patches. The design was a replacement for the pre ...
. Hoste co-wrote four tracks with Davies and played additional keyboards, with Smith continuing to provide the main keyboards. Further singles "
We Can Get Together "We Can Get Together" is the second single released by the Australian rock band Flowers, later known as Icehouse. It was released in September 1980, on the independent label Regular Records from their first album, '' Icehouse'', two weeks befo ...
" and "
Walls Walls may refer to: *The plural of wall, a structure * Walls (surname), a list of notable people with the surname Places * Walls, Louisiana, United States *Walls, Mississippi, United States * Walls, Ontario, neighborhood in Perry, Ontario, C ...
" from ''Icehouse'' also hit the Top 20. Flowers' popularity was recognised when they were awarded the 1980 ''
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 ...
'' / ''
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 ...
'' Rock Awards '
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 ...
New Talent Award' ahead of
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 ...
and
Karen Knowles Karen Knowles (born 4 March 1964) is an Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, and former television personality. Biography 1975-1980s: Early career Knowles was educated in Melbourne at the Methodist Ladies' College. She became nati ...
. They were also nominated for 'Best Album' and 'Best Album Cover' for ''Icehouse'' but lost on both to
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 ...
's ''
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 ...
'', Iva Davies was nominated as 'Best Songwriter' but lost to Cold Chisel's Don Walker. At the award ceremony, Flowers performed "
Icehouse Icehouse or ice house may refer to: * Ice house (building), a building where ice is stored * Ice shanty, a shelter for ice fishing also known as an ''Icehouse'' * Ice skating rink, a facility for ice skating. * Ice hockey arena, an area where ice ...
" with Davies framed within a cube of white neon tubing. In early 1981, Flowers signed to
Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...
for European, Japanese, UK and U.S. releases; they had to change their name due to legal restrictions and to prevent confusion with a Scottish group The Flowers. Their last performance under the name Flowers was on 27 June 1981 at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, they chose the name of their album to become known as Icehouse.


1981–1989: Icehouse

As Icehouse, the band spent the second half of 1981 touring the UK, Canada and the U.S., whilst Chrysalis released most of their Flowers material under the name Icehouse. The single "Icehouse" was released in Europe and created some interest in the UK, partly because of a video directed by
Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy ( ; born 23 June 1953) is an Australian film director. Mulcahy's work is recognisable by the use of fast cuts, tracking shots and use of glowing lights, neo-noir lighting, windblown drapery, and fans. He directed music videos i ...
, while in the U.S. the song peaked at No. 28 on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Top Tracks Classic Vinyl is a Sirius XM Radio channel focusing on classic rock music mostly from the late-1960s to the mid-1970s, with the channel's name meant to indicate that it consists of music that first appeared on vinyl records. This encompasses musi ...
chart in 1981. "Icehouse" had been written by Davies when he lived at 18 Tryon Road, Lindfield in an old, cold flat of a two-storey mansion – across the street was a dishevelled house which had its lights on all night peopled by short-term residents. Davies later learned it was a half-way house for psychiatric and drug rehab patients. The first U.S. single "We Can Get Together" peaked at No. 62 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. A single-only release, " Love in Motion", was recorded by Davies using the
Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith and John Bowen in 1977, who used microprocessors, then a new technology, to create the first polyphonic synthesizer with ful ...
, and became the first new recording credited to Icehouse; it hit the Australian Top 10 in November 1981. Icehouse split up late in 1981, Keith Welsh later becoming manager of Australian bands Do-Ré-Mi and Boom Crash Opera.


1981–1983: ''Primitive Man'', ''Fresco EP''

In January 1982 Davies recorded '' Primitive Man'' essentially as a solo project, it was co-produced with
Keith Forsey Keith Forsey (born 2 January 1948) is an English pop musician and record producer. Early life Forsey began his career as a percussionist in the mid-late 1960s as the drummer for The SpectrumCaptain Scarlet and the Mysterons - The Vault - Chris ...
who had worked with
Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
and later worked with
Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United St ...
. Forsey supplied additional percussion; Davies supplied vocals, guitars, keyboards (Prophet 5), bass and programmed the Linn drum machine. Released on September 20th, 1982 as an Icehouse album, ''Primitive Man'' reached No. 3 on the National album charts and provided their international breakthrough single, "
Hey Little Girl "Hey Little Girl" is a single released by Australian band Icehouse, the second single from the band's 1982 album, '' Primitive Man''. The album and single were co-produced by band member and the track's writer, Iva Davies, and Keith Forsey. I ...
" which peaked at No. 7 in Australia, No. 2 in Switzerland, No. 5 in Germany and top 20 in UK, Sweden and Netherlands. The album was less successful in the U.S where it peaked at number 129 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and the song "Hey Little Girl" appeared on the ''Billboard'' Top Tracks chart for one week at number 31. Another single "
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 i ...
" made the Australian Top 5, it was later featured in the 1988
Yahoo Serious Yahoo Serious (born Greg Gomez Pead; 27 July 1953) is an Australian film actor, director, and score composer. His films include the comedy films ''Young Einstein'' (1988), ''Reckless Kelly'' (1993), and '' Mr. Accident'' (2000). Serious writes, ...
film ''
Young Einstein ''Young Einstein'' is a 1988 Australian comedy film written, produced, directed by and starring Yahoo Serious. It is a fantasized account of the life of Albert Einstein which alters all people, places and circumstances of his life, including r ...
'', and remains their most popular song according to listeners of
Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to th ...
in 2007. To promote ''Primitive Man'' on tour, Davies re-assembled Icehouse with Hoste and Lloyd, and new members: Robert Kretschmer (guitar, backing vocals),
Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary M ...
(bass guitar, backing vocals) and Andy Qunta (keyboards, backing vocals). ''
Fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
'' was a five-track EP released in 1983 by this line-up, they supported
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 ...
on the European section of his Serious Moonlight tour. '' Love in Motion'' was released in 1983 by Chrysalis for the UK market, it was the ''Primitive Man'' album with "Love in Motion" replacing album track "Break These Chains". Back in 1982, Russell Mulcahy had directed two of their video clips: "Hey Little Girl" and "Street Cafe" (released February 1983), after these Mulcahy asked Davies to record the score for his film ''
Razorback The feral pig is a domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorback and wild hog are Americanisms applied to feral pigs or boar-pig hybrids. Definition A feral pi ...
''; it was entirely instrumental, and featured Davies' first recorded use of the Australian designed Fairlight Music Computer. The trailer for the movie was released in 1983, the film itself in April 1984.


1984–1986: ''Sidewalk'' and ''Measure for Measure''

Icehouse's third studio album ''
Sidewalk A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English), footpath in Australia, India, New Zealand and Ireland, or footway, is a path along the side of a street, street, highway, terminals. Usually constructed of concrete, pavers, brick ...
'' was released in 1984 and peaked at No. 8 on the National albums chart with singles " Taking the Town" peaked at No. 29 in May, "Don't Believe Anymore" peaked at No. 31 August and "Dusty Pages" peaked at No. 82 in November. Davies used the
Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commercial lic ...
digital sampling synthesiser exclusively. Davies was commissioned to compose and record the score for the
Sydney Dance Company Sydney Dance Company is a contemporary dance company in Australia. The company has performed on stages around the world, including the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Joyce Theater in New York, the Shanghai Grand Theatre in China, and the ...
production of
Graeme Murphy Graeme Lloyd Murphy AO (born 2 November 1950) is an Australian choreographer. With his fellow dancer (and wife since 2004) Janet Vernon, he guided Sydney Dance Company to become one of Australia's most successful and best-known dance companies ...
's work ''
Boxes A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...
''. Davies only used Kretschmer, with percussion being supplied by Masaki Tanazawa. ''Boxes'' was first performed live at the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
on 7 November 1985. After the ''Boxes'' project, Icehouse was Davies, Kretschmer, Pratt and Qunta with former
Members Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...
member Simon Lloyd (sax, trumpet, keyboards) and
Steve Jansen ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...
(drums, percussion). In 1986, their fourth studio album, ''
Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...
'' featured
Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
as an additional performer; it provided the Australian singles of "
No Promises No Promises may refer to: Music Albums * ''No Promises'' (Carla Bruni album) (2007) * ''No Promises'' (Icehouse album) (1997) Songs * "No Promises" (Bryan Rice song), a 2005 song from the soundtrack of ''Nynne'', covered by Shayne Ward ...
" No. 19, "Baby, You're So Strange" No. 12, "Mr. Big" No. 14 and "Cross the Border". Further inroads into the U.S. market occurred with "No Promises" peaking at No. 9 on ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock chart and "Cross the Border" reaching No. 19. In Canada, "No Promises" reached No.61. On tour for ''Measure for Measure'', Icehouse were Davies, Kretschmer, Lloyd and Qunta with Glenn Krawczyk on bass (replacing new member Vito Portolesi after nine shows) and Paul Wheeler on drums. On 14 August 1986 their performance at New York City's The Ritz was recorded as ''Icehouse: Live at the Ritz'', directed by
John Jopson John Charles Jopson (born 1954) is a film director and screenwriter best known for the 2014 feature film ''Terroir'', the jazz film ''One Night with Blue Note'' and his music videos from the 1980s. Biography John Jopson began his film care ...
and broadcast on U.S. TV on 9 September 1987 and on Australian TV on 15 November 1987; it was released on VHS and NTSC formats. Jopson was subsequently used to direct four music videos for Icehouse. Stephen Morgan replaced Krawczyk on bass during 1987.


1987–1989: ''Man of Colours'' and ''Great Southern Land''

Their best-selling album is 1987's ''
Man of Colours A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...
'', which contained the Australian hit singles "Crazy" which peaked at No. 4 in July, " Electric Blue", co-written by Davies and
John Oates John William Oates (born April 7, 1948) is an American musician, best known as half of the rock and soul duo Hall & Oates, with Daryl Hall. He has played rock, R&B, and soul music, acting as a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer ...
of U.S. band
Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...
, peaked at No. 1 in October, " My Obsession" No. 12 in December, "Man of Colours" No. 28 in February 1988 and "Nothing Too Serious" No. 29 in May 1988. It was the first Australian album to have five singles charting in the top 30, it remained at No. 1 on the Australian album charts for eleven weeks and has sold over 700,000 copies. In Canada, "Crazy" reached No. 22, "Electric Blue" reached No. 10, and "My Obsession" reached No. 84. With U.S. chart success for "Crazy", which reached No. 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 10 on its
Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...
chart, and "Electric Blue" peaked at No. 7 Hot 100 and No. 10 Mainstream, the band had reached their zenith of popularity, the album ''Man of Colours'' reached No. 43 on the ''Billboard'' 200. ''Man of Colours'' was lauded in Australia during 1988, it won two
ARIA 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 The music of Australia has ...
, 'Album of the Year' and 'Highest-Selling Album'. The associated song " Electric Blue" won 'Most Performed Australasian Popular Work' at the
Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...
(APRA) Music Awards in 1989 for its writers, Davies and Oates. The cover artwork, designed by Davies and Kretschmer, depicts a human figure holding three different coloured flowers. The only Icehouse releases for 1989 were a single "Touch the Fire" which reached No. 13 in Australia in November and a compilation double album / video collection ''
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 i ...
''. December 1989 saw the release of "Jimmy Dean" as a single which reached No. 47 on the ARIA singles charts.


1990–present: Iva Davies and Icehouse


1990–1992: ''Code Blue'', ''Masterfile''

Qunta left at about this time with Icehouse recording their next album, ''
Code Blue Hospital emergency codes are coded messages often announced over a public address system of a hospital to alert staff to various classes of on-site emergencies. The use of codes is intended to convey essential information quickly and with minimal ...
'' released in October. Singles released from the album were "Big Fun" which peaked at No. 47 on the ARIA singles charts in August, "Miss Divine" at No. 16 in October and "Anything is Possible" at No. 49 in January 1991. For ''Code Blue'' recording, Icehouse were Davies, Lloyd, Morgan and Wheeler, for touring they added guitarist
Paul Gildea Paul Gildea (born November 1957) is an Australian musician, music educator and talent manager. He is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the band Icehouse. Early life Gildea was born in Coburg, Victoria Coburg is a su ...
and keyboardist Roger Mason (ex-
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 ...
). In 1992,
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
released a compilation, '' Masterfile'' containing a new version of "Love in Motion" also released as a single featuring Davies in a duet with
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 ...
of
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 ...
.


1993–1995: ''Full Circle'', ''Big Wheel'', and ''Berlin''

'' Full Circle'', an entire album of remixes was recorded during 1993, it included the track "Shakin' the Cage" which was released on the '' Spin One'' EP in early 1993 and was followed by their seventh and final studio album, '' Big Wheel'' in November, which contained the singles "Satellite" in October and "Big Wheel" in March 1994, while the ''Full Circle'' album itself was not released until December 1994; neither albums nor singles had any Top 40 chart success. By 1995, Davies was again involved with the
Sydney Dance Company Sydney Dance Company is a contemporary dance company in Australia. The company has performed on stages around the world, including the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Joyce Theater in New York, the Shanghai Grand Theatre in China, and the ...
, this time with their production of ''Berlin''. The musical score was a collection of cover versions of songs by
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 ...
,
Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
, Simple Minds,
The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene ...
,
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
,
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
,
Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...
,
XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...
,
Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...
,
The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...
,
PiL Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and dr ...
,
The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...
and
Killing Joke Killing Joke are an English rock music, rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Ki ...
, which saw Davies collaborating with pianist
Max Lambert Max Lambert (born 1955) is an Australian composer and musical director. Biography Born in 1955 in Sydney, he studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Lambert composed the musicals ''Darlinghurst Nights'' and ''Miracle City'', both first ...
in the development of the music. Sessions were released as '' The Berlin Tapes'' under the name Iva Davies and Icehouse in 1995 on DIVA (Iva Davies own label) / Massive Records for Australian release and
Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
for international release in 2002. As well as recording the ballet score, Davies and Icehouse performed live at each performance, ''Berlin'' ran for two seasons. During 1999 Davies, together with Richard Tognetti and Christopher Gordon, composed ''The Ghost of Time'' as an expansion of "Great Southern Land" into a forty-minute performance for
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
's part of the worldwide millennial celebrations. On New Year's Eve in 1999, Davies (vocals, guitar), Tognetti (violin),
Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary M ...
(bass), Krawczyk (drums) ROM=Pari (
Taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming m ...
– Japanese drums) and
Sydney Symphony The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and fi ...
Orchestra performed ''The Ghost of Time'' on the northern forecourt of
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
alongside
Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...
and was televised around the world on
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
and other news networks. Davies had released the solo album, ''The Ghost of Time'' earlier in December 1999.


2001–2010: ''Bipolar Poems'', remasters

Davies has been working since 2001 on a proposed Icehouse album to be titled '' Bi-polar Poems'' with certain tracks available between 2004 and 2008 from the Official Iva Davies – Icehouse website including "Your God Not Mine". As of 2022, the album is still unreleased, and no updates on the album's progress -- if any -- have been issued in over a decade. In 2002,
The Whitlams The Whitlams are an Australian indie rock band formed in late 1992. The original line-up was Tim Freedman on keyboards and lead vocals, Andy Lewis on double bass and Stevie Plunder on guitar and lead vocals. Other than mainstay Freedman, the l ...
covered "Don't Believe Anymore" from ''Sidewalk'' for their album ''
Torch The Moon ''Torch the Moon'' is the fifth studio album by Australian band The Whitlams, released by Black Yak through Warner in 2002. It peaked at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart. It received platinum album certification from ARIA. Track listin ...
'', which enjoyed moderate radio success. During 2002, Davies digitally remastered all of Flowers' / Icehouse's studio albums adding bonus tracks to each—they were released by
Warner Music Australia Warner Music Australia Pty Limited (WMA) is the Australian division of the Warner Music Group. WMA also distributes in New Zealand. History In 1969, Warner Bros. Records branched out and WEA was born. The first country in which it was estab ...
. In 2003 Iva Davies contributed "Ghost of Time" and other music to the film score of the
Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...
epic '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World''. In 2004, ''
Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
'', which was ''The Berlin Tapes'' repackaged from the Australian and Japanese versions, was released. On 16 August 2006, Icehouse were inducted into the
ARIA Hall of Fame In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
alongside
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
Rose Tattoo Rose Tattoo are an Australian rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, which formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw", "Nice ...
. Icehouse performed on 21 September 2007 with the line-up: Davies, Paul Gildea (guitars), Steve Morgan (bass), Peter Maslen (drums) and Glen Reither (keyboards, saxophone). Icehouse / Flowers featured on
Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to th ...
's 2007 Essential Countdown with 14 songs including: "Great Southern Land" at No. 13, "Don't Believe Any More" No. 78, "Street Cafe" No. 187, "Love in Motion" No. 327, "We Can Get Together" No. 428, and "Electric Blue" No. 454. From 15 June 2008, Davies was a judge on
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 ...
TV series ''
Battle of the Choirs ''Battle of the Choirs'' was an Australian reality show, reality talent show, talent competition that premiered on the Seven Network on 15 June 2008. The show was hosted by David Koch (television presenter), David Koch, with the judging panel co ...
''. Davies commented on the status of Icehouse: The grand final show of ''Battle of the Choirs'', broadcast on 3 August 2008, had Icehouse provide a rare live performance of "Great Southern Land". For the performance, Icehouse were Iva Davies (vocals, guitar), Paul Wheeler (drums, percussion), Paul Gildea (guitar), David Chapman (guitar), Steve Bull (bass guitar); they were supported by the three grand-finalist choirs. On 14 March 2009 Icehouse reformed for
Sound Relief Sound Relief was a multi-venue rock music concert held on 14 March 2009, which was announced by the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby on 24 February 2009. The event was organised by Michael Gudinski, Michael Chugg, Amanda Pelman, Joe Segreto & To ...
benefit concert at the
Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...
. Sound Relief is a benefit concert for victims of the Victorian Bushfire Crisis and the
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
Floods. Appearing with Icehouse at the Sydney concert were,
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
,
Eskimo Joe Eskimo Joe are an Australian alternative rock band that was formed in 1997 by Stuart MacLeod, on lead guitar, Joel Quartermain, on drums and guitar, and Kavyen Temperley, on bass guitar and vocals, in East Fremantle, Western Australia, Austral ...
,
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 ...
, Jet,
Josh Pyke Joshua Jon Pyke (born 18 December 1977) is an Australian singer-songwriter, producer, musician and children's book author. Biography Josh Pyke is a prolific songwriter, with a successful and critically acclaimed career both domestically and ove ...
,
Little Birdy Little Birdy were an Australian alternative rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia, in 2002 by singer and guitarist Katy Steele, drummer Matt Chequer, guitarist and keyboardist Simon Leach, and bass guitarist Scott O'Donoghue. They gaine ...
,
The Presets The Presets are an Australian electronic music duo of Julian Hamilton (vocals, keyboards) and Kim Moyes (drums, keyboards). Formed in 2003 and signed to Modular Recordings, Modular Records, The Presets released two EPs (''Blow Up (EP), Blow Up ...
,
Wolfmother Wolfmother is an Australian hard rock band from Sydney. Formed in 2004, the group is centred around vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, who is the only constant member of the line-up. The band has been through many personnel changes since ...
,
You Am I You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted ...
and additional artists. 4 June 2009: Icehouse performed at the Sacred Heart Mission's "Heart of St Kilda Concert". The concert featured some of Australia's finest performers –
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 ...
,
Joe Camilleri Joseph Vincent Camilleri, (born 21 May 1948) aka Jo Jo Zep or Joey Vincent, is a Maltese Australian singer-songwriter and musician. Camilleri has recorded as a solo artist and as a member of Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons and The Black Sorrows. Jo Jo ...
,
Dave Hughes David William Hughes (born 26 November 1970) is an Australian stand-up comedian, television and radio presenter. He is known for his larrikin personality, drawling Australian accent, and deadpan comedic delivery. Hughes co-hosts ''Hughesy, ...
, Icehouse,
Mark Seymour Mark Jeremy Seymour (born 26 July 1956) is an Australian musician and vocalist. He was the frontman and songwriter of rock band Hunters & Collectors from 1981 until 1998. Seymour has carved a solo career, releasing his debut solo album in ...
,
Mick Molloy Michael Molloy (born 11 July 1966) is an Australian comedian, writer, producer, actor and television and radio presenter who has been active in radio, television, stand-up and film. He currently hosts ''The Front Bar'' on the Seven Network. L ...
,
Tex Perkins Gregory Stephen Perkins (born 28 December 1964), better known by his stage name Tex Perkins, is an Australian singer-songwriter who fronted the Australian rock band The Cruel Sea, but has also performed with the Beasts of Bourbon, Thug, James B ...
, Tim Rogers,
Corinne Grant Corinne Grant (born 12 June 1973) is an Australian lawyer, comedian and television presenter. Career After briefly studying as a nurse in Wodonga, Grant started her career as an actor in Melbourne, obtaining a degree in drama. After graduating, ...
,
Ash Grunwald Ash Grunwald (born Ashley Mark Groenewald, 5 September 1976) is an Australian blues musician. He has released nine studio albums and has received five nominations for ARIA Music Awards. Five albums have charted in the ARIA Albums Chart top&nbs ...
,
Greg Fleet Gregory Fleet is an Australian comedian and actor. History Early life Fleet was born in Michigan, in the United States. His father moved the family to Australia when Greg was four. He grew up in Geelong, and as a teenager boarded at Geelong Gra ...
,
Blue King Brown Blue King Brown are an Australian urban roots ensemble formed in 2003 in Byron Bay by mainstays Nattali Rize and Carlo Santone. They have released three studio albums, ''Stand Up'' (October 2006), ''Worldwize Part 1 – North & South'' (August ...
,
Dan Sultan Daniel Leo Sultan (born 1983) is an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, actor and author. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 he won ARIA Award for Best Male Artist, Best Male Artist and ARIA Award for Best Blues and Root ...
, Scott Wilson,
Brian Nankervis Brian Nankervis (born 1956) is an Australian writer, actor, radio host, television producer and comedian. Personal life Nankervis was born in Melbourne. He lives in St Kilda with documentary film makerSue Thomsonand their children, Claudia, Lola ...
,
Julia Zemiro Julia Zemiro () (born 14 April 1967) is a French-born Australian television presenter, radio host, actress, singer, writer and comedian. She is best known as the host of the music quiz and live performance show '' RocKwiz''. Zemiro is a fluent ...
,
Tom Gleeson Thomas Francis Gleeson (born 2 June 1974) is an Australian stand-up comedian, writer, television and radio presenter. Gleeson formerly co-hosted ''The Weekly with Charlie Pickering'' alongside Judith Lucy and currently hosts ''Hard Quiz'', both ...
,
Scared Weird Little Guys Scared Weird Little Guys (also referred to as SWLG or The Scaredies) were an Australian comedy music duo formed in July 1990, comprising John Fleming (vocals, guitar, mandolin) and Rusty Berther (vocals, guitar, banjo). The Scaredies performed ...
, Sean Choolburra and
Celia Pacquola Celia Pacquola (born 12 February 1983) is an Australian comedian, writer, presenter and actor who performs predominantly in Australia and the United Kingdom. Early life Pacquola is a third child, and her parents separated when she was eightee ...
. On stage with Iva were Paul Gildea (guitar), Paul Wheeler (drums), Steve Morgan (bass) and Glen Reither (sax/keys).


2011–present: ''Icehouse'' 30th anniversary, ''White Heat: 30 Hits'' and ''DubHouse Live''

On 6 April 2011, Icehouse and Universal Music Australia publicly announced a new partnership for sales and distribution of the band's material. Accompanying this were details of the planned issue of a 30th-anniversary edition of the band's debut album ''Icehouse''. This release marks the first time any of the band's catalogue has been available for commercial download. The album was released on 20 May 2011 digitally and as a multi-disc set. On 7 July 2011, the band issued a press release about the forthcoming release of a new greatest hits compilation, titled ''White Heat: 30 Hits''. The album was released on 26 August 2011. Since 2011 Icehouse have started to play regular live gigs again around Australia. One of the most recent was at 3 December Homebake 2011 concert, performing under the moniker of "Icehouse Plays Flowers", where they played songs from their first two albums (both released singles and unreleased songs) — "Icehouse", "We Can Get Together", "Skin", "Boulevard", "Great Southern Land" and "Sister." Keith Welsh joined them on stage, playing bass-guitar. Black-and-white original PR photos from the early 1980s were flashed as a backdrop behind the band as they played. On 12 July 2012, the entire Icehouse studio catalogue was reissued. ''Primitive Man'' and ''Man of Colours'' also received a bonus DVD to celebrate their 30th and 25th anniversaries, respectively. The band will be promoting the two anniversary albums with the "Primitive Colours" tour. On 4 and 7 December, Icehouse performed two shows at the Esplanade Hotel in Melbourne and the Oxford Art Factory in Sydney, respectively, under the moniker of "DubHouse performing reggae-styled versions of classic Icehouse songs and old reggae favourites". These concerts spawned the release of a live album released in January 2014. They also performed a 40th Anniversary concert at the Roche Estate, in the NSW Hunter Valley in March 2017. The full concert is available for free on YouTube, and is highly recommended for any fans to watch. On 9 February 2020, Icehouse played the St. Kilda Festival in Melbourne, Flowers had played the 1st festival in 1980, so for the 40th anniversary Icehouse played the majority of the Flowers album plus a few covers that they would have played back then, a recording of the concert was released in October 2020 as ''Icehouse Plays Flowers''. In 2021, a remix of "Hey Little Girl" was released by Australian duo Mark Vick and Danny Muller, with the record credited to The Antipodeans Vs Icehouse. In 2022, they performed "Great Southern Land" and "We Can Get Together" on the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia.


Members

Current members *
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 ...
– lead vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, oboe (1977–present) * Paul Wheeler – drums, percussion (1986–present) *
Paul Gildea Paul Gildea (born November 1957) is an Australian musician, music educator and talent manager. He is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the band Icehouse. Early life Gildea was born in Coburg, Victoria Coburg is a su ...
– rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1990–present) * Steve Bull – bass guitar, backing vocals (2009–present) *
Michael Paynter Michael Paynter (born 29 January 1986), is an Australian singer-songwriter. Paynter has released five singles, " Closer", "A Victim Song", " Love the Fall", "How Sweet It Is" and "Weary Stars". Paynter competed in the second season of ''The Vo ...
– keyboards, additional guitars, backing and lead vocals (2011–present) * Hugo Lee - saxophone, keyboards (2021-present) Former members * Keith Welsh – bass guitar, backing vocals (1977–1981) * Don Brown – drums (1977–1979) * Michael Hoste – keyboards (1978, 1982–1983) * Anthony Smith (aka Adam Hall) – keyboards (1979–1982) * John Lloyd – drums, percussion (1979–1984) * Bob Kretschmer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1982–1989) *
Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary M ...
– bass guitar, backing vocals (1982–1986) *
Andy Qunta Anderson Amos Temba "Andy" Qunta (born 9 January 1951) is an English singer, songwriter, composer and musician. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Qunta is best known as the keyboardist of the Australian rock band Icehouse from between 19 ...
– keyboards, keytar, additional guitars, backing vocals (1982–1988) * Gary Hughes – keyboards (1983–1984) * Simon Lloyd – saxophone, trumpet, keyboards, backing vocals (1984–1991) * Glenn Krawczyk – bass guitar (1986) * Steve Morgan – bass guitar, backing vocals (1987–1989) * Roger Mason – keyboards (1989–1990) *
Tony Llewellyn Tony Llewellyn is an Australian musician. He signed with WEA and released an album, ''The News'' in 1989. Llewellyn was the keyboard player in Icehouse from 1991 until 2004. His single "Pick You Up" was engineered by Guy Gray and he was nomina ...
– keyboards (1991–2004) * David Chapman – rhythm and lead guitar (1993–1995) * Max Lambert – piano (1995) * Adrian Wallis – cello (1995–2004) * Glenn Reither – keyboards, saxophone (2007–2021) Timeline ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:90 bottom:90 top:0 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1977 till:01/07/2022 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = increment:4 start:1977 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1977 Colors = id:Band value:black legend:Band_name id:Vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals,_oboe id:BVox value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:Wi value:gray(0.5) legend:Wind_instruments id:Cello value:darkblue legend:Cello id:LGuitar value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:RGuitar value:green legend:Rhythm_guitar id:Piano value:purple legend:Keyboards id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:album value:black legend:Studio_album BarData = bar:Flowers text:"Flowers" bar:Icehouse text:"Icehouse" bar:Iva text:"Iva Davies" bar:Simon text:"Simon Lloyd" bar:Adrian text:"Adrian Wallis" bar:Bob text:"Bob Kretschmer" bar:Paul2 text:"Paul Gildea" bar:David text:"David Chapman" bar:Michael text:"Michael Hoste" bar:Anthony text:"Anthony Smith" bar:Andy text:"Andy Qunta" bar:Gary text:"Gary Hughes" bar:Roger text:"Roger Mason" bar:Tony text:"Tony Llewellyn" bar:Max text:"Max Lambert" bar:Glenn2 text:"Glenn Reither" bar:Michael2 text:"Michael Paynter" bar:Hugo text:"Hugo Lee" bar:Keith text:"Keith Welsh" bar:Guy text:"Guy Pratt" bar:Glenn text:"Glenn Krawczyk" bar:Steve text:"Steve Morgan" bar:Steve2 text:"Steve Bull" bar:Don text:"Don Brown" bar:John text:"John Lloyd" bar:Paul text:"Paul Wheeler" PlotData= width:11 bar:Flowers from:start till:01/07/1981 color:band bar:Icehouse from:01/07/1981 till:end color:band bar:Iva from:start till:end color:lguitar width:3 bar:Iva from:start till:end color:vocals bar:Iva from:start till:01/01/1981 color:rguitar width:7 bar:Iva from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1995 color:rguitar width:7 bar:Iva from:01/01/1981 till:01/01/1982 color:bass width:7 bar:Iva from:01/01/1988 till:01/01/1989 color:piano width:7 bar:Iva from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1991 color:piano width:7 bar:Iva from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2007 color:piano width:7 bar:Keith from:start till:01/01/1981 color:bass bar:Keith from:start till:01/01/1981 color:BVox width:3 bar:Don from:start till:01/01/1979 color:drums bar:Michael from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:piano bar:Michael from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1983 color:piano bar:Michael from:01/01/1978 till:31/12/1978 color:BVox width:3 bar:Michael from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1983 color:BVox width:3 bar:Anthony from:01/01/1979 till:01/01/1982 color:piano bar:John from:01/01/1979 till:31/12/1984 color:drums bar:Bob from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1989 color:rguitar bar:Bob from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1989 color:BVox width:3 bar:Guy from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1986 color:bass bar:Guy from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1986 color:BVox width:3 bar:Andy from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1988 color:piano bar:Andy from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1988 color:rguitar width:7 bar:Andy from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1988 color:BVox width:3 bar:Glenn from:01/01/1986 till:31/12/1986 color:bass bar:Simon from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1991 color:wi bar:Simon from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1991 color:BVox width:3 bar:Steve from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1989 color:bass bar:Steve from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1989 color:BVox width:3 bar:Paul from:01/01/1986 till:end color:drums bar:Roger from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1990 color:piano bar:Paul2 from:01/01/1989 till:end color:rguitar bar:Paul2 from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1995 color:lguitar width:7 bar:Paul2 from:01/01/1989 till:end color:BVox width:3 bar:Tony from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/2004 color:piano bar:David from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1995 color:rguitar bar:David from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1995 color:lguitar width:3 bar:Max from:01/01/1995 till:31/12/1995 color:piano bar:Adrian from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2004 color:cello bar:Steve2 from:01/01/1989 till:end color:bass bar:Steve2 from:01/01/1989 till:end color:BVox width:3 bar:Gary from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1984 color:piano bar:Glenn2 from:01/01/2007 till:01/02/2021 color:piano bar:Glenn2 from:01/01/2007 till:01/02/2021 color:wi width:3 bar:Michael2 from:01/01/2011 till:end color:piano bar:Michael2 from:01/01/2011 till:end color:bvox width:3 bar:Michael2 from:01/01/2011 till:end color:rguitar width:7 bar:Hugo from:01/02/2021 till:end color:wi bar:Hugo from:01/02/2021 till:end color:piano width:3 LineData = layer:back color:album at:10/10/1980 at:06/09/1982 at:26/06/1984 at:21/04/1986 at:21/09/1987 at:11/11/1990 at:25/10/1993 at:23/10/1995


Discography

* ''
Icehouse Icehouse or ice house may refer to: * Ice house (building), a building where ice is stored * Ice shanty, a shelter for ice fishing also known as an ''Icehouse'' * Ice skating rink, a facility for ice skating. * Ice hockey arena, an area where ice ...
'' (1980) (as Flowers) * '' Primitive Man'' (1982) * ''
Sidewalk A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English), footpath in Australia, India, New Zealand and Ireland, or footway, is a path along the side of a street, street, highway, terminals. Usually constructed of concrete, pavers, brick ...
'' (1984) * ''
Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...
'' (1986) * ''
Man of Colours A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...
'' (1987) * ''
Code Blue Hospital emergency codes are coded messages often announced over a public address system of a hospital to alert staff to various classes of on-site emergencies. The use of codes is intended to convey essential information quickly and with minimal ...
'' (1990) * '' Big Wheel'' (1993) * '' The Berlin Tapes'' (1995) (as Iva Davies and Icehouse)


Awards and nominations


ARIA Music Awards

The
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 ...
is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of
Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...
. They commenced in 1987. Icehouse were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006. , - ,
ARIA Music Awards of 1987 The First Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 2 March 1987 at the Sheraton Wentworth Hotel in Sydney with Elton John as the host. The awards were ...
, ''Measure for Measure'' ,
ARIA Award for Highest Selling Album The ARIA Music Award 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 industr ...
, , - , rowspan="5" ,
ARIA Music Awards of 1988 The Second Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 29 February 1988 at the Sheraton Wentworth Hotel in Sydney. Cliff Richard was the host, with Bryan Fe ...
, rowspan="2" , ''Measure for Measure'' ,
ARIA Award for Album of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Album of the Year, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indu ...
, , - , Highest Selling Album , , - , Themselves ,
ARIA Award for Best Group The ARIA Music Award for Best Group, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Industry As ...
, , - , rowspan="2" , "Crazy" ,
ARIA Award for Single of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Single of the Year/Song of the Year, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Austral ...
, , - ,
ARIA Award for Song of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Single of the Year/Song of the Year, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Austral ...
, , - ,
ARIA Music Awards of 1991 The Fifth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 25 March 1991 at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney. International host Bob Geldof was ...
, Iva Davies and David Barnes for ''Code Blue'' by Icehouse ,
ARIA Award for Best Cover Art The ARIA Music Award for Best Cover Art, is an award presented within the Artisan Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given by the Aus ...
, , - ,
ARIA Music Awards of 2006 The 20th annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) were held on 29 October 2006 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. Presenters on the night includ ...
, Themselves ,
ARIA Hall of Fame In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
,


APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the
Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...
to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually. , - ,
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, "Electric Blue" (Iva Davies, John Oates) by Icehouse , Most Performed Australasian Popular Work , , -


Countdown Awards

''
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 ...
'' was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974–1987, it presented music awards from 1979–1987, initially in conjunction with magazine ''
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 ...
''. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards. , - , rowspan="4" , 1980 , rowspan="2" , ''Icehouse'' , Best Australian Album , , - , Best Australian Record Cover Design , , - , Themselves , Best New Talent , , - ,
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 , Best Recorded Songwriter , , - , rowspan="5" , 1982 , '' Primitive Man , Best Australian Album , , - , "
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 i ...
" , Best Australian Single , , - , Themselves , Most Popular Group , , - , Iva Davies – Flowers/Icehouse , Best Recorded Songwriter , , - , Iva Davies (Icehouse) , Most Popular Male Performer , , -


Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the
Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were l ...
), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Icehouse won one award in that time. (wins only) , - , 1987 , Icehouse , Rock Group of the Year , , -


References


External links


Official Icehouse – Iva Davies website
lapsed as from 13 July 2008, archive copy a

from 5 July 2004
Spellbound – Icehouse
a comprehensive fansite
Flowers – Icehouse
The new official Iva Davies website as of 26 April 2011 * *
Icehouse
at
MusicBrainz MusicBrainz is a MetaBrainz project that aims to create a collaborative music database that is similar to the freedb project. MusicBrainz was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the Compact Disc Database (CDDB), a database for sof ...

IcehouseFlowersIva Davies and Icehouse
at
Rate Your Music Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online collaborative database of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also fea ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Icehouse Icehouse (band) Australian rock music groups Australian synthpop groups Australian new wave musical groups ARIA Award winners ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Chrysalis Records artists Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups from Sydney Synth-pop new wave musical groups Pub rock musical groups