"Solid Rock" is a song written by

Shane Howard Shane Michael Howard (born 26 January 1955) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist, he was the mainstay of folk rock group Goanna (1977–85, 1998) which had hit singles with " Solid Rock" (September 1982, No. 3) and "Let the F ...

and recorded by Australian rock band Goanna. The song deals with issues of land rights for

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

and was released in September 1982 as the lead single from the band's debut studio album, '' Spirit of Place''. "Solid Rock" peaked at number 2 on the Australian

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

. At the 1982 Countdown Music and Video Awards, "Solid Rock" won Best Debut Single. In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Solid Rock" was ranked number 13. In 2021,

MTV Classic MTV Classic may refer to: *MTV Classic (American TV channel), a television channel that replaced VH1 Classic on August 1, 2016 *MTV Classic (Australian TV channel), a television channel previously named VH1 Australia until May 2010, and shut down i ...

ranked the song 10th during their special ''Top 100 Big in the 80s'' countdown.

Background and release

According to Howard, the inspiration came on a ten-day camping trip at

Uluru Uluru (; pjt, Uluṟu ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially Gazette#Gazette as a verb, gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone geological formation, formation in the centre of Australia. It is in the southern part of the ...

(also known as Ayers Rock) during 1980 where he had a "spiritual awakening" which brought "the fire in the belly" to the surface over injustices to Australia’s

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

. Howard said "I realised that this country that I grew up in, that I thought was my country, wasn't. I had to reassess my whole relationship with the land and the landscape, and understand that we had come from somewhere else, and we had dis-empowered a whole race of people when we arrived." WEA were reluctant to release it as a single and Howard initially had reservations about whether commercial radio would play it because of its politically sensitive theme but Howard insisted on its release to make a statement about the European invasion of Australia. The song was released in September 1982. Australian musicologist,

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...

, described it as "a damning indictment of the European invasion of Australia."

Track listing

; 7" WEA Records (100223) Side A: "Solid Rock" - 4:28
Side B: "Four Weeks Gone" - 5:42

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

* In 1994, Shane Howard recorded the song on his album ''Live in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand''. * In 2009, Street Warriors featuring Shannon Noll released a version of "Solid Rock" * In 2011, heavy metal band

Darker Half Darker-half is a heavy metal band from Sydney, led by vocalist Vo Simpson and known for their energetic live performances, their style has been described as power/thrash. History Singer/guitarist Vo Simpson started Darker Half in 2003 whi ...

covered the song on their album ''Desensitized''. * In 2014 Heavy Metal band

Dead Kelly Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

covered Solid Rock on their YouTube Chanel * In 2016,

Scott Darlow Scott Darlow is an Australian singer, songwriter, guitarist, didgeridoo player and public speaker from Melbourne, Victoria Biography Darlow was born in Melbourne, Australia to Salvation Army parents, the second of four children, Darlow move ...

featuring

released a version of "Solid Rock" * In 2017,

Jessica Mauboy Jessica Hilda Mauboy (born 4 August 1989) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory, she rose to fame in 2006 on the fourth season of ''Australian Idol'', where she was runner-up and subseq ...

covered the song on her album '' The Secret Daughter Season Two: Songs from the Original 7 Series''. *in 2017 Robbie Miller created a slow acoustic version. * In 2020, The Waifs, John Butler,

Jordi Davieson San Cisco is an Australian indie pop band that formed in 2009 under the original name of King George, in Fremantle, Western Australia. The band are a three-piece, and currently consists of Jordi Davieson (guitar, lead vocals), Josh Biondillo ...

Carla Geneve Carla Geneve is an Australian singer-songwriter from Albany, Western Australia. Career 2017–2019: Debut extended play Carla Geneve released her debut single "Greg's Discount Chemist" in March 2018 and was released to overwhelming support fro ...

performed a cover of "Solid Rock" during the Fire Aid concert, a benefit performance for the people affected by the 2020 bushfires. * Also in 2020,

Amanda Palmer Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer (born April 30, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo The Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a ...

covered the song on Forty-Five Degrees: Bushfire Flash Record, a benefit release supporting the Firestick Alliance.

References

1982 songs 1982 debut singles Songs about Australia Songs against racism and xenophobia Goanna songs Warner Music Group singles {{1980s-single-stub