Revealed: Adelaide’s best bands of all time, as voted by you!
We asked you to vote for your favourite Adelaide bands of all time. And you did! Now it’s time to reveal all the winners...
Entertainment
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The people have spoken and the greatest Adelaide bands of each decade have been chosen.
For the past three weeks the Sunday Mail and advertiser.com.au have asked readers to vote for their favourite acts from the 60s, 70s, 80, 90, noughties and today. The figures have been tallied, and the winners’ list reads like a who’s who of South Australian rock and pop.
Tell us what you think about the results by commenting below.
1960s
Taking out the sixties section were The Masters Apprentices, who formed in Adelaide in 1965.
The Masters had all bases covered – bruising R&B and blues rock, pretty pop and, later, trippy psychedelia. Their hits included Undecided, Living in a Child’s Dream, Turn Up Your Radio and Because I Love You.
Masters drummer Brian Vaughton said he was thrilled that people still cherished the band’s music.
“We’re all in the twilight of our youth,” Vaughton said. “At least we all like to think we are. If you look at the scene there are still many bands from the sixties, or of the sixties ilk, packing out venues. And every few years there’ll be a hit song that has that total sixties feel – bands like Wolfmother or Jet. That primeval beat, people can relate to that and always will.”
Vaughton said he still got a thrill from playing live with The Masters Apprentices.
“That thrill might be even stronger now, because we actually know what we’re doing,” he said.
1970s
The seventies poll was taken out, unsurprisingly, by perhaps Australia’s favourite band of all time – Cold Chisel.
It could be argued that Cold Chisel really hit their straps in the early eighties, but for Adelaide fans who saw the band’s incendiary shows at pubs like the Largs Pier Hotel, Chisel will always be associated with that first pub rock push of the seventies.
Frontman Jimmy Barnes said the secret to Cold Chisel’s success was the band’s ability to connect with its audience.
“I think we were really, really lucky to have a songwriter like Don Walker,” he said.
“Those songs like Flame Trees, they just spoke to people. We never wanted to be a pop band, we wanted to make music because we loved it, and we really were like brothers – inseparable.”
And Barnes gave thanks for the city where it all began.
“Adelaide is where it all came together – that melting pot of trauma and hope and dreams,” he said.
“Right there in the Women’s Lib Hall in the CBD. That’s where we found our feet and it’s given us all a life.”
1980s
You declared folk-rock legends Redgum, famous for hits like I’ve Been to Bali Too, Poor Ned and, of course, I Was Only 19, as your favourite SA band of the 1980s.
Redgum singer John Schumann said he was delighted, but surprised, by the accolade.
When I look back, I don’t think we realised quite how popular and successful Redgum was, both at home in Adelaide and nationally,” Schumann said.
“When you’re in a touring band, you never get to compare yourselves with other bands because, well, you’re always playing.
“The first indication I ever got was when we took two of Australian Crawl’s roadies on tour with us because Crawl was off the road. Three nights in, these blokes said to me they were gobsmacked at the crowds we pulled – and the fact that our people sat on the floor and listened intently to everything that went on.
“I don’t think anyone one else in the industry had any idea how successful Redgum was either – even before I Was Only 19, so this poll simply confirms what we didn’t realise all those years ago. It’s really nice to know – and thanks to all those people who voted for us. It means a lot, even now.”
1990s
The nineties were taken out by Adelaide rock act The Superjesus, who burst onto the scene in the middle of that decade with a powerful sound and a charismatic frontwoman in the form of Sarah McLeod. It was an excellent combination, and hits like Gravity, Down Again and Shut My Eyes saw the band riding high in the charts.
Superjesus founding member and bass player Stuart Rudd said it was an “honour and privilege” to have received such support from around the country and the globe throughout the band’s career.
“But more importantly we’ve had support from our home town,” Rudd said.
“The South Australian music scene in the 90s was truly unique, inspiring and creative and it provided some of the main ingredients that have kept us on track today going into our national Jet Age 20th anniversary tour in October.”
2000s
Hometown support was also a big factor for the Hilltop Hoods, the act you said was the best of the naughties. The Adelaide Hip Hop trio have dominated the Australian music charts for more than two decades, with six number one albums and 10 ARIA Awards.
Matt Lambert, aka Suffa, thanked everyone that voted for the Hoods.
“It means a lot to get that kind of support in our home town,” Lambert said.
“We can’t wait to play at home again, hopefully that’s sooner than later.”
2010s
For indie-pop sister act Germein, your favourite band of the 2010s, the poll win was an “unexpected surprise”.
“Thanks so much to the people of SA who voted for us,” the band said.
“We’re proud to call SA home and be amongst our amazing locally-grown talent.”
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