Newport’s Ocean Alley scores first place on triple j’s Hottest 100

Northern beaches band Ocean Alley have thanked their followers for their support after winning triple j’s Hottest 100 countdown with their song Confidence.

Ocean Alley were named the winners of the annual poll on Sunday.

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Northern beaches band Ocean Alley have won triple j’s Hottest 100 countdown with their song Confidence.

More than 2.5 million votes were cast in what is Australia’s largest music poll.

The band thanked their fans on Twitter for voting

The win for the Newport-based band is also a win for the Aussie music scene with the title returning home after American rapper Kendrick Lamar’s triumph last year with his song HUMBLE.

Ocean Alley’s winning track is the 15th song from an Australian artist to claim victory in the competition’s 30-year history.

Ocean Alley took to Twitter to thank their fans.

“What a day! We just wanted to say a massive thank to our family, friends and all the team … and most importantly every single person that voted … this wouldn’t have been possibly without you.”

The band started out playing in an old Mona Vale shed

The six-piece band had four tracks in the countdown including Knees at number 10, a cover of Player’s 1977 track Baby Come Back at number 16 and Happy Sad at number 100.

Influenced by 1970s soul music, the band formed eight years ago; the unintentional result of six mates hanging out in a Mona Vale shed.

The Hottest 100 winners told the Manly Daily they didn’t initially plan on starting a band.

Guitarist Mitch Galbraith said Ocean Alley’s passion for writing original music came about after the six mates starting jamming with guitars as a way of entertaining themselves.

Fronted by vocalist and guitarist Baden Donegal, Ocean Alley got their first big break at the Mona Vale Hotel in 2012.

“I remember we got that first gig and we thought we were ripping when we got $200 to play,” Galbraith said.

The band launched their acclaimed first album, Lost Tropics, in 2016.

In 2018 they launched their second independent album Chiaroscuro.