Revealed: Homes of Aus hottest musos
Pop sisters The Veronicas weren’t always the superstar duo we know now and their humble Aussie beginnings have been revealed along with others in Triple J’s Hottest 100 Australian Songs list.
The excitement of Triple J’s Hottest 100 Australian Songs had fans and artists happy, and here’s where some of those profits go for our biggest stars.
THE VERONICAS
Brissy twins Lisa and Jessica Origliasso formed pop duo The Veronicas in 2004 and made the Triple J list with ‘Untouched’ at No. 4 and ‘4ever’ at No. 76.
Albany Creek
The pair grew up in Albany Creek, with their family home selling in 2007 for $580,500 to Defence Housing Australia.
The five-bedroom, three-bathroom property now has an estimated value of $1.35m.
Fortitude Valley
In 2015 Jessica sold her inner city apartment in the McWhirters building for $599,000, after buying it in 2009 for $465,000.
When the property was listed for sale, Jessica said if the walls could talk, they’d have some wild stories to tell.
“There have been some awesome parties in this apartment, I also really do love to host dinner parties,” she said.
“I had my friend’s hen’s party here and have had lots of other musicians over to jam.”
Landsborough
In 2020 Lisa and Jessica sold a 2.7ha property in Landsborough for $770,000 after buying is in March 2019 for $695,000.
The property included a three bedrooms home with two master suites, a huge shed with granny flat and a spa.
“It has been a dream living on the Sunshine Coast, so close to Australia Zoo, and among the most beautiful hiking trails and beaches in the world,” the duo said when the property was listed for sale.
Bowen Hills
Lisa sold her Bowen Hills townhouse in 2021 for $815,000.
The property had been her Australian home base for more than 12 years.
At the time, the pop star said “a lot of music” was made in the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home.
“I lived there with Mummy and Jessie, so I have a lot of really beautiful memories,” she said.
Gold Coast
Jessica and her fiancee Alex Smith bought a double-storey apartment on the Gold Coast for $1.73m in 2023 with plans to renovate.
The beachfront two-bedroom, two-bathroom home had terracotta floor tiles, a dated kitchen and a leaking roof in the bathroom.
The couple said they had grand plans for the unit.
“We want it to feel like it has a lot of personality. We want it to be a little eccentric,” Jessica said.
While these iconic Queensland acts didn’t make the Hottest 100 of Australian Songs cut, they too once called a slice of the sunshine state home.
SAVAGE GARDEN
This ARIA award-winning pop duo’s hit ‘I Want You’ scraped into the 100 Hottest list at No. 97.
Cornubia
Savage Garden formed in 1993 with Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones rehearsing and recording at Jones’ home at 10 Ballan Ct, Cornubia.
When Jones sold the home in 2002 for $230,000 he left behind a plaque that read “built in 1982, this room was converted to a sound studio in 1994 where Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones of ‘Savage Garden’ wrote and recorded most the songs from their self-titled debut album”.
The property sold again in 2019 for $590,000 and in 2020 for $618,000. It is now valued at $1.06m.
Cleveland
In 2006 Jones sold a waterside residence at 32 Sentinel Ct, Cleveland for $5.8m.
The home sold again 2013 for $4.96m and smashed the Cleveland sales record went it sold for $8.5m in 2020.
POWDERFINGER
Powderfinger, formed in Brisbane in 1989, appeared in the Hottest 100 of Australian Songs three times, with ‘My Happiness’ at No. 6, ‘These Days’ at No. 14 and ‘(Baby I’ve Got You) On My Mind’ at No. 70 while lead singer Bernard Fanning came in at No. 57 with ‘Wish You Well’.
Camp Mountain
Guitarists Ian Haug owns and operates Airlock Studios in Camp Mountain, where he also has a home.
Wights Mountain
In 2016, Powderfinger lead guitarist, Darren Middleton listed his Wights Mountain home of 15 years for sale for $1.395m.
The 2.05ha property came with a dam, barn and mango grove.
“We stumbled across this block of land and made an offer, as soon as we saw it we thought we could build a house here that could become the ultimate hideaway,” Middleton said at the time.
Paddington
Also in 2016, Fanning sold a two-bedroom investment unit in Paddington for $520,000, having bought it in 2011 for $422,500.
He listed a second nearby two-bedorom unit for sale for offers over $400,000 around the same time.
Toowong
In 2022 a link to Powderfinger may have helped save an old Queenslander from developers.
‘Goldicott House’ and its outbuildings, including a former Brisbane Boys College music room where Fanning learned his craft, was bought by developers in 2017.
Developers sought to demolish the music room building, but numerous objections from locals based on the historic nature of the estate caused plans to be rejected by council.
BBC, in partnership with the Presbyterian Methodist Schools Association, purchased ‘Goldicott’ in February 2022 for $17m.
KEITH URBAN
Country music star and husband of Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban grew up in Caboolture, just north of Brisbane.
At one point he lived on an acreage block on Pumicestone Rd with his family.
The property is not visible from the road but the ‘Days Go By’ singer did revisit the home in 2005, chatting with the new owners and a horse from his childhood named Gypsy, according to a Sunshine Coast Daily report from 2006.
It is also believed the Urban family once called a little weatherboard home on Douglas Tce in Caboolture home at one point during Keith’s childhood.
The home still stands and has and estimated value of $665,000.
THE BEE GEES
The Redcliffe Peninsula’s most famous export, the Bee Gees once called an old cottage on Tramore St, Margate, home.
Unfortunately, the property was gutted in a fire in 2012.
The property was one of several Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb lived in while growing up in the area.
Post-fire, the empty block sold for $350,000 and then again in 2021 for $535,000 before a house was built on the land.
THE GO-BETWEENS
This indie rock band was formed in Brisbane in 1977 and their track ‘Streets of Your Town’ was No. 84 on the countdown.
Six months after forming the band, singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan moved into a share house at 10 Golding St, Toowong
Between 1978 and 1979, the band recorded a number of songs live in Forster’s bedroom, which were released on ‘The Lost Album’ in 1999.
Property records show the Golding St home was built around 1930 and was last sold in May 1984 for $50,000. It is estimated to be worth about $1.36m.
REGURGITATOR
Forming in Brisbane in 1993, this alt-rock band had ‘!(The Song Formerly Known as)’ appear at No. 67 on the Hottest 100 list.
The group formed in the garage of 40 Coopers Camp Rd, Bardon, which was owned by Lien Yeomans, the mum of lead singer Quan Yeomans.
Ms Yeomans sold the property in 2016 for $975,000.
At the time of the sale, Yeomans said he wrote all of Regurgitator’s early songs downstairs on a 4-track tape machine.
“Mum let me set up full drum kits and amplifiers and I made a racket,” he said.
“My base player came downstairs and saw me tinkering away and that’s what kicked it (Regurgitator) off.”
THELMA PLUM
Gamilaraay woman, Thelma Plum appeared at No. 53 on the countdown with ‘Better in Blak’.
Born in Brissy, Plum spent most of her life in the river city and her third EP, ‘Meanjin’ was a love letter to her hometown.
The singer-songwriter bought an apartment in the suburb of West End in 2022 for $780,000, with the home today estimated to be worth more than $1m.
THE SAINTS
A modest tin and timber building at 4 Petrie Tce was once the share house, rehearsal space and live venue for The Saints, with a shopfront space at the front of the home becoming known as ‘Club 76’.
The rock band formed in 1973 and singer Christ Bailey moved into the Petrie Tce home in 1976.
Due to the place being unlicensed and unregulated, its time as a music venue lasted only until early 1977.
The home is now a commercial property with a number of businesses having operated from the former ‘Club 76’, including a law firm and a digital marketing agency.
Originally published as Revealed: Homes of Aus hottest musos
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