Pub rock (Australia)

Pub rock is a term for a style of Australian rock and roll popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s and still influencing contemporary Australian music today. The term came from the venue at which most of these bands originally played at, inner-suburban "pubs" (short for the British term public house which is rarely used in Australia in its full form). These usually rough, noisy, hot, and crowded establishments, were filled with scruffily-attired young men and women, mainly of Anglo-Celtic origin rather than members of Australia's swelling immigrant communities, drinking large quantities of lager and/or spirits (sometimes the Australian-made Bundaberg Rum). The amount of dancing that occurred was fairly minimal, but fans often sung along. The bands that came out of this milleu played fairly straightforward rock and roll, with guitar-dominated lineups occasionally leavened with keyboard players and the like, and were mainly or exclusively male. Perhaps the main distinguishing feature from overseas rock acts was in the lyrics, which were often darkly ironic.

Whilst it was (and still to some extent remains) a huge influence on Australia's popular music culture, few pub rock bands found success outside Australia.

Notable pub rock bands:

• Cold Chisel
• Hunters and Collectors[?]
• Jimmy Barnes[?]
• The Hoodoo Gurus[?]
• AC/DC

See also: Pub rock (UK)