'60s Downunder

The story of homegrown pop in ’60s is a two-parter, and the point of separation was the Beatles’ ’64 tour (one-third of Adelaide turned out to greet them). Before the Beat Invasion, Johnny O’Keefe (backed by influential rock ’n’ roll entrepreneur Lee Gordon) was a first-wave hero. Post-Mop Tops, we got the Easybeats (“Friday on My Mind,” “Good Times”) and the Seekers (“Georgy Girl”). The sounds of the ’60s continue to evolve in Next Steps.

We've captured the full, groovy glory of Second Wave Aussie rock here, in the work of the Masters Apprentices (dubbed Australia's Rolling Stones by DJ Stan Rofe), whose rawness and love of distortion lives on through great cuts like "Buried and Dead." Alongside them, check out John Farnham, who hit the big time with "Sadie, the Cleaning Lady."

Australian '60s rock can hold its head high alongside the rest of the world, especially with outfits like the Purple Hearts and Wild Cherries, both of whom featured the original Oz speaker-shredder, Lobby Loyde. Check out the Lobster's axe feedback on the Cherries' classic ode to a psychedelic crustacean, "Krome Plated Yabby."

The ’60s was the decade of conscription for Vietnam, the push for Aboriginal rights, the opposition to White Australia, and the cultural revolution, especially in music. These sounds track the mighty shift in home-grown rock and pop: from the so-called First Wave artists like Johnny O’Keefe (inspired by the likes of Elvis and Little Richard) to the great Second Wave of the late ’60s (the bulk of this playlist), which includes leading lights Russell Morris and Normie Rowe, as well as pioneering bad-boy rockers like the Purple Hearts.