A HISTORY OF WOLLONGONG BANDS 1960 - 2004

Not too much is known about the music scene around here in the fifties, and I'm sure there was a raging scene of greaser rockabillys doing their best Buddy / Jerry Lee / J'OK / Elvis impressions, but in the sixties, the live band act exploded with all sorts of rock, mod, pop, r'n'b, surf, garage, blues and psychedelia. There was even a youth club opened in Keira Street, called Zondrae's that catered for local bands as well as putting on all the finest visiting interstate bands. Though local releases were slim, the likes of Earl's Court, Rev Black & The Rockin' Vicars, The Marksmen, The Saints all put out fine singles.

In the Seventies, there was a fine blues/progressive scene which evolved with the decade to encompass punk, new wave and early electonica.

The Eighties saw many new wave bands emerge from the inspiration of punk, and now bands put out releases on their own labels - Sunday Painters, Bamboo Bridges, Man Bites Dog, Mutated Noddies, Chaotic Delusion, as well as local bands receiving recognition from other indie labels - The Unheard and the Proton Energy Pills etc receiving alternative chart success and interstate success in the late 80's. The Ironworkers Club sprang up a scene of wanna be's who did there best to portray Wollongong as some sort of 'Detroit'. Though to be fair, not all Wollongong bands emulated the Birdman/Stooges sound. A vibrant blues scene, pop and folk was also evident. Around this time, the introduction of the curse of the pokie machine also resulted in the many venues around Wollongong opting for the one man band over the actual live band. Unfortunately, the $$$ in the eyes of the publican took prioity.

The 1990's and 2000's saw some Wollongong bands go on to tour and release vinyl and/or cd's nationally and internationally - such as The Merry Widows, Dave Beniuk, Tumbleweed, Infusion, Segression, Thumlock, Machine Translations, Porcelain, Monstrous Blues, Rockafella, Waik, etc. Local Council even chipped in with funds and opened the Wollongong Youth Centre. This grew to some local government funded CD compilations such as Socketwood and No Dress Regulations giving some bands there first chance in the studio. Also The old Ironworkers was born again as an alla age venue called Sunami which was succesful in promoting local acts as well as international and national bands.

All the artists included on this page have at sometime lived in and played in bands in Wollongong, or feature a band member who came from the Wollongong / Illawarra region. I have left out some names such as Steve Kilbey of the Church who lived in Dapto as a kid, and Tim Freedman from the Whitlams, Rob Younger of Radio Birdman /New Christs fame, as they are more known as Sydney bands by the international media.. Though others, such as jazz giants Vince Jones and James Morrison remain identified with the Illawarra region. Wollongong has also recently become the home for many musicians from such bands as the Dropbears, The Clouds, Lighthouse Keepers, and more.

By no means is this a complete list - most of my info comes from my own knowledge and would love to be updated and corrected if need be. If you have any corrections, or additions, pictures, clippings, link problems, please contact me at - stagros@aol.com and your act will be accomodated and credited.