Adelaide Bands That Made It Big
WORDS BY OLIVER LAND.
With the Fringe in swing and this edition’s focus on Adelaide, I figured it was time to dig into some of the artists that came out of our city and was pleasantly surprised by who I found. Of course, some of these are fairly obvious, but with my musical interest being influenced both by my British parents and my own enthusiasm for heavy metal, I had honestly not realised that these famous artists were from Adelaide.
SIA
Starting with the obvious, Sia was born in Adelaide and has gone on to an Incredibly successful music career. Having multiple Grammy nominations, and 15 entries on the APRA billion streams list, (more than any other artist) ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) awards, and an MTV video music award, it is safe to say Sia is one of the most famous people from Adelaide. In fact, in recognition of her achievements, a laneway in Adelaide was renamed Sia Furler Lane, and a mural titled; She Imagined Buttons was painted nearby to commemorate a live performance in Adelaide in 2011.
HILLTOP HOODS
A group formed in Adelaide, Hilltop Hoods also have an impressive list of awards, including ARIA awards, and APRA (Australian Performing Right Association) awards. As well as their music, they have also launched the Hilltop Hoods Initiative in 2005, to help young and upcoming hip hop artists manufacture and distribute a CD. They also established a record company called Golden Era records, also based in South Australia. A song they released called “1955” in collaboration with Sydney artist Montaigne took inspiration from Adelaide, likening it to living in a small town.
COLD CHISEL
Formed in Adelaide in 1973, Cold Chisel is an Australian “pub rock” band, renowned for the Australian rock personas the members had. They would regularly play filled out venues and were known for having incredibly dynamic live shows. They’re part of the ARIA hall of fame, among many awards, and are still selling hundreds of thousands of albums today.
I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN
An Adelaide metal core band, formed in 2000, I Killed the Prom Queen were extremely popular in the Australian metal scene. They had three albums with one in the top thirty on the ARIA music chart. They also, in true metal fashion, disbanded a total of three times, due to band members moving to other bands and being unable to find replacements. While not usually a genre of metal I listen to, I actually have a soft spot for these guys, as they were one of the first metal bands to listened to and introduced me to the genre.
THE TESTEAGLES
Founded in Adelaide in 1997, I had never heard of these guys until I talked to a work friend of mine who was very involved with the Adelaide music scene. I told him I was writing this article, and he told me to check these guys out. I later discovered that they are actually fairly well known, having been featured on Triple J, and frequently playing at the Big Day Out. Their album non-comprehendus peaked at number 8 on the ARIA charts. Unfortunately, they’re disbanded now, but definitely worth a listen to.
This is not the definitive list of Adelaide musicians, and I guarantee there are some amazing new artists rising in this city all the time. I highly recommend you go and check out as many live performances in town as you can, I firmly believe no live music is wasted time. (Maybe except those cover bands that do Beatles songs or the like. I’d understand if you give them a miss.)
EDITORIAL NOTE: This article has been reuploaded and was originally published in 2023.