With Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking what you’ll get for the Australian music lover in your life. That’s where we come in. Here you’ll find Six Australian music books that make great Xmas gifts.
Gudinski by Stuart Coupe
A compelling and enjoyable read that takes you on a ride through the Australian music industry from the 1970’s. It commences with Gudinski learning that his much-worked-for tour by The Rolling Stones is about to be cancelled. What he does next, and what does as he faces many challenges, takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride through the music biz with passion and insight.
John Farnham – The Untold Story by Jane Gazzo
A warts and all look at the career of the man who is arguably Australia’s favourite singer. From the agony behind the decision to release ‘Sadie, The Cleaning Lady’ as his debut and his descent into depression and poverty to the resurgence and risk of the Whispering Jack album and its single ‘The Voice’, this book is incisive and compassionate, revealing much that we don’t know about this iconic star.
The Never, Um, Ending Story by Ian Molly Meldrum
You’d expect this tome to be full of outrageous tales and unbelievable yarns involving the elite of the national and international rock industry – and it is.
Wild, flamboyant, passionate, caring and accident-prone – Molly Meldrum is all of these things, the characteristics that propelled him into the minds of millions of music lovers across the country. Through the magazine Go-Set and later the TV program Countdown, he changed the face of Australian forever – and we love him for it. A fun read!
Here Comes The Sun by Jeremy Oxley and Mary Oxley Griffiths
The Sunnyboys seemed to be about good times, the beach and partying. But it was not at all as it seemed.
At 22, their lead singer Jeremy Oxley was diagnosed with schizophrenia and this story tells of the harrowing journey that followed the break up of the band. It’s a heart-wrenching story of struggle and of love as Mary discovers the shocking way that Jeremy was living and helps him on his journey out of acute darkness.
This book will move you and inspire you.
Tragedy – The Sad Ballad Of The Gibb Brothers
Even if you are not a huge Bee Gees fan, this book is surprisingly compelling, revealing the struggles and highlights of a career of three (and sometimes four) brothers who were able to create a unique sound.
From the organic way in which they evolved their career to the role played by others such as Robert Stigwood, this book is full of the key moments that made this highly successful group one of the world’s most rich and famous.
It could well be the greatest saga in Australian rock music history.
Gurrumul by Robert Hillman
This book encapsulates brilliantly one of the most amazing and enchanting music stories of this nation.
Born on a remote island off the coast of East Arnhem Land, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is a rare and special talent. This book tells his expansive story, of the talent, the places and the beliefs of the man about whom the Sydney Morning Herald’s Bruce Elder wrote, “you will surrender to the greatest voice this continent has ever recorded”. Well worth it.
