DESCRIPTION:
Australia has produced a wide variety of popular and rock and popular music, from the internationally renowned work of the Bee Gees, AC/DC, INXS, Nick Cave, Savage Garden or pop diva Kylie Minogue to the popular local content of John Farnham, Jimmy Barnes or Paul Kelly. Indigenous Australian music and Australian jazz have also had cross-over influence on this genre.

Among the brightest stars of early Australian rock and roll were Col Joye and Johnny O'Keefe. O'Keefe formed a band in 1956; his hit Wild One made him the first Australian rock'n'roller to reach the national charts. While US and British content dominated airwaves and record sales into the 1960s, local successes began to emerge -- notably The Easybeats and the folk-pop group The Seekers had significant local success and some international recognition, while the bands the Bee Gees and AC/DC had their first hits in Australia before going on to international success.

Pub rock was immensely popular in the 1980s, and the era was typified by AC/DC, Divinyls, Mental As Anything, Midnight Oil, The Choirboys, The Angels, Noiseworks, Air Supply, Cold Chisel and Icehouse. INXS and Men at Work also achieved fame worldwide, and the song "Down Under" became an unofficial anthem for Australia. Australian hip hop began in the early 1980s, primarily influenced by overseas works, but by the 1990s a distinctive local style had emerged, with groups such as the Hilltop Hoods achieving international acclaim for their work.

The 90s saw an increase in the popularity of indie rock in Australia. AC/DC and INXS continued to achieve commercial success in the United States, whilst a multitude of local bands, including Jebediah, Magic Dirt, Spiderbait, The Superjesus, Regurgitator, You Am I, Icecream Hands, Powderfinger, Silverchair and Something for Kate, were popular throughout the country. A small electronic music scene emerged around Sydney and Melbourne, with Severed Heads, Ollie Olsen's No, and Foil all peaking in the 90s.

Australian music experienced somewhat of a rock renaissance in the 2000s with groups such as The Vines, Corey Russell, Jet, Airbourne and Wolfmother charting internationally. Hilltop Hoods were the first Australian hip-hop group to reach the top of the ARIA chart. Channel 10's Australian Idol program was highly popular locally, as were the many "idols" produced.

(extract from Wikipedia 2011)