77. I Wanna be Adored by The Stone Roses 1991

I was DJing at KAOS in North Melbourne when the promoter Ronnie Williams turned up with a bunch of singles that had been recommended by to him by a hip record shop in Chapel Street. The only one that didn't work was The Stone Roses "Made Of Stone" I had heard he hype but I just couldn't get it from the single.
Six months later it seemed they were the coolest band in the world. And listening to the album  made it all make sense. Just playing tracks off this album at Lizard lounge made you feel cool.
This is my favourite track off one of my favourite albums. It transports me to another place. Once I put this song on I have to listen to the whole album. It's one of those albums that makes you want to be part of a band and just play guitars all night long.

They toured Australia after the release of their disappointing second album and unfortunately they were pretty bad. I saw them at the Metro and Ian Brown couldn't sing for toffee.
Later I contributed to a book about this album for the 331/3 series where they interviewed me about it's influence. And it did. It made me want to pick up an electric guitar again. And write tunes.

76. 52 Girls by The B52s 1979

In 1980 I finally got to Paris, France and started wandering the cold streets of the French capital looking for something new. I managed to try out a few words even if it was only lying in bed ordering 'le petite dejenuer'.

We posed by the Eiffel Tower, by rivers and bridges. At night we ate and drank in small cafes. Heading home one night full of wine and atmosphere I heard this strange sci-fi guitar sound coming from a record shop. It was just so different to what was going on in my Mod/punk world. When the singer started singer his voice was so bad I gathered they were French. I've discovered a band no one knows about.

I went into the record shop and it turned out to be an American band. I was disappointed they weren't French. But I couldn't wait to get back to Melbourne with my ska and B52s records. When I got home Rock Lobster was everywhere. Independent radio and Countdown. The Specials had taken off. I had nothing to show.
They played Festival hall not long after. The people I knew who went complained they didn't wear their wigs. By that time I was over the sound of the B52s. Radio played them to death.
And I still can't listen to Rock Lobster.

75. Blitzrieg Bop by The Ramones 1976

Living in the suburbs in the Seventies I didn't know where any independent shops were so I would ride my by my records from a newsagent in Blackburn near the train station or ride my bike to K-Mart on the corner of Blackburn Road & Burwood Highway. Or I would take the bus to Box Hill and go to Brashes. This is where I bought this record. A regular reader of NME I heard about the Ramones and it seemed exciting just the words they used. Buzzsaw guitars and drills and machinery to describe the sound. I had to buy it. I couldn't believe it when I saw it in the record racks. I shelled out 10 bucks and took it home.

The first song Blitzreig Bop knocked me sideways. It was everything they described and more. It had great pop tunes. It was sixties and seventies and the future but it was minimal and fierce and prehistoric. I had just begun writing songs. Suddenly I had a model. Iggy Pop and the New York Dolls had laid the groundwork but this was it! This was the model for punk rock. And one of the best opening songs ever.
Not long after I saw Nick Cave and his band the Boys Next Door play some church hall in Mount Waverley. They did a great version of this song.

74. Young Girl by Gary Pucket and The Union Gap 1968

My brother Steve had a portable record player that he kept between our beds. I would often wake to him playing a 20 happening Hits or something similar. I loved those mornings. Usually Sundays. I loved those albums full of the great and the terrible pop songs of the era.

My kids love Glee. One night the Glee cast sang Young Girl as part of a medley. Or mash up as they call it. I had to find the original. I put it on. And I was back in bed on a Sunday morning where weekends went forever and we didn’t get up until bacon and eggs were ready. Fulton road, Blackburn South. One day I rented a horse and rode it all around neighborhood. What was I thinking? Nowadays I wouldn't get on a horse if you paid me.

73. My Pal by God 1988

I started the Lizard lounge in 1990 behind the Union Hotel in Chapel Street Windsor. When I first opened the club it was only on Saturday nights. The first DJ I got to work with me was Jason Underhill. I’d known Jason since the days of the Venetian Room in the early 80’s when he was a young teenager. I even remember the first time I met him in the kitchen there. Then for years he was always around. Doing this or that. He tells me he even DJed. I must know this. I got him to DJ with me.

So we became a team on Saturday nights and brought along is great sense of humour and a bunch of rock tracks. He liked to play the Cult and he liked to play this song. Released 3 years earlier I had kind of missed the boat on this one. But it’s a classic from the descending guitar lines to the great chorus of

 “you’re my only friend
you don’t even like me

At first the Lizard went nowhere. We’d make enough to pay for a couple of records. We’d play half hours sets. I’d wander down to the big video store opposite Windsor Station . It was huge. And they sold CDs. I loved hanging out there between sets. And the small numbers were enough to keep us going. Later it took off. In a big way.  And they listened to dance and pop and hip hop and My Pal. It was fantastic.

And later Jason and I took off to the USA together. And we hung out in LA and got drunk in San Francisco. My pal.

72. My Sweet Lord by George Harrison 1970

Early 70s. Living in Blackburn South. Before girls figured in my life there was one thing I liked to do more than anything else and that was to listen to music. We had an old stereo that had a compartment to keep my limited supply of albums in. Every album I owned was a Beatles record. Before I could own anything else I had to have all the Beatles albums. I would listen to music incessantly. In the living room . On the couch.

But then one day my brother took his portable record player outside. He started to play all of the triple album All Things Must Pass by George Harrison. Listening to music outside in the sun. Lying on the grass. Drinking lemonade. Brilliant.

71.Groove is in the Heart by Dee Lite 1990

In the 90’s the Lizard Lounge exploded with packed houses every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday nights. It got so popular I had to give up my day job and just run the night club. The Lizard lounge was the backroom of the Union Hotel in Chapel Street Windsor. When we first opened it I tried to copy a few of the ideas I had read about from overseas magazines. I hung up sheets and projected slides and colours on to them. I had videos going on little screens. We gave away wrapped lollies at the door. Kind of sixties dance vibe. And we played records to dance to.

“Groove is in the heart” was one of our anthems. You would save this until around 11:45pm and bang it on to send the dancers crazy. We played this song off and on from the beginning. The song came out in late in 1990 just as the Lizard started to take off. People just loved it.

When I got to England, the year after I was surprised to see Lady Miss Keir’s outfit in a museum. It seems she had become a bit of an icon in Britain whereas in Australia they were nothing but a one hit wonder.