Sunnyboys

Emerging from Sydney in 1980, this Australian band fused the propulsive spirit of early-1980s new wave with the melodic guitar textures of the 1960s. Their lighter approach stood out against the heavy rock that then ruled local stages, earning them a following across New South Wales. Outside that state, however, only three singles scraped the lower reaches of the national charts, a shortfall some observers linked to uneven live shows. After their third album left the group creatively adrift, they headed to the UK in search of direction. The resulting record proved strong yet commercially overlooked, prompting the band’s breakup in 1984. Jeremy Oxley reassembled the lineup in 1987, bringing in Peter Hiencenberg on drums, Nick Freedman on guitar and Phil Smith on bass, and the quartet completed one further album.