Skyhooks (Official Thread)

snakes&ladders

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2009
Posts
3,287
Reaction score
7
If you're a trueblue Aussie like me, you can't help ever having heard of Australia's 'brashiest' rock band........SKYHOOKS!!! I first heard of them when I was a teenybopper in high school and what I heard, I liked very much......thanx to Mushroom Records too:). But don't take my word for it......read more here......
Skyhooks Official Website

Albums:

Living in the 70's 1974
Ego Is Not a Dirty Word 1975
Straight in a Gay Gay World 1976
Guilty Until Proven Insane 1978
Hot for the Orient 1980


<<In the mid Seventies Skyhooks basically gave the Australian Music Industry the enema it had been needing. For too long many Australian bands spent hours copying their UK/USA cousins,Australian content in songs was far and few,and the biggest local selling album was by Daddy Cool which had sold an unheard of 50,000 lps.

Skyhooks were cheeky,brash,colourful,wore makeup (many years before Kiss were conceived),songwriter Greg Macainsh with a grab bag of amazing tunes-many sprinkled with Melbourne place names and Australian themes,put together the band that would change the musical history of our country. It lit the fuse that put Australian bands back on the front covers of newspapers and Australian music on the shelves of record shops.

Their debut album "Living in the Seventies" went on to sell 300,000 albums (the equivalent of Twenty Gold awards) lodging itself firmly at the number one spot on the Australian charts for many months.

They appeared on Australian tv on the first day of colour transmission,shocked the parents and became pin up heroes for a generation. Their lead singer was called Shirley because of HIS curly locks,guitarist Red Symons in Red satin and matching cape,flicking his Tongue at the masses while a giant ******* Twistie Mushroom explodes over the crowds during his anthem to masturbation ("Smut"). Guitarist Bob Starkie-graduated from the Keith Richards/Chuck Berry School of Rock (with honours) his long black curls hanging over his lizard- necked jumpsuit. Bassist and Songwriter, Greg Macainsh-platinum silver hair,long drop earrings hanging from BOTH ears,wearing a yellow suit (matching cowboy hat) biting the thick bass strings on his sexist nude bass.....and who was it that said that all drummers were the same. Fred Strauks,plugs in his space suit,the stage lights drop and he flickers on and off during his drum solo. If it were any other bands the theatrics would overshadow the music. Skyhooks (thankfully) were not just another band.

Their second album "EGO is not a dirty word" debuted at number one,while their single of the same name was sitting opposite at #1 on the singles charts. The LP went on to sell over 200,00 copies and their "EGO" tour sold out completely. Despite Australia being the equivalent size of the United States the population is much smaller (the total population of Oz being the same as New York)...the band needed new challenges and did what few other Aussie groups had done..they headed to America. The Mercury/Phonogram label signed them and many months of 1976 were spent Stateside trying to crack the American market that just could not relate. There were some hotspots,in Jacksonville (Florida),the band were support for Uriah Heep and received the same hysteria that greeted them at home.

Whilst in America they hit the studios and recorded their third album Straight in a gay gay World. The album went multi platinum in Australia and one single, the country sounding "Blue Jeans" was a huge hit across the Tasman in New Zealand.
The band returned home for their Brats are Back Tour,a Melbourne radio station made mention of the bands arrival time and hundreds of Skyhook fans decended upon Melbourne airport. The fans forced their way into the press conference,and you could tell the boys were home,the afternoon front page headlines read "Hooks Home to a Riot".


skyhooks.jpg

By blackglove at 2009-12-11
skyhooksalbum.jpg

By blackglove at 2009-12-11
skyhookshorrormovie.jpg

By blackglove at 2009-12-11
 
Last edited by a moderator:

TheFeldster

Mr Kite
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Posts
4,168
Reaction score
10
Location
Adelaide, South Australia
Re: The cheeky and brash SKYHOOKS!

Can't believe this thread was overlooked. Skyhooks rule.

Here's some of their classics:






And here's what guitarist Red Symons thinks of anyone who doesn't like these songs:

redfaces.jpg

*Bit of an Aussie "in-joke", so don't worry if you don't get it, non-Aussies :) ;)
 

Sunny

Settled down at last and very happy.
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Posts
15,728
Reaction score
176
Location
On a far away island .....
Re: The cheeky and brash SKYHOOKS!

I'm a true blue Ausie but I'm sad to say :( I never cared much for Skyhooks music .....
 

CP/M User

Ace in the Hole
Joined
Apr 22, 2009
Posts
3,665
Reaction score
344
Location
Nowhere Man
Re: The cheeky and brash SKYHOOKS!

Sunny wrote:

I'm a true blue Ausie but I'm sad to say :( I never cared much for Skyhooks music .....

In that case you should check out Blackfeather's "At The Mountains of Madness" album, it's got that hard psychedelic edged metal to it plus "Seasons of Change" - it sort of leaves some of that later Aussie 70s metal for dead! :D
 

Sunny

Settled down at last and very happy.
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Posts
15,728
Reaction score
176
Location
On a far away island .....
Re: The cheeky and brash SKYHOOKS!

Sunny wrote:

I'm a true blue Ausie but I'm sad to say :( I never cared much for Skyhooks music .....

In that case you should check out Blackfeather's "At The Mountains of Madness" album, it's got that hard psychedelic edged metal to it plus "Seasons of Change" - it sort of leaves some of that later Aussie 70s metal for dead! :D

I will check it out :grinthumb
 

LOU/REALM

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2010
Posts
6,787
Reaction score
60
Location
England
Re: The cheeky and brash SKYHOOKS!

Thanks to Snakes + Ladders for bringing me to the attention of SKYHOOKS....Its cleared so much up. Ist of all i never knew they were Australian......i have a track by them [HORROR MOVIE]on a punk compilation next to the likes of Patti Smith.Ramones,and suchlike,so i always pictured them from New York. Im impressed to find Horror movie was from 1975...very pre-punk !! " women in uniform" was later covered by IRON MAIDEN. I never knew it was a SKYHOOKS song! Worst of all though:bonk::D i thought it was a ...woman singing...oops
 

Find member

Forum statistics

Threads
30,658
Posts
1,064,895
Members
6,353
Latest member
edmerka

Members online

Top