Sounds Of Then
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Sounds of Then (This Is Australia)" is a 1985 song by Australian rock band,
GANGgajang Ganggajang, stylised as GANGgajang are an Australian pop rock band which formed in 1984. The four founders are frontman Mark 'Cal' Callaghan (ex- Riptides) on guitar and lead vocals, Chris Bailey on bass guitar, Graham 'Buzz' Bidstrup on dru ...
, from their self-titled debut album, ''
GANGgajang Ganggajang, stylised as GANGgajang are an Australian pop rock band which formed in 1984. The four founders are frontman Mark 'Cal' Callaghan (ex- Riptides) on guitar and lead vocals, Chris Bailey on bass guitar, Graham 'Buzz' Bidstrup on dru ...
''. "Sounds of Then" was written by front man, Mark "Cal" Callaghan, who provides lead vocals and guitar. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' &/or 'Performer:' He co-produced the album with fellow band member,
Graham Bidstrup Graham Leslie "Buzz" Bidstrup (born 30 August 1952) is an Australian musician, songwriter, music producer and talent manager. He was a member of the Angels (1976–1981), the Party Boys (1983–1984) and Gang Gajang (1984–1987, 1993–1996, ...
, and
Joe Wissert Joe Wissert (born c. 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American record producer. Wissert has worked with artists such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Boz Scaggs, Helen Reddy, The Lovin' Spoonful, Gordon Lightfoot and The Turtles. Overview Wis ...
(Earth, Wind & Fire, Helen Reddy, the J. Geils Band) at Rhinoceros Studios. It was issued as a single in November 1985 and peaked at No. 35 on the
Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...
Singles Chart in February 1986. Note: The Kent Report chart was licensed by
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
(ARIA) from mid-1983 until 19 June 1988.
"Sounds of Then" became the band's most popular and recognisable song, and was used as
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
's station ID promotion in 1996. The B-Side, "House of Cards", had been recorded live for youth radio station, 2JJJ. It has been described as, "a defining portrait of the nation."


Composition

Callaghan recalled that it started as a poem in his notebook, reflecting on the time that his family moved from England to
Bundaberg Bundaberg () is the major regional city in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the List of cities in Australia by population, ninth largest city in the state. The Bundaberg central business district is situa ...
in Queensland, a major culture shock for him:
"We lived half way between Bundaberg and the ocean, all around was bush scrub and cane fields. And walking up to the top of the street to catch the school bus, one morning you turn around and there's fire. It's one of those songs where if your goal was only to sell records, whatever it took to do it, then the song would have been called 'This is Australia'. But it's not about that. It's a brick veneer drama. My parents got divorced when they came to Australia, it was a horrible period of my life. And the song is actually about how smells and sounds and sensations can rekindle a memory – which is what music does so successfully for people: 'I think I hear the sounds of then and people talking / Scenes recalled by minute movement / And songs they fall from the backing tape…'."


Track listing


1985 single

All songs written by Mark Callaghan unless otherwise indicated. # "Sounds of Then" – 3:57 # "House of Cards" (live version)


1996 re-release

# "Sounds of Then" aka "This Is Australia" – 3:57 # "Giver of Life" (Geoffrey Stapleton, Chris Bailey, Callaghan, Graham Bidstrup, K Bidstrup aka Kay Bee)– 3:39 # "Sounds of Then" (Surf mix) – 3:23


In popular culture

The song was used in a
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
ad and in the 1987 feature film, '' North Shore''. In the 2015 TV documentary-drama '' Australia: The Story of Us,'' a snippet from the chorus is frequently played. An instrumental version sub-titled variously as: "Sounds of Then" (Instrumental) or (Surf mix) or (''Mad Wax'' mix) had been used in the
Quiksilver Quiksilver is a brand of surf-inspired apparel and accessories that was founded in 1969 in Torquay, Victoria, but is now based in Huntington Beach, California. It is one of the world's largest brands of surfwear and boardsport-related equip ...
-sponsored cult surf film, ''Mad Wax'' (1984), for which Bidstrup was the musical director. The instrumental was later released as the B-side of their 1986 single, "Initiation". It was also added to the 1996 re-release of the main single (listed below) with an additional B-Side "Giver of Life". In 2016 the song was one of ten new tracks added to the
National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...
's
Sounds of Australia The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film & Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings deemed culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant and relevant for Australia. It was fo ...
collection. In January 2018, as part of
Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 45 radio stations with flagship stations broadcasting a mainstream/classic rock music format in Sydney, Melbourne, and B ...
's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Sounds of Then" was ranked number 7.
Adam Brand and the Outlaws ''Adam Brand and the Outlaws'' is the thirteenth studio album by Australian recording artist Adam Brand; this one credited to Adam Brand and the Outlaws. The outlaws consists of Australian country musicians Drew McAlister, Travis Collins, Matt C ...
covered the song on the 2016 album ''
Adam Brand and the Outlaws ''Adam Brand and the Outlaws'' is the thirteenth studio album by Australian recording artist Adam Brand; this one credited to Adam Brand and the Outlaws. The outlaws consists of Australian country musicians Drew McAlister, Travis Collins, Matt C ...
''.
Sarah Blasko Sarah Elizabeth Blaskow (born 23 September 1976), known professionally as Sarah Blasko, is an Australian singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. From April 2002, Blasko developed her solo career after fronting Sydney-based band Acquie ...
covered the song in 2021 in a release as a single. Her rendition did not chart, but gained national exposure in Australia by being used in a television advertisement for Colorbond steel.


Charts


References


External links


GANGgajang discography
{{Gang Gajang 1985 songs 1985 singles Gang Gajang songs Australian patriotic songs PolyGram singles Songs about Australia