My favorite never-was, The Sunnyboys

When I mention the groups that were popular when I lived in Sydney that should have been bigger, I tend to talk about Split Enz, The Church, and Cold Chisel, but all those groups had some overseas success. Not these guys. I remember hearing them interviewed after returning from a failed American expedition, and they were particularly upset about being labeled a "garage band". That was what appealed to me about them, but it wasn't what the System wanted in 1981. I've been seeing them pop up on punk and post-punk lists lately, and they're even better than I remembered. They didn't last long, as the singer (and brother of the bassist) had some issues with schizophrenia, which gives this song and video a deeper meaning. fwiw, this video was filmed for $2,000, which went for renting the space. At the same time, INXS was recording a video for six digits. The ditch is nearer.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlAb7p1usIo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMFumcGBkbs

So much about making it big in the United States back then was whether or not you could get an important promoter to take you on. If you had a leader of the band that wasn't a smart businessman/businesswoman/businessperson they were sunk and couldn't get out of their local areas. Many bands I really liked never made it really big because of this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnUV46Mc77o

This one very much has the OzRock sound that was prevalent when I lived there.