Daddy Cool, Melbourne

, 1974

Australian rock band Daddy Cool was formed in 1970. In that year, between May and November, almost no Australian music was heard on radio because of a dispute between radio stations and major record companies, and bands could only survive by filling live venues. Daddy Cool - Ross Wilson, Ross Hannaford, Gary Young and Wayne Duncan - played 50s rock & roll songs with a hip 70s attitude, and the mix proved highly popular with live audiences. They released 'Eagle Rock' in June 1971. It sat at number 1 for 11 weeks. The album Daddy Who? Daddy Cool, released soon after, broke all previous sales records for an Australian album. Wilson split from the group in 1972 to form Mighty Kong, but Daddy Cool reunited for the Sunbury Festival in January 1974, when this photograph was taken, and stayed together until late 1975. In early 2001 'Eagle Rock' was voted the second-best Australian song ever.