I thought that for this Australia Day (which is celebrated every January 26 down under), I’d link up with our recent Geeks of Doom theme of celebrating the 25th anniversary of some of the music and albums released during 1986. That year was a big one for Australian artists, with some key releases stamping their mark on the history of the Aussie music industry and the rock scene down under.

From Metal to Pop, from Traditional Alternative to Post-Punk, join me in a look back at some of the biggest and more memorable music releases from Australia 25 years ago in 1986.

Steve Prestwich, who was the drummer for Aussie rock legends Cold Chisel, has passed away at the age of 56. He was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor, but was unable to regain consciousness following surgery.

Prestwich, originally born in England, moved to Australia in the 1970s and eventually joined forces with Jimmy Barnes, Don Walker, and Ian Moss to form Cold Chisel. The band was a major influence on the hard rock scene in Australia (and indeed, on Aussie culture in general), and are often seen as one of many bands that helped bring Aussie rock to the world stage.

Cold Chisel was formed in 1973, initially as an early metal group performing covers of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. Using their metal and hard rock influences, the band evolved with their own original material – coming up with a sounds that many people identified with “Aussie Pub Rock” and songs that many find to be anthemic and synonymous to aspects of Australian culture.