Powderfinger
December 4th 2007 20:00
Hailing from the sunshine city of Brisbane is one of Australia's most popular bands - Powderfinger.
Formed in 1990 as a five-piece band consisting of Bernard Fanning (vocals/guitars/keys), Darren Middleton (guitars/vocals), Ian Haug (guitars/vocals), John Collins (bass/vocals) and Jon Coghill (drums), the band launched their debut album of 1994 to critical acclaim.
Despite failing to achieve commercial success with 'Parables For Wooden Ears', the band persevered and through sheer hard work, their second album, 'Double Allergic', launched the band into public eye and sold over 200,000 copies in the process.
The album spawned four singles with "Pick You Up" and "D.A.F." receiving much radio airplay at the time and won over many critics with its successful blend of melodic pop songs coupled with noisy guitars.
It wasn't until 1998 that the band really captured the imagination of Australian music lovers with their third album, 'Internationalist', which raided the ARIAs of that year with four awards including "Album of the Year". The album well and truly cemented the band's position on the Australian music scene with the hit single "The Day You Come", a politically and socially charged song, garnering massive airplay.
"Passenger", the album's fourth single was a smash hit and won an ARIA award for "Song Of The Year" in 1999.
The best was yet to come.
In 2000, the band released arguably their most successful album to date - 'Odyssey Number Five'. Selling over 600,000 copies in Australia alone, the album was certified 7-times platinum and won a bucketful of awards at the 2001 ARIA Music Awards including the prestigious "Album of the Year" award and "Single of the Year" award for "My Happiness".
By this time, Powderfinger could do no wrong as the darling of the Australian music scene.
The band's fifth studio album, 'Vulture Street' released in 2003 had huge shoes to fill and it did not disappoint. Certified six-times platinum and spending a staggering 47 weeks on the ARIA Charts, the album peaked at No.1 and spawned the hit singles "(Baby I've Got You) On My Mind", "Since You've Been Gone", "Love Your Way" and "Sunsets".
After a three-year hiatus which included the release of a very successful solo album for lead singer Bernard Fanning, the band launched 'Dream Days at the Hotel Existence' in June 2007 - their sixth studio album.
Once again, the band proved they had the midas touch when it came to distinct Australian rock with the album peaking at No.1 and achieving the highest first week sales figures of any new release in 2007, with total sales of 40,847.
Shortly after the release of 'Dream Days at the Hotel Existence', the band announced a tour of the UK in support of the album for December 2007.
Without a doubt, Powderfinger will go down in history as one of the best Australian rock bands ever.
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