Icehouse (band)

Icehouse is an Australian band, originally billed as Flowers, best known in Australia in the late 1970s Sydney pub scene and later in the early to mid 80s for more mainstream success and radio airplay.

They were early pioneers in the use of synthesizers and the Fairlight CMI in popular music.

Overview

They were formed in 1977 as Flowers by Iva Davies (born Ivor Arthur Davies, on 22 May, 1955, in Wauchope, New South Wales, Australia), who was the main creative force, and a classically trained musician; and bass player, Keith Welsh. for a number of years they also obtained the services of Bob Kretschmer, until he was replaced by young guitarist Paul Gildea.

Since 1980 Icehouse has released seven albums, several compilations, and music from collaborations with other artists including dance companies. The 1987 album Man of Colours was released at the apex of their fame and international success.

Albums

As Flowers, Icehouse built up a strong following as a live act around Sydney, noted for their distinctive cover versions of songs by a wide range of acts including T-Rex and Brian Eno. After signing to the Regular Festival Records label, they released their first album Icehouse in 1980, which became a hit in Australia. The single from this album, also called "Icehouse", created some interest in the U.K., partly because of a memorable video. Other singles included "Can't Help Myself" and "Walls". The album made use of synthesisers, especially the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5.

Their next album release was Primitive Man, recorded with assistance from Keith Forsey, who later worked with Simple Minds. This album was the source of the international hit-single "Hey Little Girl", which has remained their most regularly played single. Another strong track from this album was "Great Southern Land", which featured in the late 1980s film Young Einstein.

In 1985 Davies' musical standing was further enhanced when he was commissioned to compose and record the score for the acclaimed Sydney Dance Company production of Graeme Murphy's dance work Boxes.

Icehouse's third album, Sidewalk, was far more sombre and reflective, featuring the tracks "I Don't Believe Anymore" and "Someone Like You". After this album the band made further inroads into the U.S. market with their 1986 release Measure for Measure.

The next album, Man of Colours, was their best-selling album. It contained the hit singles "Crazy" and "Electric Blue" (a song co-written by John Oates from the band Hall and Oates). With this album, the band reached an international zenith, never surpassing this level of popularity and exposure again.

Recent History

In 1995, Davies was again involved with the Sydney Dance Company's production of Berlin. The musical score is a collection of cover versions of songs by David Bowie, Brian Eno, Simple Minds, The Psychedelic Furs, Frank Sinatra, Lou Reed, Roxy Music, XTC, Talking Heads, The Velvet Underground, PiL, The Cure and Killing Joke, which saw him collaborating with pianist Max Lambert in the development of the music.

As well as recording the score to the ballet, Davies performed these songs live with Icehouse at each show. He was an intrinsic part of the ballet, in a role similar to the one in Boxes. Iva was extremely successful in creating a translation from the dancers to the audience. Berlin was an instant success and ran for two seasons. Both shows were the most commercially successful that The Sydney Dance Company have had to date.

In 2002, The Whitlams covered Don't Believe Anymore from Sidewalk for their album Torch The Moon which enjoyed moderate radio success.

2003 was a busy year for Iva Davies as he contributed to the film score of the Russell Crowe epic Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

On the 16 August 2006, Icehouse were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame along side acts such as Midnight Oil, Divinyls and Rose Tattoo.

Also in 2006 Icehouse featured prominently on the Triple M Essential 2006 Countdown with 14 songs selected including :

• Man Of Colours
• Electric Blue
• We Can Get Together
• Don't Believe Any More and
• Great Southern Land which came in at number 12.

Discography

Studio Albums

• Icehouse (1980)
• Primitive Man (1982)
• Love In Motion (1983)
• Sidewalk (1984)
• Measure for Measure (1986)
• Man of Colours (1987)
• Code Blue (1990)
• Big Wheel (1993)
• The Berlin Tapes (1995)
• Bi-polar Poems (2006)

Compilations & Remixes

• Great Southern Land (1989)
• Masterfile (1992)
• Full Circle (1993)
• The Singles (1995)
• Love In Motion (1996)
• No Promises (1997)
• Hey Little Girl `97 Remixes (1997)
• Meltdown (2002)
• Heroes (2004)

EPs

• Fresco (1983)

Other Works

• Boxes (1985)

Soundbite

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