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The Bizarre Reason Australian Rock Band Icehouse Was Told To Pretend Their 1980s Classic Great Southern Land Was About ANTARCTICA
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Great Southern Land is an iconic tune in honor of Australia.
Released by Icehouse in 1982 and written by their charismatic frontman Iva Davies, the new wave track has become a certified classic over the years.
But Davies, 67, has now revealed that the band’s management was so keen on international success that the songwriter had to pretend the tune wasn’t about Australia at all.
Famous frontman of classic Australian band Icehouse Iva Davies (pictured) has revealed the strange secret behind his iconic hit single Great Southern Land. Davies pictured performing in 2020
“Australia’s cultural contraction was a thing back then,” Davies said in an interview with the Herald Sun on Friday.
“My manager wanted Icehouse to be seen as an international band, not an Australian band, and the last thing he wanted me to do was talk about it being a song about Australia.”
The song, which appeared in 1982 on Icehouse’s second album ‘Primitive Man’, contains the lyrics: ‘Anyone will tell you it’s a prisoner island, hidden in the summer for a million years.’
“It was so obvious it was about Australia,” Davies explains as the song celebrates its 40th anniversary.
Davies says the band’s management was so eager for international success that the songwriter had to pretend the tune wasn’t about Australia at all
The band’s manager went so far as to suggest that the lyrics were about Antarctica, or South America, or “an imaginary place,” Davies says.
In the end, the songwriter told his manager that he couldn’t keep up with the lie.
With its hypnotic beat and lyrics celebrating Australia’s rich and diverse landscape, Great Southern Land captured the imagination of listeners, peaking at number 5 on the charts.
“My manager wanted Icehouse to be seen as an international band, not an Australian band, and the last thing he wanted me to do was talk about it being a song about Australia,” Davies said.
It reached a wider audience when it was featured on the soundtrack of the 1988 Australian classic Young Einstein, which was a major hit.
Elsewhere in the chat, Davies recalls writing the song after being inspired by a plane journey that crisscrossed Australia’s vast red center.
The rocker also claims that he was pressured to stop the song because the playing time of five minutes and 15 seconds was deemed too long, when most singles at the time were only three minutes.
The song, which appeared in 1982 on Icehouse’s second album ‘Primitive Man’, contains the lyrics: ‘Anyone will tell you its a prisoner island, hidden in the summer for a million years’
Davies refused and the song was constantly played on the radio as it climbed the charts.
Founded in 1977 as Flowers, Icehouse has sold over three million albums in Australia and nine million internationally. They were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame in 2006.
The news comes ahead of an Icehouse Great Southern Land tour, with the band playing the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne on November 19.
Founded in 1977 as Flowers, Icehouse has sold over three million albums in Australia and nine million internationally. They were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame in 2006
Brisbane will follow on November 26 at the Riverside.
In Sydney, Icehouse will appear on December 12 at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt.
Ticket information can be found here.
The news comes ahead of an Icehouse Great Southern Land tour