80s

Over 20 years on, as their legendary status has grown, most people are aware that Strange Tenants were the pre-eminent Australian SKA band of the 1980s. What is often overlooked today, however, is that at their peak, they were one of the most popular and successful live bands of any style. In the early 1980s, hundreds, sometimes thousands of fans - referred to by the music press as "the Tenants' army" - swarmed to their gigs up and down the east coast of Australia. Strange Tenants also did national tours with international acts such as U2, Style Council and UB40.

Kool & the Gang are an American jazz/R&B/soul/funk/disco group. They originally formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. in 1964. They went through several musical phases in their career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, becoming practitioners of R&B and funk, progressing to a smooth disco ensemble, and ended the successful period of their career producing pop/R&B crossovers. They have sold over 70 million albums worldwide.

L.A. Guns is the name of two glam metal groups from Los Angeles, California. One group is led by Guitarist Tracii Guns while the other version is led by Vocalist Phil Lewis & Drummer Steve Riley. The group was initially formed in 1983 and was composed of guitarist Tracii Guns, singer Axl Rose (who left to form Hollywood Rose and was replaced by Michael Jagosz), bassist Ole Beich and drummer Rob Gardner. The group disbanded in 1984 when Tracii Guns and Axl Rose decided to merge both L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose to form the first lineup of Guns N' Roses.

Simply Red are an English pop band, formed in the mid 1980s. Simply Red's roots originate from the notorious 1976 Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester. Manchester art student Mick Hucknall was one of the many young music fans present (along with original members of The Fall, Joy Division, The Smiths and Buzzcocks) who was inspired to form a band after witnessing that gig. The first incarnation of the band was a punk group called The Frantic Elevators.