Ross Wilson | Long Play Series

Since the mid-1960s, Ross Wilson has been a dominant force in the Australian music industry as a singer, songwriter and producer. Wilson has fronted some of the country’s most influential bands including The Pink Finks, Sons of a Vegetal Mother, Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock, while songs such as ‘Eagle Rock’, ‘Come Said The Boy’ and ‘A Touch of Paradise’ have become part of the Australian music canon.

As a producer, Wilson has worked his magic with artists as diverse as Skyhooks, Jo Jo Zep, Screaming Jets and The Johnnys. In 1974, Wilson produced Skyhooks’ breakthrough album, Living in the Seventies, and despite six of the 10 songs on the album being banned from radio play, the album went straight to No. 1 where it stayed for 16 weeks overtaking Daddy Who? Daddy Cool as the biggest-selling Australian album to date.

Ross Wilson continues to perform live around the country with his band The Peaceniks and is one the few artists to be represented twice in the ARIA Hall of Fame having been inducted as a solo artist and producer in 1989, and as a member of Daddy Cool in 2006.

In this interview with Brian Nankervis, Ross Wilson discusses seeing Johnny O’Keefe at Festival Hall with his dad, writing ‘Eagle Rock’, and his first reactions on seeing Skyhooks perform live.

Interviewer: Brian Nankervis
Location: Melbourne Room, Arts Centre Melbourne, 2017

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As part of our commitment to capturing and sharing great Australian music stories, the Australian Music Vault asked some of the country’s most influential trailblazers and unsung heroes to open up about their lives in music.