Russell Crowe pictured during the 1993 Aria Awards (Photo by Patrick Riviere/Getty Images)
The year was 1993. Bum-bags were cool and the Internet was brand new - possibilities, endless. We were Dazed + Confused reincarnating dinosaurs over in Jurassic Park, while Bill Clinton was being sworn in as President.
Despite our ever-increasing acceleration towards the singularity, some things don’t change. Musicians, artists, writers and performers always have, and always will, define, influence and challenge pop-culture in what retrospectively becomes a roadmap of social evolution.
So, with the ARIA Awards right around the corner, what better time to look back at the winners from 25 years ago to see how they have shaped the Australian entertainment industry, and ultimately, the country we call home.
When Yothu Yindi’s infectious song “Treaty” first blazed its way up the charts in 1991, it became Australia’s unofficial anthem for Indigenous reconciliation.
In 1993, for the second year running, the band collected multiple awards – ‘Best Indigenous Release’, ‘Best Video’, ‘Engineer of the Year’. Through music, they transcended politics to embed a message of hope and unity into mainstream pop-culture, as important now as it was a quarter of a century ago.
From humble beginnings busking her way across North America, Wendy Matthews found her way onto the Aussie rock scene in the 1980’s singing backing vocals for some of the era’s biggest artists; Jimmy Barnes, Tim Finn, Icehouse, The Models – just to name a few!
In 1993, she took home three awards for her second solo album, Lily – ‘Best Female Artist’, ‘Highest Selling Single’, ‘Song of the Year’. After winning ‘Best Female Artist’ again in 1994, the Canadian born singer decided to officially call Australia home and became a citizen.
A fresh, young Frente! – hanging out down on Kelly St. reminding us that strangers are just friends we haven’t met yet – scored the award for ‘Breakthrough Artist’, sending their career on a rocketing upward trajectory.
Frente! were all about embracing the strange, proving that in 1993 it was a-ok to be as weird and wonderful as your heart desired.
There are so many highlights from this particular year of epic-ness! Molly Meldrum gave the longest speech in ARIA’s history when he received his ‘Special Achievement Award’, the award presenters included Tim & Neil Finn and Daryl Summers. Other big winners on the night were Crowded House (Best Group), Diesel (Album of the Year for Hepfidelity and Best Male Artist), Lee Kernaghan (Best Country Release) and Ed Keupper (Best Independent Release) and in attendance was Russell Crowe and Elle Macpherson. The afterparty was undoubtedly legendary ... if anyone could remember it!
Some things come and go, some are here to stay, and some are just getting started! So, as you tune into the ARIA Awards this week, take a moment to glimpse into the future and ponder what the legacy of this year’s winners might mean 25 years from now.
If Aussie music of the 90s is your thing you'll love our 90s Oz playlist, packed full of classic tunes and ARIA winners!
