The most famous line-up consisted of prolific songwriters Ross Wilson (ex Daddy Cool) and guitarist Eric McCusker (who luckily pestered Wilson to let him join, doing three auditions, after the initial outing of Mondo Rock had lost momentum) as well as Paul Christie on bass (ex-Kevin Borich Express, who later formed The Party Boys), John James "J. J." Hackett, ex-Stars, on drums, and the versatile James Black (now leading the RocKwiz TV show house band on SBS) on keyboards and guitar. This line-up recorded the second LP Chemistry, out July 1981. The first LP was Primal Park (1979).
The group had numerous successes on the Australian charts. Early hits included Fugitive Kind, Chemistry, State Of The Heart, and Cool World - the latter three collected on their award-winning second album Chemistry. 1980s teen-idol Rick Springfield recorded a version of McCusker's State Of The Heart some years later, making the U.S Top 40.
Further success followed in 1982 with the release of their third LP Nuovo Mondo, spawning the Top 10 single No Time, as well as the Top 40 hits The Queen And Me and the haunting In Another Love. John Farnham recorded a version of A Touch Of Paradise contained on this album, which became a Top 20 single from his 1986 Whispering Jack album.
They had to wait until 1984's The Modern Bop LP for their biggest success however. It came from the McCusker penned "Come Said the Boy", a provocative tale about the loss of virginity , which was banned at the time of release by many radio stations including Sydney's then top-rated 2SM. This failed to stop the song's momentum though, and it went on to become the band's most successful single, peaking at number 2 on the Australian charts in 1984, and is still played on radio today. The album featured two more minor hits - Baby Wants To Rock, and the title track The Modern Bop. In the same year, Ross Wilson wrote the song Bop Girl which his wife Pat Wilson recorded. The song was a major hit in Australia, cracking the Top 5.
Things were cooling by 1986's new recording Boom Baby Boom, however the group still scored a further two hit singles - Rule Of Threes and Primitive Love Rites - the latter being a minor hit in the U.S.
1990 saw their last recording of new material as Mondo Rock, in the Why Fight It LP. The singles released were Things Are Hotting Up and I Had You In Mind, however the group seemed to be running out of steam.
They still play together from time to time, and more recently starred in the 2006 Countdown Spectacular concerts (which were seen by more than 100,000 people throughout Australia), performing a medley of Cool World and Summer Of '81, and a full version of Come Said The Boy.
Ross Wilson dabbled in a solo career and had success with the single Bed Of Nails. (from Wikipedia)
Summer of 81
Mondo Rock Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gonna mail it today-ay
So you won't escape from
These things I wanna say
I wanna thank you for the privilege
I-I wanna thank you for the pain
I'll be handin' you the ashes
We stood on the balcony
And we watched it toge-ether
We were modern men and women
Who changed like the wea-eather
We were one day growin' hot, the next day growin' cold
One day growin' restless, the next day growin' old
Waiting for the countdown, in the summer of '81
Sign up or go underground, in the summer of '81
There's no time for a letter
And there's no one on the phone
So I'll pretend that we're together
I don't want to go alone, no-no-no-no
We stood on the balcony
And we watched it toge-ether
We were modern men and women
Who changed like the wea-eather
We were one day growin' hot, the next day growin' cold
One day growin' restless, the next day growin' old
Waiting for the countdown, in the summer of '81
Sign up or go underground, in the summer of '81
We were waiting for the countdown, in the summer of '81
Sign up or go underground, in the summer of '81
Well we were waiting for the countdown in the summer of '81
Waiting for the countdown in the summer of '81
Waiting for the countdown in the summer of '81
Waiting for the countdown, in the summer of '81
The song "Summer of 81" by Mondo Rock is a nostalgic reflection on the year 1981. The lyrics are written in the form of a letter, expressing the writer's gratitude to a person for being a part of their life. The writer thanks the person for both the good and the bad experiences they shared, acknowledging the pain that came with the privilege of being in each other's lives. The writer then reflects on a summer spent together, watching the world change as modern society evolved. The song acknowledges the transience of life and how quickly people can grow both old and ο»Ώrestless.
The chorus of the song speaks to the sense of impending change that characterized the summer of 1981. The writer was waiting for something to happen, either signing up for something or going underground. This could be interpreted as a reference to the political climate of the time or the writer's personal search for meaning.
Overall, the song is a bittersweet reflection on the fleeting nature of life and the people who shape our experience of it. It captures a specific moment in time with vivid imagery and heartfelt emotion.
Line by Line Meaning
Gonna write you a letter
I am planning to write you a letter
Gonna mail it today-ay
I am going to send it today
So you won't escape from
These things I wanna say
So that you cannot ignore what I am trying to express
I wanna thank you for the privilege
I am grateful for the opportunity you provided me
I-I wanna thank you for the pain
I am grateful for the lessons I learned from the difficult times
I'll be handin' you the ashes
With a thank you for-or the game
I will give you the remains of what was once a great game and express my gratitude for the experience
We stood on the balcony
And we watched it toge-ether
We watched together from the balcony
We were modern men and women
Who changed like the wea-eather
We were up-to-date individuals who adapted to changes frequently
We were one day growin' hot, the next day growin' cold
One day growin' restless, the next day growin' old
We experienced different moods every day and sometimes felt agitated or tired
Waiting for the countdown, in the summer of '81
We were anxiously waiting for a significant event in the summer of 1981
Sign up or go underground, in the summer of '81
Prepare to participate or avoid the event in the summer of 1981
There's no time for a letter
And there's no one on the phone
I don't have time for a letter and no one is answering the phone
So I'll pretend that we're together
I don't want to go alone, no-no-no-no
I will imagine that we are together since I don't want to be alone
We were waiting for the countdown, in the summer of '81
We were eagerly anticipating a significant event in the summer of 1981
Sign up or go underground, in the summer of '81
Prepare to participate or avoid the event in the summer of 1981
Well we were waiting for the countdown in the summer of '81
We eagerly anticipated a significant event during the summer of 1981
Waiting for the countdown in the summer of '81
We were eagerly anticipating a significant event in the summer of 1981
Waiting for the countdown in the summer of '81
We were eagerly anticipating a significant event in the summer of 1981
Waiting for the countdown, in the summer of '81
We were eagerly anticipating a significant event in the summer of 1981
Contributed by Alice D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@sophdog1678
Been to heaps of live gigs, pubs, arenas, festivals etc, but the single best live show I ever saw was Mondo Rock at Balmain Leagues Club in about 1982. They played all the hits and - importantly to me - they looked like they were really enjoying playing. Then they came back out for an encore and brought the house down with "Eagle Rock"
@Robochop-vz3qm
Just love this, I was 11, collected cans, bottles with me mates, rode a bmx, went surfing in the heat. 1981, great year.
π¦πΊπ¦πΊπ
@markmcallan973
Awesome robochop respect from chopnchopπ€
@Robochop-vz3qm
@mark mcallan cheers, if only we could revisit these great times π
@stevenguegens9516
Same as me in the small country town I proudly grew up in the 70s and 80s and not a camera in sight
@davidrichardson9146
Me too, except we went to the golf course to get balls from the creeks and dams which paid for all the Winnie Reds we could smoke cause selling smokes to kids was all cool at the local corner store back then. All while playing the pinnies and space invaders , every arvo after school. Anyone under 40 has absolutely no idea what was the norm, everyone got bullied , nobody drew the attention of the local cops , cause they'd flog ya when you stepped out of line, if you got a smack in the head you probably deserved it but what happened before cctv and mobiles , was just bliss and people knew how to keep their mouths shut and were real friends that even now talk every week and just laugh at todays PC crap that people call a life. haha
@Robochop-vz3qm
@David Richardson haaa, winnie reds. How Australian is that mate?π€£
I'm not a smoker, but yeah when I was a young bloke I did naughty things with me mates like trying smoking such as Winfield reds, Alpine, PJs. We even rolled our own out of bamboo type stuff with dry grass π. Also had an old XP falcon we used to bush bash given to me by dad as it ran out of rego and wasnt renewed, could barely see over the dash. But we learned driving skills and the responsibility of getting under the hood. I remember a common occurrence was the linkage (on the tranny, 3 on the tree) would pop out and we'd have to stop, pop the hood and put it back in (we were 13). The local cops knew and visited us one day and just told us to be careful and have fun. Kids these days wouldn't have a clue.
Different world mate. π¦πΊππ¦
@franz.isler799
These Melbourne lads wereΒ one of the most stylistic acts in Australia during the early 1980s. Though theyΒ disbanded in 1991, their music lives on as one of the iconic music of the wonderful 80s.
@arisl2370
Fantastic band !
@shiekielford
Amazing band π Iβm so lucky to know who they are βπͺ Aussie legends