Choirboys

A product of the bustling music scene in the pubs and clubs of early-’80s Sydney, the Choirboys became one of Australia’s favorite purveyors of melodic power pop and meatier hard rock. Led by singer Mark Gable, the band were initially formed in 1979 by musicians who shared the tough, no-nonsense sensibility of their hometown bars in Sydney’s Northern Beaches area. Easybeats guitarist and AC/DC producer George Young helped the young band find their sound prior to the recording of their self-titled debut in 1983. The Choirboys’ wider commercial breakthrough came with 1988’s Big Bad Noise, which spawned “Boys Will Be Boys,” “Run to Paradise,” and several more hits that became ubiquitous on pub patios and at backyard barbecues. After the band’s run of chart success in the late ‘80s, Gable continued to lead the Choirboys through several more decades’ worth of lineup changes, wild live shows, and later displays of strengths like 2004’s Evolver.