Mondo Rock were big during a time when much of a band's success depended on whether Ian `Molly' Meldrum approved.
Meldrum had Mondo Rock on his show in 1981 and the group's second album, Chemistry, featuring Cool World, State of the Heart, and Summer of '81, was the Countdown album of that year.
"It was kind of instant. Two million people would know about your record with one appearance," Mondo Rock guitarist Eric McCusker says.
Now the group's 1981 line-up - McCusker, Ross Wilson, James Black, Paul Christie and Gil Matthews - are preparing to reunite for a national tour to celebrate Chemistry's 33 1/3 anniversary.
Frontman Wilson and McCusker reflect on a time when Australia's live music scene was thriving in both cities and the suburbs.
"The difference between then and now is that you could play five or six nights a week in any town," Wilson says.
Bombay Rock in Brunswick, Prospect Hill in Kew and The Tiger Lounge in Richmond were among the Melbourne venues where they performed alongside acts like INXS, Cold Chisel and The Divinyls.
"The stuff of legend was just like every day s*** that was going on all around Australia," Wilson says.
By the time Wilson formed Mondo Rock he had already fronted Daddy Cool, which had the massive hit Eagle Rock, and produced three albums for Skyhooks.
He says perhaps due to the fact he was in his 30s and had already clocked up significant industry experience, Mondo Rock wasn't involved in as many wild antics as some of the other bands around at the time.
McCusker had also been playing in bands for a decade before joining Mondo Rock and started out while he was in high school in a band with Renee Geyer.
The first half of the Chemistry 33 1/3 Anniversary Tour will be the entire album played live, which the band has never done before, while the last part of the show will be other songs, including some band members wrote for other musicians.
Wilson does gigs with Ross Wilson & The Peaceniks, while McCusker is on the board of APRA, performs with band Jam The Funk and has written a musical about Ava Gardner's time in Melbourne in 1959.
A limited edition double CD of the Chemistry album with bonus tracks, B-sides and previously unreleased demos and live recordings is out on May 2.
MONDO ROCK CHEMISTRY 33 1/3 ANNIVERSARY TOUR:
June 20 - Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane
June 21 - Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
June 22 - Regal Theatre, Perth
June 27 - State Theatre, Sydney
June 28 - Palais Theatre, Melbourne
