Skyhooks was formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1973 and started to hit the big time in 1974 before disbanding in 1980 and returning from time to time until the death of Graeme ‘Shirley’ Strachan in 2001.

Four of their five Studio Albums hit No. 1 between 1974 and 1978 with the fifth album ‘Hot For The Orient’ peaking at No. 64 in 1980.

I am going to pick seven songs, it was hard to stop at just five, so I’ve thrown in ‘Blue Jeans’ and ‘1976 Guitar’.

Horror Movie

‘Horror Movie’ was Skyhook’s first No. 1 single in 1975, their rise coincided with the arrival of Colour TV that year, unfortunately their choice of outfits and makeup hampered them in America thanks to KISS being somewhat similar.

The song is said to be about ‘how the world has taken a turn for the worse with all of the chaos in society, to the point where watching the nightlyΒ TV newsΒ is like watching aΒ horror movie’.

Horror Movie is a popular choice for a Halloween song in America and in Canada and with Halloween catching on in Australia, the song’s widespread popularity may come around again in the nation.

Jukebox in Siberia

Skyhooks released ‘Jukebox in Siberia’ and inspired the release of the compilation album ‘The Latest and Greatest’ that year, this song was their second and final No. 1 single, the two were fifteen years apart.

Skyhooks was the only Australian act to hit No. 1 in Australia that year, it was one of sixteen songs to hit the milestone that year.

The Soviet Union was starting to fall apart at the time of this song though its total collapse was still a year away.

Absolutely love the guitar playing in this song.

Women in Uniform

‘Women in Uniform’ came from the No. 1 studio album ‘Guilty Until Proven Insane’, ‘Women in Uniform’ was one of the singles taken from the album and it was a hit for the band as it peaked at No. 8 in Australia and No. 73 in the UK.

Iron Maiden released a version in 1980, and it peaked at No. 35, a reissue in 1990 had even better success as the song peaked at No. 10.

Hotel Hell

‘Hotel Hell’ came from the studio album ‘Guilty Until Proven Insane’ and is a classic Skyhooks tale about action at a hotel, one that was full of character and low-quality surroundings.

This song got a new life when Gordon Ramsay released his TV show ‘Hotel Hell’ in 2012 and the show used a modified version of the song as the theme song.

Over the Border

Tony Williams replaced Graeme ‘Shirley’ Strachan as lead singer after the former departed the band in 1978, this song peaked at No 32 in 1979 and the album peaked at No. 64 in 1980.

The song is about the Australian state of Queensland, which was then ruled by Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen aka Joh, he ruled the state from 1986 to 1987, and Queensland was known for heavy handed police and corrupt politicians.

The song done most of its business in Queensland being a Top 10 hit in the state while it struggled elsewhere.

Blue Jeans

‘Blue Jeans’ came from the album ‘Straight in a Gay, Gay World’ and peaked at No. 12 in Australia in 1976 while New Zealand loved the song and pushed it all the way up to No. 3.

It is a short song, two and a half minutes in life but guitar work really does make it happen a song that is easy to remember.

Blue Jeans really are quite fashionable even today, prime choice for those who like to go out in winter months and look good at the same time.

1976 Guitar

I love ‘1976 Guitar’ it was on the 1999 compilation album ‘Skyhooks: The Collection/Lost Album’ which was a collection of the hits and songs from 1990-94 that mostly did not get released and I just loved the sound of it, they probably should have picked this song instead of ‘Happy Hippy Hut’ though I do love the sound of that one too.