Icehouse

Icehouse was an Australian new wave band from Sydney, led by multi-instrumentalist Iva Davies. They first recorded as Flowers but soon renamed after their 1980 first album, Icehouse, noted for the tracks “Can’t Help Myself,” “Walls,” and “We Can Get Together.”

After their 1981 single “Love In Motion,” Davies used the Icehouse name as a solo vehicle for the 1982 release Primitive Man, noted for the Aussie-themed “Great Southern Land” and the international hit “Hey Little Girl.”

The 1984 album Sidewalk introduced a new Icehouse with keyboardist Andy Qunta and guitarist Robert Kretschmer, who co-wrote with Davies on the 1986 release Measure for Measure, marked by their US breakthrough hit “No Promises.” They reached peak popularity with their 1987 album Man of Colours and the Australasian/North American hits “Crazy” and “Electric Blue.”

Members: Iva Davies (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, oboe), John Lloyd (drums, percussion, 1981-84), Keith Welsh (bass, vocals, 1981), Robert Kretschmer (guitar, backing vocals, 1982-89), Andy Qunta (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals, 1982-88), Guy Pratt (bass, backing vocals, 1982-86), Michael Hoste (keyboards, 1982-83), Simon Lloyd (saxophone, trumpet, keyboards, backing vocals, 1984-91), Paul Wheeler (drums, percussion, 1985-present), Glenn Krawczyk (bass, 1986), Steve Morgan (bass, backing vocals, 1987-91)

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Background

Icehouse formed in 1977 when multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Iva Davies teamed with bassist Keith Welsh. Davies was working part-time at a squash court owned by Welsh’s mom.

Davies (b. Ivor Arthur Davies, May 22, 1955, Wauchope) had studied oboe and composition at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music. In 1971, at age 16, he was briefly contracted to M7 Records with the Lucy Fields Jug Band, but a change in company hands thwarted the project.

In 1974, Davies performed Handel’s Concerto for Oboe in E♭ major with the Strathfield Symphony. His first single, “Leading Lady” (b/w “I’m Gonna Give You All My Love”), appeared on RCA Victor in 1975. Its followup, “Back to California” (b/w “I Can Reach You”), was co-credited to Afghan.

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Flowers

Davies, Welsh, and keyboardist Michael Hoste named their new band Flowers. They hit the local pub circuit playing covers by Ultravox, Brian Eno, Roxy Music, and David Bowie. Hoste contributed to Davies’ original material while John Lloyd (ex-Paul Kelly and the Dots) joined on drums.

In late 1979, Flowers linked with Regular Records, a year-old indie that hit instant paydirt with its first signee, Mental As Anything. Soon into sessions for their debut album, Hoste cleared for keyboardist Anthony Smith.

In May 1980, Flowers released their first single: “Can’t Help Myself,” a Davies original backed with “Send Somebody,” a Davies/Hoste exclusive. In the video, the band performs with red/green tints in a dark warehouse space, where a nervous Davies dodges a panning spotlight during the instrumental break.

B. “Send Somebody” (3:42)

“Can’t Help Myself” peaked at No. 10 on the Australian Kent Music Report.

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Icehouse

Flowers released their debut album, Icehouse, in October 1980 on Regular Records (Australia, New Zealand). Seven months later, the album appeared in the Northern Hemisphere with the band renamed after the title.

Icehouse contains eleven Iva Davies originals, including the pre-released “Can’t Help Myself” and the subsequent singles “We Can Get Together,” “Walls,” and “Icehouse.” Michael Hoste co-wrote “Sister,” “Skin,” “Boulevarde,” and “Nothing to Do.”

Davies plays guitar, oboe, and shares keyboards with Anthony Smith, who replaced Hoste after the first completed track, “Sons,” which features guest saxophonist Geoff Oakes. Cold Chisel guitarist Ian Moss plays the solo on “Skin.” Smith sings backup along with the Keith Welsh/John Lloyd rhythm section.

A1. “Icehouse” (4:22) was inspired by Davies’ residence, a cold flat at 18 Tryon Road, Lindfield, across from a two-story mansion that housed mental patients.
A2. “We Can Get Together” (3:46)
A3. “Fatman” (3:53)
A4. “Sister” (3:22)
A5. “Walls” (4:22)

B1. “Can’t Help Myself” (4:41)
B2. “Skin” (2:41)
B3. “Sons” (4:32)
B4. “Boulevarde” (3:14)
B5. “Nothing to Do” (3:22)
B6. “Not My Kind” (3:35)

Sessions occurred in January 1980 at Paradise Studios (“Can’t Help Myself” only) and Studio 301, both in Sydney. Davies co-produced Icehouse with Regular co-founder Cameron Allan.

Drummer John Lloyd created the textured original Icehouse cover: an image of dead tree branches entwined with power lines near an institution. The inner-gates show image fragments of each member spread across a lined, blurred background.

In September 1980, Flowers lifted “We Can Get Together” as the second advance single, backed with “Paradise Lost,” a non-album instrumental. “We Can Get Together” peaked at No. 10 in Australia. In the video, Flowers perform in mod attire in a white room while camera effects and animation render the band with Ben Day dots and monochrome grid overlays.

B. “Paradise Lost” (5:53)

In January 1981, Flowers lifted “Walls” as the third Icehouse single, backed with “All the Way,” a self-produced Davies exclusive.

B. “All the Way” (3:50)

Icehouse reached No. 2 on the New Zealand albums chart and No. 4 on the Australian Kent Music Report.

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New Name

In the spring of 1981, Flowers signed with Chrysalis for the Northern Hemisphere. To avoid confusion with the Scottish band The Flowers, Davies renamed the group Icehouse after their album and its opening song.

On June 18, Icehouse appeared in the UK and North America with “We Can Get Together” as the lead single. The Chrysalis release sports new cover art with a hand reaching through a bay window to a green sea laden with icebergs under a purple/magenta sky.

In October, Chrysalis issued “Can’t Help Myself” as their second UK single in a Jekyll & Hyde sleeve (b/w “Fatman”). The 12″ contains two extended versions: Mix 1 (6:05) and Mix 2 (5:41).

In February 1982, “Icehouse” became the third UK single, backed with a live version of the rarity “All the Way.” The 12″ version contains a second live b-side, “Cold Turkey,” a John Lennon cover.

Australian music video pioneer Russell Mulcahy directed the “Icehouse” video, which follows a young girl’s nightmare. As her sleeping body twists and sweats, her dream self wanders outside in terror, past a death-grip pond on rubber grounds to a nearby lighted cubical where an older woman sits on a rocking chair. The girl reappears in an abandoned station where zombies reach about as she folds onto a flatbead under a dangling mummified corpse. As the narrator (Davies) turns blue and cold, a medieval knight takes her back to face the rocking older lady, then gives her a vampire bite. Once she wakes from her nightmare, her body morphs into the older woman.

Icehouse gained US exposure on the fledgling cable network MTV, which put the “We Can Get Together” video on medium rotation.

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“Love In Motion”

In October 1981, Icehouse released “Love In Motion” backed with “Goodnight Mr. Matthews,” both Iva Davies originals released as a standalone single in Australia and New Zealand on Regular Records. This was their home-market debut as Icehouse, their band name in the Northern Hemisphere since that summer.

A. “Love In Motion” (3:39)
B. “Goodnight Mr. Matthews” (4:14)

The “Love In Motion” video uses slowed fragments from the “We Can Get Together” clip with greater emphasis on the animation and filters (sketch action, grids, color overlays) to avoid syncing conflicts.

Davies co-produced the two songs in July 1981 in London with engineer Steve Nye, a longtime Bryan Ferry soundman and Penguin Cafe member who worked in sequence on albums by Japan (Tin Drum), Marquis De Sade (Rue de Siam), and YMO drummer Yukihiro Takahashi (Neuromantic).

For this recording, Icehouse retained the Flowers lineup with Anthony Smith, Keith Welsh, and John Lloyd. Davies dispensed with the band for his subsequent project under the Icehouse moniker.

“Love In Motion” appeared in a sleeve with a detail from the UK/US Icehouse cover. In Australia, this was Regular’s thirteenth 7″ release between (cat# K-8486), slotted between singles by Mental As Anything (“Too Many Times”) and The Riptides (“Only Time”). “Love In Motion” reached No. 10 in Australia and No. 35 in New Zealand.

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Primitive Man

Icehouse released their second album, Primitive Man, on September 20, 1982, on Regular Records (Oceania) and Chrysalis (abroad). For this release, Icehouse functions as an Iva Davies solo vehicle.

Primitive Man features ten self-performed Davies originals, including a re-recorded “Goodnight Mr. Matthews” and the singles “Great Southern Land,” “Hey Little Girl,” and “Street Café.”

On Primitive Man, Davies plays guitar, bass, and assorted synths (Prophet-5, Fairlight CMI). He uses the Linn drum machine, assisted only with supplemental percussion by English co-producer Keith Forsey, a veteran Krautrock drummer who recently worked with Generation X and their breakout singer, Billy Idol.

Musically, Primitive Man abandons the tighter synthpop style of Icehouse for a more pastoral, ethereal sound akin to the recent works of Simple Minds. Chrysalis copies feature a shuffled tracklist that replaces “Break These Chains” with the 1981 Oceanic single “Love In Motion.”

1. “Great Southern Land” (5:19)
2. “Uniform” (4:14)
3. “Street Café” (4:13)
4. “Hey Little Girl” (4:25)
5. “Glam” (3:27)

6. “Trojan Blue” (5:03)
7. “One by One” (4:02)
8. “Break These Chains” (3:43)
9. “Mysterious Thing” (4:26)
10. “Goodnight Mr. Matthews” (4:00)

Sessions occurred in May 1982 in California at Eldorado Studios (Burbank), Westlake Audio and and Musicland West (both Los Angeles). Forsey co-produced the Westlake sessions in sequence with Idol’s debut solo album. Primitive Man was engineered by Westlake soundmen Brian Reeves and Rick Butz and Eldorado’s Dave Jerden, who worked on recent titles by Material, Talking Heads, and Narada Michael Walden.

Davies conceived the textured beige Primitive Man cover, which shows a boxed stuck figures and translucent tribal weaponry, illustrated by Australian artist Bill Tom.

“Great Southern Land” appeared weeks ahead as an August single (b/w “Uniform”). The 12″ features an extended “Uniform” remix (6:02). The video opens with scenic views of Jones quarry in Wahroonga, where a reptile roams while Davies walks around the rocks and precipice. He sings each chorus in a somber bonfire with his bandmates and continues to roam as the camera employs solarised effects.

“Great Southern Land” reached No. 5 in Australia and No. 10 in New Zealand. Down Under, the song attained Icehouse signature status after its use in the 1988 Yahoo Serious comedy Young Einstein.

Primitive Man reached No. 1 on the New Zealand Albums chart and No. 3 on the Australian Kent Music Report. Abroad, the album reached No. 24 in Germany and No. 31 in Sweden.

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“Hey Little Girl”

“Hey Little Girl” became the second single in November 1982 (b/w “Glam”). The 12″ contains extended versions of both “Hey Little Girl” (6:59) and “Glam” (6:34).

The video opens with a flash between the character’s lovelorn youth and disillusioned dotage, then chronicles the promise and pitfalls of her prime as an aspiring ballerina. After her childhood sweetheart gets turned away by her mother, she studies ballet and readies for a play but loses her mind and coordination. Erratic behavior and a loveless affair leads to a near-death experience in the headlight of the narrator (Davies), who offers consolation in the final flash-forward to her old self.

“Hey Little Girl” reached No. 7 in Australia and No. 9 in New Zealand.

In January 1983, Chrysalis issued “Hey Little Girl” as the fourth UK Icehouse single (b/w “Mysterious Thing”) and second Continental single (b/w “Love In Motion”). “Hey Little Girl” became their breakthrough hit in Austria (No. 9), Germany (No. 5), and Sweden (No. 2).

In the UK, Icehouse mimed “Hey Little Girl” amid flashing corridors for the February 17 and March 3 broadcasts of the BBC music program Top of the Pops, which also featured in-studio numbers by Bananarama (“Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye”), Fun Boy Three (“Tunnel of Love”), Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark (“Genetic Engineering”), and Wham! (“Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)”). “Hey Little Girl” reached No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart.

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New Lineup

For the TotP appearances, Davies led a new six-piece Icehouse lineup with John Lloyd, Michael Hoste, guitarist Robert Kretschmer (ex-Metronomes), and two English musicians: bassist Guy Pratt (Children of 7) and keyboardist Andy Qunta, a former Hazel O’Connor sideman (in Megahype) who played on the most recent Manfred Mann’s Earth Band album, Somewhere In Afrika. This lineup opened the European wing of David Bowie’s Serious Moonlight tour.

In February 1983, “Street Café” became the third single, backed with the non-album “Over the Line,” an outtake from the Davies/Forsey sessions.

B. “Over the Line” (2:46)

Mulcahy directed the “Street Café” video on location in Tunisia, where a formally attired Davies parks near a fire and breaks open the door to an abandoned cafe. Inside, his mind reverts to an alternate scenario where he sits worn and stressed inside the now-active cafe, clad in adventurer garb. He trades glances with an Arab woman, arousing suspicion from the surrounding men. Later, she has an illicit rendezvous with another Westerner as Davies’ two characters cope with their bleak surroundings. The production proved physical taxing on Davies and the film crew.

Chrysalis repackaged the album for a second UK release as Love In Motion, housed in a cover that screencaps the ballerina from the “Hey Little Girl” video. In June 1983, Chrysalis issued “Uniform” (b/w “Great Southern Land”) on a UK double-7″ with live versions of “We Can Get It Together” and “Can’t Help Myself.”

In September, Chrysalis issued Fresco, a North American five-song EP that gathers “Over the Line” with four Primitive Man songs: “Hey Little Girl,” “Glam,” and re-recorded versions of “Break These Chains” and “Street Cafe.”

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Sidewalk

Icehouse released their third album, Sidewalk, on June 24, 1984, on Chrysalis. Iva Davies recorded the album with a new five-piece lineup that included two ongoing members: guitarist Robert Kretschmer and keyboardist Andy Qunta.

Sidewalk contains ten Davies originals, including “Someone Like You,” “Stay Close Tonight,” and the singles “Dusty Pages,” “Taking the Town,” and “Don’t Believe Anymore.” The album balances the pastoral feel of Primitive Man with a newfound rock edge courtesy of Kretschmer.

Davies plays guitar, oboe, programmed drums, and the Fairlight CMI on Sidewalk, which features bassist Guy Pratt and drummer John Lloyd, who both provide backing vocals. Four tracks features Australian guest saxophonist Joe Camilleri, a veteran R&B bandleader under his stagename, Jo Jo Zep.

1. “Taking the Town” (3:34)
2. “This Time” (4:15)
3. “Someone Like You” (4:17)
4. “Stay Close Tonight” (5:09)
5. “Don’t Believe Anymore” (5:18)

6. “Sidewalk” (4:08)
7. “Dusty Pages” (4:48)
8. “On My Mind” (3:43)
9. “Shot Down” (5:02)
10. “The Mountain” (4:52)

Davies produced and engineered Sidewalk in February 1984 at EMI Studios 301 in Sydney and El Dorado Studios in Los Angeles.

Australian graphic artist Geoffrey Gifford designed the Sidewalk cover: a Memphis/Milano-style scheme with textured framework (blue, sand) and primary/secondary color letters and trim. A guitar-strapped Davies stands foreground in the blue-tinted image of Icehouse spread along a metro street, as captured by Aussie photographer Grant Matthews (The Church, INXS, Tim Finn, The Venetians).

“Taking the Town” first appeared in April 1984 as an advance single, backed with the non-album “Dance On.” The 12″ contains an extended “Taking the Town” dance mix (5:11).

B. “Dance On” (3:54)

On July 2, Icehouse lifted a single edit of “Don’t Believe Anymore” (4:15), backed with the non-album “Java.” UK copies contained a shorter edit (3:40) backed with the album version.

B. “Java” (4:41)

In late November, “Dusty Pages” became the third Sidewalk single (b/w “Stay Close Tonight”).

Sidewalk reached No. 2 on the New Zealand Albums chart and No. 8 on the Australian Kent Music Report. “Shot Down” and “The Mountain” appeared in Russell Mulcahy’s 1984 horror film Razorback, which features soundtrack pieces by Davies, who received an AACTA nomination for best original music score.

In 1985, Iva Davies collaborated with Sydney Dance Company choreographer Graeme Murphy on Boxes, a ballet with accompanying music composed by Davies and Robert Kretschmer. On November 7, Boxes premiered at the Sydney Opera House with guest percussion by Davies, Kretschmer, and Japanese drummer Masaki Tanazawa of the band Cioccolata.

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Measure for Measure

Icehouse released their fourth album, Measure for Measure, on April 21, 1986, on Regular and Chrysalis.

The album contains three solo compositions by Iva Davies (“Paradise,” “The Flame,” “Spanish Gold”) and seven co-writes with Robert Kretschmer, including “Angel Street,” “Lucky Me,” and the singles “Cross the Border,” “Mr. Big,” and “No Promises,” their breakthrough US hit.

Measure for Measure retains four-fifths of the Sidewalk lineup (Davies, Kretschmer, Guy Pratt, Andy Qunta) and welcomes Simon Lloyd (no relation to John), a reedist/keyboardist from the late-period Members lineup who (with Pratt) played on their Children of 7 side-project. Lloyd also played on recent cuts by Propaganda, The Damned, and Thomas Dolby.

Davies plays guitar, programmed drums, and occasional bass on Measure for Measure. He co-handled the album’s Fairlight CMI with Lloyd, who plays reeds, brass, trumpet, and additional keyboards alongside Qunta. Pratt plays fretless and standard bass.

Boxes percussionist Masaki Tanazawa plays drums on Measure for Measure apart from three tracks (“No Promises,” “The Flame,” “Cross the Border”) with drummer Steve Jansen, formerly of the English group Japan. Brian Eno appears on piano, keyboards, an backing vocals. Additional guests include Korgis string player Stuart Gordon and veteran Nigerian percussionist Gasper Lawal.

A1. “Paradise” (4:47)
A2. “No Promises” (4:40)
A3. “Mr Big” (3:33)
A4. “Angel Street” (4:46)
A5. “The Flame” (5:11)

B1. “Regular Boys” (3:30)
B2. “Cross the Border” (4:25)
B3. “Spanish Gold” (4:17)
B4. “Lucky Me” (aka “American Way”) (4:38)
B5. “Baby, You’re So Strange” (3:59)

Sessions occurred in August 1985 at Crescent Studios in Bath, England, where Icehouse recorded five tracks (A1, A4, B1, B3, B4) with engineer Warne Livesey (Europeans, Foetus) and studio owner David Lord, a prior soundman for Glaxo Babies, Korgis, Peter Hammill, and XTC  on their 1984 release The Big Express. Lord handled string arrangements and added keyboards and percussion alongside Crescent mixing engineer Glen Tommey, a prior auxiliary for the Tears for Fears precursor Graduate. 

Icehouse recorded the album’s balance at Air Studios in London with engineer Andy Lyden (The Only Ones, Saxon, The Vapors) and producer Rhett Davies, Eno’s Island-era soundman (Another Green World, Before and After Science) who also worked on Seventies classics by Camel (Moonmadness, Rain Dances), Kursaal Flyers, After the Fire, and recent titles by Industry, King Crimson, and Talk Talk.

Measure for Measure appeared in a luminist gatefold credited to artist David McKenzie and photographer Brett Cabot, who captured Davies’ profile illuminated with string lights in black surround. North America copies sport an alternate white-back cover by English portraiture Simon Fowler, who photographed the five musicians around Davies, clad in striped sharkskin slacks and patterned espadrilles.

In Australia, “No Promises” first appeared on Halloween 1985 as an advance single, backed with “The Perfect Crime,” a non-album track group-credited to Davies, Kretschmer, Qunta, and Tanazawa. The 12″ version contains an extended mix of “No Promises” (6:09) and three tracks from the Boxes score: “The Tempest” “Gravity” and “Terra Incognito.”

B. “The Perfect Crime” (3:34)

“No Promises” was a modest Oceanic hit (Kent No. 30; NZ No. 29) but made a bigger impact with its May 1986 release in the US, where the song reached No. 7 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and No. 9 on the Top Rock Tracks chart. The song impressed American musician John Oates of the duo Hall & Oats. He contacted Davies and flew to Syndey to meet the Icehouse frontman for a songwriting session.

Meanwhile “Baby, You’re So Strange” appeared on a March 1986 Oceanic double-7″ with three Measure for Measure session outtakes.

B. “Too Late Now” (3:10)
C. “Into the Wild” (4:52)
D. “Just a Word” (4:14)

In mid-June, “Mr. Big” became the album’s third single, backed with a live version of “Sister,” recorded on May 20, 1986, at the Tivoli in Coppenhagen. The 12″ contains an extended “Mr. Big” (5:56) backed with a club mix of “No Promises” (8:45).

In late October, Icehouse lifted “Cross the Border” as the fourth Oceanic Measure for Measure single (b/w “The Flame”). Meanwhile, Chrysalis lifted “Paradise” as a UK/US single (b/ “Baby, You’re So Strange”).

Measure for Measure reached No. 2 on the New Zealand Albums chart and No. 8 on the Australian Kent Music Report.

Amid the album’s sessions and promotion, Guy Pratt earned session credits on 1985/86 titles by Ann Lewis, Dream Academy, the Duran Duran side-project Power Station (and their momentary singer, Robert Palmer), and onetime Duran frontman Stephen Tin Tin Duffy.

In late 1986, Pratt left Icehouse for gigs with Bryan Ferry, Pink Floyd, and Kirsty MacColl. In 1990, he surfaced in Toy Matinee, an art-pop one-off with American singer/songwriter Kevin Gilbert and ex-Trillion keyboardist Patrick Leonard.

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Man of Colours

Icehouse released their fifth album, Man of Colours, on September 21, 1987, on Regular and Chrysalis. Iva Davies recorded the album with four-sixths of the Measure for Measure lineup: guitarist Robert Kretschmer, keyboardist/pianist Andy Qunta, and reedist/keyboardist Simon Lloyd. He welcomed a new rhythm section: bassist Stephen Morgan and teenage drummer Paul Wheeler.

Man of Colours contains ten Davies originals, including the album-oriented epics “Heartbreak Kid” and “Sunrise,” both co-written by Kretschmer, who also co-wrote “Girl in the Moon” and “Crazy,” an international hit with Qunta’s input. Davies himself lone-wrote “Kingdom,” “My Obsession,” “Anybody’s War,” “Nothing Too Serious,” and the album’s title track.

Icehouse scored its biggest US hit with “Electric Blue,” a product of Davies’ songwriting meetup with John Oates, who added tenor vocal harmonies.

A1. “Crazy” (3:24)
A2. “Electric Blue” (4:24) Davies culled the title from the line “Her eyes electric blue” in “Jewel,” a 1970 hit by T. Rex.
A3. “Nothing Too Serious” (3:28)
A4. “Man of Colours” (5:12)
A5. “Heartbreak Kid” (5:19)

B1. “Kingdom” (4:52)
B2. “My Obsession” (4:09)
B3. “Girl in the Moon” (4:01)
B4. “Anybody’s War” (4:05)
B5. “Sunrise” (5:45)

Sessions spanned February through May 1987 in England and Australia. Measure for Measure co-producer David Lord oversaw the UK sessions at Crescent Studios in Bath, Somerset, where he produced Man of Colours in sequence with titles by The Icicle Works and Latin Quarter. Lord played session keyboards along with Crescent mainstays Stuart Gordon (strings) and Glenn Tommey (guitar, percussion).

Sydney sessions occurred at Trash Studios and EMI Studios 301, where David Hemming engineered Man of Colours amid work on the debut 1927 album and late-period titles by Dragon, Mental As Anything, and The Reels.

Davies and Kretschmer conceived the Man of Colours cover art: a line-doodle of a man holding flowers in the three primary colors. The inner-sleeve features a scribbled-over Icehouse portrait shot by photographer Hugh Stewart. Regular copies (Oceania) reverse the cover scheme (white lines/text on black background).

“Crazy” appeared on June 8, 1987, as the lead single, backed with the non-album “Completely Gone,” a self-produced number written by Davies, Kretschmer, Qunta, and Lloyd.

B. “Completely Gone” (4:41)

“Crazy” reached No. 4 in Australia, No. 9 in the Netherlands, No. 10 in New Zealand, and No. 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

In late August, “Electric Blue” appeared as the second advance single, backed with the non-album “Over My Head,” another self-produced number credited to the four core members.

B. “Over My Head” (3:48)

In the “Electric Blue” video, Icehouse perform on the roof of the New South Wales Teachers Federation, located at 23-33 Mary Street in Surry Hills, Sydney. Meanwhile, the song’s smiling subject (portrayed by Paris Jefferson) prances around the underlying warehouse and nearby street in a blue leather mini-dress.

“Crazy” reached No. 1 in Australia, No. 4 in New Zealand, No. 7 in the US, and No. 10 in Canada.

In late November, “My Obsession” became the third single, backed with the non-album “Your Confession,” a Qunta/Lloyd composition. “My Obsession” reached No. 12 in Australia and No. 14 in New Zealand.

B. “Your Confession” (4:12)

In February 1988, “Man of Colours” (the song) became the album’s fourth single, backed with “Komsaka B,” another Qunta/Lloyd exclusive. In mid-May, “Nothing Too Serious” became the fifth and final Man of Colours single, backed with the exclusive “NoCal 818,” a Lloyd solo composition. The two singles reached respective peaks of No. 28 and No. 29 in Australia, making Man of Colours the first Australian album with five Top 30 singles.

Man of Colours reached No. 1 on the Australian and New Zealand albums charts. In the US, the album peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard 200.

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Discography:

• Icehouse (1981)
• Primitive Man (1982)
• Sidewalk (1984)
• Measure for Measure (1986)
• Man of Colours (1987)
• Code Blue (1990)
• Big Wheel (1993)
• The Berlin Tapes (1995 • Iva Davies & Icehouse)

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Sources:

• Discogs: Icehouse
• 45cat: Icehouse