Noiseworks

One of Australia's most successful bands throughout the late-1980s and early-1990s, Noiseworks was formed in Sydney in 1986 by frontman Jon Stevens, bassist Steve Balbi, guitarist Stuart Fraser, drummer Kevin Nicol, and keyboardist Justin Stanley. Stevens had already enjoyed success during the decade's earlier years as a New Zealand-based solo artist, and Noiseworks proved to be similarly popular, with the band's self-titled debut album charting at Number 6 in both Australia and New Zealand in 1987. It eventually went triple-platinum, propelled in part by singles like "No Lies" and the Top 10 hit "Take Me Back." Heralded as icons of Australia's pub rock genre, Nosieworks continued charting hits with the band's follow-up release, Touch, which climbed to Number 5 in Australia in 1988. The album's title track reached Number 12 on the country's singles chart, and both Touch and its successor, 1991's Love Versus Money, went platinum. Love Versus Money also marked the band's first chart-topping album in Australia, with four of the record's songs — including the Number 7 hit "Hot Chili Woman" — becoming Top 40 singles. Although Noiseworks disbanded after releasing a platinum-certified greatest hits collection in 1992, the group reunited numerous times throughout the following decades and released a live album, Live + Loud, in 2008. Despite rumors that the band had finished an album of new material, Noiseworks continued to focus on its touring schedule rather than its catalog. Original member Stuart Fraser passed away on December 1, 2019.