The Living End

Australian punk rockabilly band The Living End was born in 1994 when Chris Cheney (vocals and guitar) and Scott Owen (double bass and bass guitar) crossed paths during high school in Melbourne, Victoria. Their early collaboration in cover band, The Runaway Boys, infused with rockabilly influences, laid the groundwork for their unique sound and after touring extensively, recorded new material to distribute at live shows, rebranding themselves as The Living End. Their double A-sided single, "Second Solution" / "Prisoner of Society," released in January of the following year, reached number 4 on the ARIA Singles Chart and earned double-platinum certification. It became the highest-selling Australian single of the 1990s, spending a record-breaking 47 weeks in the Top 50 and charting in New Zealand at number 28. In early 1998, "Prisoner of Society" was released as a separate single in the United Kingdom and, the following year, in the United States, achieving notable positions on the UK Singles Chart and Billboard's Alternative Songs Chart. Their self-titled debut album, released on October 12, 1998, topped the ARIA Albums Chart, earning 4× Platinum certification by 1999 and securing its place as the second highest-selling debut rock album in Australian music history so far. "Save the Day," their follow-up single, reached the top 30 on the ARIA Singles Chart and number 10 on the New Zealand Singles Chart, leading to two ARIA Music Awards in 1999: Best Group and Breakthrough Artist – Album. Their musical journey continued with albums such as Roll On (2000), Modern ARTillery (2003), and State of Emergency (2006) with the latter claiming the Number 1 spot on the ARIA Albums Chart in its first week and spawning hits like "What's on Your Radio" and "Wake Up." Their fifth album, White Noise (2008) debuted at number 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart, marking their highest-charting album in New Zealand, and crowned Best Rock Album at the 2008 ARIA Awards. Taking more time between releases to tour and write new material, the band released two albums between 2011 and 2016, The Ending Is Just The Beginning Repeating (2011) and Shift, (2016). In 2018, they introduced their eighth album, Wunderbar, recorded in Berlin, which reached number 3 on the ARIA charts. In October, 2023, the band unveiled their 25th anniversary edition of their debut eponymous album, landing at at number 4 on the Top 10 albums chart, cementing their status as an iconic and influential band, both locally and globally.