The Church

Members of the ARIA Hall of Fame since 2010, The Church dominated the Australian Top 40 throughout the 1980s, then earned a pair of international hits with 1988's "Under the Milk Way" and 1990's "Metropolis." The group formed in Sydney, Australia, in 1980, and first hit the Australian charts with a full-length debut album, Of Skins and Heart, in 1981. The Blurred Crusade followed in 1982 and climbed to Number 10. As the decade progressed, The Church's sound and lineup both evolved, with frontman Steve Kilbey, guitarist Peter Koppes, and multi-instrumentalist Marty Willson-Piper emerging as the band's longest-running members. The group began moving beyond its post-punk and neo-psychedelic roots with 1983's Seance and later enjoyed a long-overdue international breakthrough with 1988's Starfish. "Under the Milky Way," Starfish's biggest single, charted at Number 22 in Australia (where it was later "Single of the Year" at the 1989 ARIA Music Awards) and Number 24 in Australia (where Starfish was certified gold). Two years later, The Church climbed to Number 2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks with "Metropolis," the lead single from the band's sixth album, Gold Afternoon Fix. Although 1993's Priest=Aura produced another American hit with "Ripple," The Church experienced declining sales throughout the 1990s. Nonetheless, the band remained active well into the 21st century and returned to the ARIA charts during the 2010s, when Further/Deeper climbed to Number 50. Man Woman Life Death Infinity followed in 2017 and also charted, peaking at Number 64 in the band's homeland. Their next full-length offering, The Hypnogogue, emerged six years later and drew critical acclaim across the board. The concept LP, which maps the story of a rock star, a Korean scientist and a device called the Hypnogogue, featured guitarist Ian Hague, formerly of Powderfinger (who played on Further/Deeper and Man Woman Life Death Infinity) as well as ex-Remy Zero member Jeffrey Cain and Ashley Naylor of the band Even.

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