Sound of Australia

The sound of Australia, many would say, came from five immigrants who formed a pop band in Sydney in the 1960s.

The Easybeats, singer Stevie Wright, drummer Gordon “Snowy” Fleet, guitarist George Young, lead guitarist Harry Vanda and bassist Dick Diamonde, were five young men from England, Scotland and the Netherlands who formed a band in 1964 after they met at Villawood Migrant Hostel in Sydney.

With hits such as She’s So Fine, Wedding Ring and the number one hit Friday On My Mind they managed to break through to global mar- kets because they weren’t copycats: what they had found between them was a unique Australian pop sound.

“This group of immigrants who met at Villawood, who were told to go back to where they came from, ended up creating the sound of Australia and I think that would be an amazing thing to remind ourselves of right now,” Ashley Zukerman said.

The actor, known for his award-winning role as hacker Jesse Banks in Australian drama The Code, has been delving into the backstory of the seminal band all in the name of research, and

In a new two-part docu-series, Friday

On My Mind, Ashley Zukerman plays Ted Albert, the man who helped steer Australian pop group The Easybeats to global success. He tells DANIELLE MCGRANE what it was like trying to become one of the most enigmatic and mysterious men in Australian music.