Great Southern Land
A-side “Great Southern Land”
B-side “Uniform”
Released 3 August 1982
1989
Format 7″ vinyl single, 12″ vinyl single, CD single
Genre New wave, synthpop
Length 3:22 (7″)
5:14 (LP)
Label Regular Records
Chrysalis Records
Writer(s) Iva Davies
Producer(s)
Iva Davies, Keith Forsey
“Great Southern Land” is a single released by the Australian rock band Icehouse. It was released in August 1982, before the album Primitive Man.[1] Peaking at number five on the Australian Singles Chart, it was later featured in the 1988 Yahoo Serious film Young Einstein, and remains their most popular song according to listeners of Triple M in 2007.
It was re-released in the U.S. on Chrysalis Records in 1989 as both a 7″ and CD single, to coincide with the U.S. release of the compilation album, Great Southern Land.
On 5 September 2011, “Great Southern Land” re-entered the Australian (ARIA) Singles Chart at #66.
There are two versions of the music video. The Australian original version, was filmed at the disused Jones’ quarry in Wahroonga in 1982, with solarised clips of the band in daylight and surrounded by camp fires at night. The USA version was made in 1989 for the movie Young Einstein and it has Iva Davies walking around Myall Lakes National Park.
In November 2014 the song was selected for inclusion on the Australian National Film & Sound Archive’s “Sounds of Australia” list.
The song is also used as the walk out tune for the Australian cricket team for their home matches during the Australian summer.