Missy Higgins and Joe Dolce’s Music Now in Australia’s Film and Sound Archive
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Joe Dolce’s iconic 1980s hit “Shaddap You Face” and Missy Higgins’ breakthrough single “Scar” from 2004 are among four new additions to Australia’s cultural repository, according to the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA).
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In total, nine works have been included in the Sounds of Australia 2026 collection, which is described as spanning “the intimate, the everyday, and the unforgettable.”
Released in 1980, “Shaddap You Face” became an unexpected international hit. Dolce performed the track in character, employing an exaggerated accent that resonated widely. The song dominated the charts, spending three weeks at No. 1 in the U.K. and eight weeks in Australia, where it became the best-selling 7-inch single of all time.
“More than four decades on, it remains a clear example of how performance-led comedy can travel far beyond its origins,” noted a statement from the NFSA.
Higgins’ “Scar,” featured on her debut album The Sound of White, has also been added to the archive. The NFSA remarked, “Over time, it has come to represent a broader early-2000s shift toward piano-led, confessional pop in Australia.”
Today, Higgins is celebrated as one of Australia’s most honored artists, recently being inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2024.
Another ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, Marcia Hines, who joined in 2007, is represented in the collection with her disco classic “You.” Released in 1977 and penned by U.S. songwriter Tom Snow, the track emerged during a period when Australian pop was still carving out its mainstream identity. The NFSA emphasized its significance, stating that the song “confirmed Hines as a major national artist and showed how vocal interpretation could shape the sound—and visibility—of Australian music.”
The collection also includes the title track from the ARIA Award-nominated 1990 album Tabaran by David Bridie’s band Not Drowning, Waving, which features musicians from Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, led by singer George Telek. The NFSA described “Tabaran” as “a key example of regional collaboration in Australian recording history, capturing language, musical practice, and partnership across the Asia-Pacific.”
The Sounds of Australia collection also encapsulates cultural moments such as the “Slip! Slop! Slap!” TV advertisement from 1981, the “Misogyny Speech” delivered by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2012, and the spontaneous “Democracy Manifest / Succulent Chinese Meal” speech by the late Jack Karlson during his 1991 arrest, a moment now celebrated as a meme.
Recording selections are made by a panel of industry and NFSA experts, incorporating public nominations of recordings older than 10 years. Following this year’s updates, the collection now features over 200 pieces.
According to NFSA assistant curator Hannah de Feyter, “We select sound recordings that have particular cultural, historic, or aesthetic significance — things that we think are particularly relevant to life in Australia. One thing that we’re getting from the additions in this year’s capsule is the incredible variety of recorded sound that we have in our history.”
The complete list of the 2026 Sounds of Australia collection can be found on the NFSA website.
