ARIA Hall of Fame 2008

A hallmark event on the music calendar, The ARIA Hall of Fame officially recognises the achievements of this country's long-shining musical stars. Accepting 'Famer' status this year (on Tuesday, 1 July in Melbourne) are Rolf Harris, The Triffids, Max Merritt, Dragon and Russell Morris, while John 'Golden Tonsils' Laws collects a Lifetime Achievement award for his support of home-grown country music ( … and not his poetry).

Cries of “long overdue!” follow the induction of Rolf Harris, who is undeniably one of this country's most remarkable characters. Musician, painter and TV personality, Perth-born Harris is famed the world over for (among a string of other things, including painting a portrait of The Queen) his wobble board-accompanied '60s hit Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport. Alongside Harris, and also hailing from Perth, are The Triffids. Fronted by David McComb (who died in 1999), the group hit their peak in the '80s, with Wide Open Road arguably their most memorable track. Talking of memorable tracks, scene stalwart Russell Morris also accepts Famer fame this year - Morris is the hypnotic voice behind Johnny Young-penned track The Real Thing (Oo mama mow-mow, Oo mama mow-mow …).

Decorating the Hall with some Kiwi-born influence are Dragon and Max Merritt. Though they suffered deaths, numerous line-up switches and a couple of splits, Dragon still found time to leave the world with hits including April Sun in Cuba and Are You Old Enough?. Globe-trotting slow-burn muso Max Merritt hit the high numbers in the local charts with Slippin' Away in 1975. Merritt, who is suffering a kidney illness, was also honoured by the music community late last year with Concert for Max. The concert raised funds to help with Merritt's ongoing medical expenses.

So there, in a nutshell, is this year's class of '08. Tune into the induction ceremony on Foxtel's VH1 on Saturday, 5 July at 9pm (if you miss it, there's an encore screening on Sunday, 6 July at 5pm). Visit Citysearch's TV guide for more details.

Kelly Ford, Music Editor, June 2008