Australia's first ever hit single 'A Pub With No Beer' is about to turn 50.
The song, recorded by Australian country music legend, the late Slim Dusty, went on to become an iconic hit in Australia and was also the first Australian song to become a hit in the UK.'A Pub With No Beer' was originally issued as a 10" 78 RPM disc (yes before the 45rpm was part of our culture).
Dusty recorded the song back in 1957 in just one take. The record was picked up by young DJ Bob Rogers (who to this day is still on the air in Sydney) and sold an astonishing 50,000 units at the time. This was back when Australia's population was yet to reach 10 million. It eventually sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide.
Dusty sold more than 7 million albums in his career and at the time of his death was the longest signed artist to EMI Records, clocking up 50 years with the label.
To mark the occasion, EMI will release a 3CD Slim Dusty compilation 'Pubs, Trucks and Plains' on March 24th.
