For four years in the late ’90s, Recovery made Saturday mornings worth waking up for. Mixing the charm of hosts Jane Gazzo and Dylan Lewis with ramshackle interviews and live performances from bands as big as You Am I, Blink-182, Green Day, Silverchair, The Avalanches and Midnight Oil, the show quickly became a cult classic for Australian music fans.

But what would Recovery be playing if it was still around in 2017? To find out, we went straight to the source — Gazzo and Lewis, who’ve talked us through 10 tracks from bands they’d definitely host on the show if it was still kicking.

“Recovery was all about showcasing live music — whoever the band, wherever they were from,” Gazzo explains. “We never treated the local bands any differently to the international artists and I think this was why we were so successful. If we were live on-air today, we’d have so many local bands to choose from, I imagine it’d be a real shitfight to get on the show.

“But back in the day Recovery never picked bands to play based on popularity or record sales — we did say no to a few very high profile artists!

“I think the question is not, could Recovery exist today? I think the question should be, ‘how much money can you guys give us to get the show up and running?’ Australia’s got a lot of talent to showcase!” Agreed, Gazzo. Grab your headphones and get stuck in below.

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Gazzo: Horace Bones – ‘Tarantula’

I’d pick these guys simply because apart from the great Stooges-inspired psychobilly rock — which there aren’t a lot of local bands doing — there’s a great back story to these guys.

They all met in a share house and made such a racket there, they decided to make it a full time gig. I can see these guys performing live on the show behind a horror-themed backdrop (our set designers were the best in the biz) tearing it up with ‘Tarantula’ or ‘Son of the City’.

Could these guys create a moment similar to Jon Spencer’s infamous set trashing? Maybe not to the same degree, but I’d be willing to put money on them giving us a pretty memorable live TV moment.

Dylan: West Thebarton – ‘Moving Out’

Gazzo: Jade Imagine – ‘Walkin’ Around’

When picking artists for live TV, it does become about the visual aspect as much as the sound of an artist. I think there’s something about Jade McInally that is intriguing. I do like the simplicity and warmth of her music too. If she performed ‘Walkin’ Around’ on the show I’d get the set designers to feature warm reds and pinks in the colour scheme — they’re the colours I see when I hear her music.

Dylan: Kylie Auldist – ‘Sensational’

Gazzo: Osaka Punch – ‘Stonk’

You can never have too much rock on the telly. This Brisbane four-piece remind me of Faith No More with an Aussie accent but they have great character — an important ingredient for TV.

Lead singer Jack has a great rubber face (check out their vids for ‘Make the Call’ or ‘Stonk’) and musically they’ve got a lot going on which the camera loves. I think they’d give us something pretty memorable — a perfect Recovery band.

Dylan: Baker Boy – ‘Cloud 9’

Gazzo: Waax – ‘Wild & Weak’

I think Waax have been pretty consistent in their releases, they’re all great. And I am a fan of lead singer Maz’s voice — it means business and we loved attitude on Recovery. I can definitely see ‘Wild and Weak’ going down a treat on the show — Waax are the kind of band who would probably gain a million new fans after a performance on Recovery.

Dylan: Washington – ‘Saint Lo’

Gazzo: The Comfort – ‘Love & Other Drugs’

Two pieces are really kickin’ arse in this country. Like Polish Club and Elegant Shiva, The Comfort have a great rock sound and it’s big and melodic (although they do beef up their line-up live).

‘Love and Other Drugs’ is just a top tune from start to finish — the kind of song that would get members of the live audience up and headbanging along. Actually, this would probably see The Enforcer going nuts on side of set.

Dylan: Apakatjah – ‘Waru’

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