silverchair are one of the biggest Australian alternative bands in history. Daniel Johns on lead guitar and vocals, Chris Joannou on bass, and Ben Gillies on drums, are three mates from Merewether in Newcastle, New South Wales. They have grown up together and have gone to the same school for twelve years. In high school, Daniel and Ben decided it was high time they started a band. So they joined forces and became "Short Elvis". It was a joke at first, but they then decided to become serious about their music. So they recruited Chris and became the "Innocent Criminals". They even had a rhythm guitarist by the name of Tobin Finnane at one stage, but he later left for England. They then closed ranks and remained, and still remain, a three piece.

Playing local concerts at their high school and around their home town gave them a good reputation as a live band. It was about this time that they saw a competition being run by the long since axed television show "Nomad" on SBS, called "Pick Me", which would give them the opportunity to record a song and a video clip professionally, and basically make something of themselves. All they had to do was send in a demo of a song that they had written, and in 25 words or less tell them why they should be picked. Here's what they wrote:

Were not hip or hop or rap we're rock
We love to write and live to play
Pick us - hear what we have to say

The demo was, of course, "Tomorrow", and before they knew what was happening, the received a call from "Nomad" telling them they had won the competition. Tracy Hutchison, a former host of "Nomad", told the press that their demo was the best and that it "just blew me away every time I heard it". A song was hence recorded and a clip shot to accompany it. This resulted in the release of the famous "Tomorrow" EP. Not long afterwards, the band name was changed once again. They were given a list of suitable names for their group, and as soon as they came across "silverchair", they said "yep, that's the one" and it stuck.

The next single to come out was "Pure Massacre", which debuted at number one. Daniel Johns said about it "we wanted the people who liked ‘Tomorrow' to shit their pants when they heard ‘Pure Massacre', ‘cos it's a lot heavier than ‘Tomorrow'." After that came the release of their debut album, "Frogstomp", which silenced the critics and everyone who thought that they were going to be one hit wonders. It turned out to be a cracker of an album, and it also debuted at number one.

There were two more singles to follow..."Shade" and "Israel's Son", neither of which did as well as their predecessors, but did well nonetheless. They began their tours shortly after this, touring around America, and Europe, as well as the Big Day Out in January 1995, where they shared the bill with the likes of Hole, Ministry and Primal Scream. Later that year, they were invited to play at the MTV Music Video Awards. They accepted, and they were filmed playing "Pure Massacre" on the roof of the Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan for all to see.

1996 saw a break from "frogstomp", but the touring continued, including the US with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Europe supported by Everclear. There were more concerts in between, and a festival called Push in Melbourne, which they received a huge petition for to play at. This was also the year that they made their first ever trip to South America. By the time touring had finished, it was already 1997, and time to get started on the proposed new album.

It was recorded in June, and took two to three weeks to complete, which meant they missed two to three weeks of school (bummer). The first single from the yet unreleased album was "Freak". It raced up the charts and spent two weeks at number one. The film clip for "Freak" was filmed in America, and directed by Gerry Casale, who has directed clips for the Foo Fighters and Soundgarden. The only country to not have "Freak" released as the first single was the US, where "Abuse Me" was released first. "Freak" was then released as the second single, while "Abuse Me" was the rest of the world's second single.

The new album was released shortly after. It was called "Freak Show", and it played down the hype of the "second album blues" which had preyed upon many bands before them. Spawning two more singles, "Cemetery" and "The Door", "Freak Show" quickly became a favourite with the fans, but the critics still weren't convinced. They did more tours and more shows, doing round trips of the US, Europe, Asia and South America, not forgetting Australia!. Towards the end of the year, the guys showed their home country their gratitude by doing a complete Summer Freak Shows Tour, finishing in Perth on December 20.

All was quiet on the western front again in 1998, when the guys were scheduled a long break. This didn't last long, and by mid year, Daniel had completely written the next album. They went back into the studios in late August, and came back out in early September with a brand spanking new recorded album for release. One of the web sites on the Internet gave some of the fans a chance to meet their idols and appear as an extra in one of their clips. They also had a special guest appearance by Maggie Kirkpatrick, who used to star in a show called "Prisoner". The result of this was "Anthem For The Year 2000", which was released on January 31, 1999.

In March the same year, the third album finally emerged. Titled "Neon Ballroom", it was very different to the two previous albums. Fans and critics alike dubbed it the album of the decade, and it attracted a new legion of fans, and kept the old ones coming back. The second single, "Ana's Song (Open Fire)" was released shortly after, stunning everyone with it's revealing lyrics. Daniel felt he had to deal with what he was going through, and said that the songs on the album "would help other people".

The next single "Miss You Love" was a confusion to many after it's release. Daniel explained that it "isn't a love song at all. In fact, it's an anti love song." Nonetheless, it was a stunner. More tours were scheduled for the album, including a major tour supporting Blink 182 throughout the US. They played Edgefest in Canada, and finished off the year playing Homebake on the Gold Coast, the new Rock It festival in Perth, and Homebake in Sydney.

2000 was the year for another big break from all things music. All except for one solitary concert. The Falls Festival on New Years Eve. It was also the year of new beginnings. Their contract with Murmur had ended and so they began the search for a new record company. And they found one in the form of Eleven, a sub division of Virgin Records. This saw Murmur bring out one more release from the guys – the “Best Of silverchair Volume One” which was also accompanied by a DVD of the same name.

2001 started with a concert at Rock In Rio in Brazil and the Big Day Out festivals in Australia. Fans who attended these shows got a taste of what was to come on the new album. A new producer in David Bottril and Van Dyke Parks as a guest arranger proved vital in what going to be the greatest release from silverchair to date. The album was dubbed “Diorama”, which means a world within a world, and for the first time saw Daniel Johns as co-producer.

The first single to be released from the album was “The Greatest View” in January of 2002. The song was a perfect indication of what the album was going to contain and it quickly climbed to number one status. The album followed in March and shocked all those who had any doubt as to its success. “Without You” was the next single released in April and followed a very similar pattern to it’s predecessor. Both songs showed “the new direction of silverchair” without losing any of that old classic ‘chair rock.

It was a few months before single number three saw the light of day. “Luv Your Life” was released in July with a very snazzy animated film clip. It wasn’t to do as well as the first two, but it was a favourite nonetheless. The Diorama Box was released around January 2003 and included the first three singles plus a single especially done for the box. “After All These Years” included an interview with Angela Pulvirenti plus “Diorama” track by track. A film clip was also recorded for the song.

A tour was scheduled for that year, but there were doubts surrounding Daniel’s crippling condition – reactive arthritis. But his recovery was speedy as hoped and everything went according to plan. The ARIA Awards was a fruitful evening for the trio, picking up six awards for their latest and greatest achievement. Another single was released out of the blue in April. “Across The Night” was a pleasantly unexpected surprise and saw Australian Hollywood actor Guy Pearce starring in the film clip. Two DVD releases of the same name came out in 2003. One followed the creation of Diorama, the other included the film clips to "Across The Night", "After All These Years" and a live version of "The Greatest View" recorded at the ARIA's.