Their top 40 releases on the ARIA Albums Chart are Friends in Danger (1996), What Are Rock Stars Doing Today (2000), Tough Love (2003) and Snow White (2005).

Their first extended play, Signs of Satanic Youth appeared in December, with the track "Redhead" receiving airplay on Triple J radio.

[2] In early 1995, the band performed on the Big Day Out festival tour across Australia, with Hole (Magic Dirt also supported their other Australian shows) and Silverchair.

The success of Life Was Better had attracted international attention and Geoffrey Weiss, of Warner Music in the United States, traveled to Australia to see the band perform at the Big Day Out.

Dave Thomas, of fellow Geelong band Bored!, who had managed Magic Dirt at the early stages of their career, was recruited as Herring's replacement on guitar.

In March, Magic Dirt began recording their debut album proper, Friends in Danger, in Sydney with Paul McKercher (You Am I) producing.

According to rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, "[it] matched the band's fearless experimentation with a dark, unhinged sound that went from moments of eerie near-silence to full-tilt guitar noise".

In July, Thomas left and his replacement on guitar was Spanish-born Raúl Sánchez – former front man of Melbourne band, Muffcake.

They followed with a three-week tour of the United Kingdom (where they appeared on John Peel's BBC radio show) and continental Europe in the later half of the year.

The group ended 1997 with a new single, "Rabbit with Fangs", and a national tour supporting Silverchair, playing large arenas around Australia.

[citation needed] Another single, "She-Riff" was released – in a new and more polished recording – with a video depicting Srsen re-enacting a scene from the 1975 Australian film Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Longtime fans of the band weren't sure what to make of lead single, "Dirty Jeans", with its hand claps and sing-a-long chorus.

Tracks such as "Pace It" and "City Trash" proved that the band could still rock, however they did receive some backlash, with some fans labelling them "sell-outs".

They started recording demos for a fourth album early in the year – tracks such as "Love Me" and "Sarah May" from these sessions were later released as B-sides.

In early 2003 Magic Dirt started recording its fourth album, Tough Love, at Birdland Studios in Melbourne, again produced by Lindsay Gravina.

In 2004, Sánchez issued a solo album, Midnight Woolf, a self-recorded swamp blues instrumental release on his own Crossbone Recording Company.

[3] It received critical acclaim, as a combination of the band's pop sound, their noisy early material, and new elements such as acoustic guitars.

Lead single "Locket" made an impact on radio and music video channels, but its exposure was limited due to the explicit language in the song's chorus.

A report in Sydney street press Drum Media, indicated that the EP would be given away at shows and sold in selected independent music stores.

The EP featured covers of The Scientists' "We Had Love" and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' "Stagger Lee", as well as a live re-recording of "Mother's Latest Fear" from Snow White.

[5] Beast harked back to the band's earlier, rawer material and featured original guitarist Herring on two tracks ("Horror Me" and a re-recording of "Sucker Love").

[6] After Turner died, the band released a statement: [7] For nine years, Dean battled an extremely rare form of soft tissue cancer called dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP).

His composure and grace during this time will never be forgotten and are an inspiration to us all.Following Turner's death Magic Dirt performed a final tour in honour of his memory, culminating in their appearance at the 2010 Big Day Out festival.

:[7] In February 2018, Magic Dirt played a surprise small set at the end of an Adalita solo show at the Barwon Club in Geelong.

In June 2018, the band were announced as a part of the 2019 Hotter Than Hell concert tour alongside Spiderbait, Shihad, Bodyjar and 28 Days.

The band played their first official show since 2010 on November 18, 2018, at the River Rocks Rehab festival at the Barwon Club in Geelong.

[8][9] February 2019 saw the band play alongside You Am I at Taronga Zoo Sydney, and in March as part of Golden Plains Festival with The Jesus and Mary Chain, Liz Phair, Happy Mondays and Four Tet.

In late 2019, the band toured as part of the Scene and Heard festival alongside The Dandy Warhols, Jebediah, Wolfmother and Eskimo Joe.

[10] With a large portion of their back catalogue out of print, the band also announced in November 2018 that they would be reissuing their Signs Of Satanic Youth EP, on vinyl, CD and digitally, in January 2019.

The reissue campaign continued with Life Was Better (available on vinyl and streaming services for the first time) in January 2020, a 20th anniversary edition of What Are Rocks Stars Doing Today in October 2020, and Friends In Danger in July 2021.