1980's Sydney Gig Posters

Psychotic Turnbuckles

2009-02-15T23:37:00.002+11:00

There you go. Psychotic Turnbuckles. Part of the psychodelic revival scene of the mid 80's, along with Le Hoodoo Gurus, Lime Spiders, North to Alaskans, The Stems etc.

I think Max's is still there, but a shadow of it's former self. Pokies and doof music I suspect.

Boom Crash Opera

2009-02-15T23:16:00.002+11:00

Boom Crash Opera.

These guys were good. A few big singles, then they disappeared. Richard Pleasance released a brilliant solo album that I have somewhere. Dale Ryder had a great voice - don't know what happened to him. The band I played in at the time shared management with BCO. No one remembers us though...

The Venue, Dee Why

2008-08-18T19:23:00.003+10:00

A few classic names here.

Big Pig! Remember them? I've still got their cassette somewhere. "Bump"? The Radiators were a regular gig for us. So were Spy vs Spy. Not exactly sure when Ed Kuepper started doing solo gigs...this may be from a bit later, maybe early '90's. But Big Pig...

Oh, yeah. They've recently pulled the Dee Why Hotel down. It's a hole in the ground as we speak.

Rollins Band

2008-08-18T19:18:00.002+10:00

Heavy Duty. I loved Rollins. Loved his spoken word tours as well. He's still at it.

If I was at this gig, it must have been big night.

MX Warheads

2008-08-18T19:13:00.001+10:00

Sounds violent. I bet it was. The Mosman Hotel had lots of punk bands for a while. I saw a lot of fights at that place. Such a nice neighbourhood, too.

Trade Union Club again

2008-08-18T19:04:00.002+10:00

I remember Pel Mel. "No Word From China." I was at a gig of their's (might have even been the Governors Pleasure), when the singer girl whose name I will not remember asked the audience for requests. No idea why. My mate Doug, who had had a few, was standing right in front of her and yelled out "Slow Boat to China!" She asked him to repeat. He yelled it again. She did make a point of humiliating the poor guy in front of the whole crowd, I guess he deserved it.

Good on them for headlining over Hoodoo Gurus.

Bondi Tram

2008-08-18T18:57:00.002+10:00

Bondi Tram at the Bondi Hotel. Some interesting names here. Rowan Cannon I knew later playing at the Longueville Hotel with an old mate of mine called Bob Emsley. You out there, Bob?

I wrote on this one "The Undecided". This was a band I played in way back then... hmmm, they must have left us off the bill. I do remember that night though. I was playing keys, and I had a Peavey KB1000 keyboard amp propped up on a table next to me, turned up pretty much full bore. I remember at the time thinking that I was blowing my ears out, well my left one anyway. Just one more occasion which contributed to my current state of tinutis tinitis whatever, ringing in the ears. So stupid. Kiddies: look after your ears!

New Order at the Capitol

2008-08-18T18:53:00.002+10:00

Nice line-up.

Do Re Mi

2008-08-18T18:46:00.002+10:00

Saw these guys many a time. Deborah Conway was the lead singer. I remember "Man Overboard" sounding as good live as it did on record.

The Southern Cross Hotel later became the Stawberry Hill Hotel. I think.

Dance Craze

2008-08-18T16:31:00.002+10:00

Ah, The Governors Pleasure. Many a fun night was had here. I'm sure this was one of them. Naughty Rhythms were another good fun ska band of the era.

Strange Tenants

2008-06-16T18:50:00.003+10:00

Strange Tenants were like the Melbourne version of our Allniters. They'd come up every now and then and put on a bunch of really good high energy shows. My girlfriend at the time used to kind of hang round with them. A bit too much. I thought. Ah well, long time ago.

maybe I should iron these things before I post them....

Ratbags of Rhythm

2008-05-20T19:16:00.002+10:00

Here's an oldie. Ratbags of Rhythm were a swing, big band sound type outfit. They did a song called "I'll be a Baby for the Dingo". Hence "aquit the dingo" on this poster. I guess. Cool poster, too.

Fifty Million Beers

2008-05-20T19:10:00.003+10:00

These guys are still around. I don't know too much about them. I must have seen them a couple of times...

Find out more here:

http://www.50millionbeers.com.au/

I remember the Forest Lodge Hotel. Very cool little pub. Haven't been there for zillions of years, so it may have changed a bit.

North To Alaskans

2008-05-18T19:04:00.003+10:00

North To Alaskans weren't around for long. They seemed to be trying to revive a 60's psychedelia in the 80's. Don't think it was going too well for them. They did a pretty cool version of "Crimson and Clover". I think I've even got the single of it somewhere...

The Birthday Party

2008-05-18T19:00:00.004+10:00

No, I never actually saw the Birthday Party. Would have been a pretty bizarre show. Don't know why I have this flyer, or what year this would have been.

The Johnnys

2008-05-18T18:58:00.001+10:00

Australian Heritage Hotel

2008-05-14T13:59:00.002+10:00

A cool collection of underground and alternative acts here. My link to this one is that my brother played guitar for "Rejex". They thought they were pretty hard core, and had their song "Who Wants to March" on the jukebox at the Civic Hotel, the home of punk in Sydney at the time. He had bright pink hair and a bad, bad attitude.

Richard is now an old hippie living in country Victoria...

Manly Vale Hotel

2008-05-10T22:09:00.003+10:00

OK. this one's a bit beaten up. It would have come home in my sweaty back pocket from one of these gigs. I know I saw UB40 there, so it could have been that one.

It just shows how many great bands played at that venue, and what a shame it was to lose it, leaving nowhere on the north shore for larger acts to play.

I guess we didn't leave the venue quietly enough...

Paddo Town Hall

2008-05-10T22:02:00.004+10:00

Cool gig. Interesting mix of bands. Spy v Spy headlining. What did happen to those guys? Paddo Town Hall was a really good venue. Probably still is.

Angels & Rose Tattoo

2008-05-10T21:57:00.002+10:00

I know I was there. It would have been very loud and testosteroney. I would have been way too close to the huge W bins. My ears hurt just thinking about it. I'm glad I can't remember. Stop it. Turn it down.

DAAS

2008-05-10T21:48:00.003+10:00

Not really a band, and not really a pub, but these guys were amazing. Bloody talented writers, singers, performers, musos, satirists. Paul MacDermott's still got it, just watch Good News Week or the Side Show.

The Church

2008-05-10T21:44:00.003+10:00

One of my all time fave Aussie bands. Lyrical, melodic, rich. The Blurred Crusade is a great album, and I probably really enjoyed this concert. I would have, for sure. Damn, I wish I could remember all this stuff...

Powerjam '83!

2008-05-10T21:32:00.002+10:00

I remember this one. I remember climbing over the fence with a bottle of scotch. I think we actually tried to buy tickets, but they wouldn't let us in with the scotch, so we went round the side and climbed the fence.

$1? Pretty reasonable, I think.

The Killjoys

2008-05-06T20:27:00.003+10:00

Love the Killjoys. Never loved the Kardomah that much. love the Annandale still.

The Fall

2008-05-06T20:22:00.001+10:00

Maxy's Roller Rink

2008-05-06T20:18:00.002+10:00

OK. Maxy's. I remember it as Maxy's Roller Disco. Just up the road from the Tivoli and the Roma Theatre. There used to be places to go in George Street...

Narara 1983

2008-05-05T20:11:00.002+10:00

Scientists & Celibate Rifles

2008-05-05T20:07:00.000+10:00

Dropbears

2008-05-05T20:05:00.003+10:00

Hoodoo Gurus

2008-05-03T19:16:00.008+10:00

This must be an old one.

The Mosman Hotel was one of the classic old North Shore pubs. They seemed to have a lot of punk bands play there at the time. I can't remember when they pulled that one down...

I also can't remember when they dropped the "le" off Le Hoodoo Gurus.

Paul Kelly's Coloured Girls

2008-05-03T19:14:00.003+10:00

Paul Kelly in his heyday. Well, as far as I'm concerned.

Painters and Dockers. "We're all going to Nude School..."

Thieves!

2008-05-03T19:11:00.002+10:00

A benefit concert for gear stolen from the Introverts. Maybe I was there, maybe not. Pretty cool lineup though.

Stranded

2008-05-03T18:54:00.006+10:00

Stranded was a venue downstairs from the Strand Arcade in Pitt St, Sydney. The more alternative and unusual bands played there. I only went there a couple of times, I wasn't alternative or unusual enough to make it a regular thing. You had to have really cool hair and shoes to really fit in. Beers were expensive too.

This would be the original Models, with Sean Kelly on vocals. Pre "Barbados"... More "Local and or General". This one may be upside down, not sure.

Hunters & Collectors

2008-04-29T18:33:00.006+10:00

I always loved Hunter & Collectors gigs. Another unique style of music for the period. Primal, rhythmic, sweaty, dark. Swampy. Brassy. "Talking to a Stranger" was a brand new sound for Aussie pubs and their recordings captured the live feel well.

Laughing Clowns

2008-04-27T12:55:00.018+10:00

Don't have much to say about the laughing Clowns except that they were a brilliant, experimental, emotional band , and I love them still. Ed Kuepper from the Saints branched out and did something completely different. Deep and moody, going against the hard pub rock grain of the time.
I saw the Stranded gig. Slightly ironic, given that "I'm Stranded" was the Saints first single and album. Ha! I just thought of that. Stranded was a clubby kind of place downstairs from the Strand Arcade in Pitt St. Like Unruly Children were very odd. Hitting saucepans with sticks and strange wailing vocals. Hard to take...

The Allniters

2008-04-27T11:38:00.008+10:00

The Allniters. They're Allriters! A fun night out was to be had at any Allniters gig. We'd find our way to wherever they were playing, and somehow get home again in varying states of consciousness. I still don't know how we did it with pretty much no money and in the early days, no car. I guess things were cheaper and with a group of us we could pool our resources. The trouble with Allniters gigs often was that you'd end up with huge bruises on your shins the next morning, from dancing up the front with the skinheads in their bloody Doc Martins. Because of course, we had to be right at the front, centre of the stage. And so did they.

I think I can actually remember this one. The Manly Vale Hotel was a fantastic venue. A larger room with a higher stage than most pubs. It could put on overseas acts as well like UB40, Iggy Pop and others which will no doubt feature later. They pulled this great North Shore venue down at some point, probably because of noise complaints by neighbours - the usual excuse. I remember emerging from that place on countless occasions, drenched in sweat with a longneck of cider or something in my hand, watching the fights going on in the carpark from the top of the stairs - usually between the bouncers and some unlucky punter.

Sydney Trade Union Club

2008-04-27T11:17:00.002+10:00

Here's a mixed bunch at the Trade Union Club. This must have been 1981 - 82. I must have been at at least one of these nights. Plenty of great live acts here.

I think I saw the Allniters 21 weeks in a row at one point. They were such fun, happy, upbeat gigs. We followed them all around Sydney. Often they got memberas of the crowd up on stage to dance around for the last couple of songs.

Flaming hands were another one we saw a lot. "Le" Hoodoo Gurus were still pretty alternative and unknown. I used to see them for free at the Southern Cross Hotel in Surry Hills. Now the Strawberry Hill. Their gigs in the coming years were some of the best live pub gigs I ever saw. Divinyls rocked as well. A great band, but you spent most of the time looking at Chrissy Amphlett's lips, and wondering if her ripped school dress was going to come completely off. Well, I did anyway.

The Triffids at the San Miguel

2008-04-26T19:00:00.006+10:00

The Triffids are another all time fave of mine. Ultra sensitive and lyrical, but with an edge that could explode aggressively at any moment. Great albums. I saw them in Perth, too, where they were from originally. David McComb passed away in 1999, no doubt leaving many beautiful songs unwritten.

The San Miguel in Cammeray was another North Shore venue to disappear. Closed down probably as property prices in the area rose, and the new residents didn't appreciate the riff raff associated with live bands. Other venues closed because they couldn't afford to comply with new fire exit regulations that came in at some point in the 80's. Now it's a hardware store. I saw many a good gig there. No, not at the hardware store...

Don't recall JFK and the Cuban Crisis... I know they played around a hell of a lot.

The Hotel Manly

2008-04-26T18:43:00.006+10:00

The Hotel Manly was a local for me for years. They had bands on six days a week, and got all the big local names. Ugly, dingy place, but an integral part of the Sydney circuit. They pulled it down in 1989, and left a pile of rubble there for a couple of years. At one point the council decided to charge us to park on this vacant, depressing site. Now there's a really good wood fired pizza place there and a Moorish restaurant, among other things. RIP, the Hoey Moey.

Died Pretty are one of my all time favourite bands. I was at this gig, and most probably many of the others on these bills. Joe Camilleri is still around, my band supported the Black Sorrows in Perth in about 1992 I think. Chasin the Train were a great rhythm and blues band. I mean actual rhythm and blues. We used to watch them a lot at the Cat & Fiddle in Balmain, too. Jump Back Jack were a great funk band featuring Jackie Orszaczky on bass and vocals. (I bet that IS how you spell it). He's still about, too.

Vegimite Reggae were a Sunday arvo fixture at the Manly for a long time.

You can see the concept bands starting to creep in in a big way. Hey 19, Gold Zeppelin, Beatnix, Wild Heart, Blues Bros Revival...

Bayview Tavern

2008-04-24T16:02:00.004+10:00

The Bayview tavern at Gladesville was always a part of the Sydney band circuit. I played there myself once, years later than this poster.
Paul Kelly recorded live for 2JJ. Citizen Band seemed to be playing everywhere, all the time.

Governor's Pleasure

2008-04-24T15:28:00.006+10:00

The Governor's Pleasure. A very regular haunt for us for some reason. I have thousands of bits of memories of that place. It was one of the very first venues I ever went to, while we were in high school. You had to sign a book at the front door, promising you were over 18, as there was pretty much no ID, especially with a photo on it. The place was a sweat house, a fire trap, a great place to see bands. Pancakes at the Rocks for dinner. Of course now it's a lingerie restaurant topless type of place for the discerning gentleman.

Spy vs Spy. Before they started with the whole Vspy Vspy thing which I never bought into. Fantastic three piece. I remember seeing them in the corner of a pub in North Sydney playing Stones covers before anyone had heard of them. Even then I knew they were good.

The Sets, I think were a Mod band. I had a few friends who were into the Mod scene. It seemed then you had to choose Mod/Punk/Rude Boy/Skinhead/Whatever. Don't really remember the Sets music, but used to frequent the Sussex Hotel a bit...

Dynamic Hepnotics put on a great show. Soul, funky jazzy stuff. Great fun. Good bands on this bill.

Metropole Gig Guide

2008-04-24T15:03:00.004+10:00

Must confess I'm not familiar with this place.
I am, however familiar with The Laughing Clowns. I remain a fan of their music and the majority of the subsequent Ed Kuepper solo records. Laughing Clowns were very avant garde and different from most of what was going on in the early eighties. I think to a lot of people it sounded like dischordant, messy moaning. Me, I loved it. Still listen to them every now and then.

The Hitmen. I think they are largely responsible for the lingering ringing in my ears twenty five years later. Saw them heaps. Always at the front of the stage, or with our heads in the W bins to enhance the distorted buzzing effect. So stupid! Seemed fun at the time.

The Riptides had the best telegraph pole posters ever. We used to go out at night and untape them from the poles and stick them on the ceiling of our hang out room. Well, we were young. Give us a break,

Bondi Lifesaver Gig Guide, 1980

2008-04-24T14:26:00.001+10:00

A Sydney legend and institution. At least for those who frequented this part of the world. I think every major Australian band of the era must have played there, and it was an industry type hang out through the seventies (before my time). It closed sometime in 1980, so these gigs must have been very near the end.

Kevin Borich! KB! The guy is still going strong. I saw him play a few months ago, and man, he can still blast out the heavy blues licks like he ever did. Greatest rock guitar face in Aussie history.

Rose Tattoo. Heavy shit. Believe it or not, I managed to fall asleep during a Tatts gig at Narara 1983. Right on the grass in front of the stage. Probably more accurately described as "passed out" perhaps. Narara. There's another story...

Icehouse are still Flowers. I guiss it is only 1980.

They still hadn't worked out how to write INXS.

Mi-Sex Tour Guide

2008-04-24T14:15:00.002+10:00

Mi Sex. Got their name from an Ultravox song, and I always maintained they modelled themselves on John Foxx's original pre-Vienna Ultravox, at least to begin with. They were a bloody good band. Quite apart from the skintight leather pants, they had some great songs and put on a cool show. Computer Games was a huge revelation for me in the future of electronic pop. I remember it at my Year 12 dance at good ol' Killara High.
Singer Steve Gilpin died in 1992.

Brownies - Paddington Green

2008-04-24T14:13:00.001+10:00

How about Brownies?

The venue at the Paddington Green has had a few different names over the years. Here's another early INXS gig, and another incorrect writing of their name. They must have got a bit of that before everyone in the whole world knew how to write it. Tuesday nights at the Paddington Green. Pat Drummond got around Sydney a bit, too. I used to see him a lot at the Rest Hotel in Milson's Point. Now THAT was a tragedy when they pulled that joint down. Another piece of Sydney's soul discarded without so much as a "by your leave". Greedy bloody developers. Ruined our town. Blaaah! Well at least the Paddington Green is still there...

Chequers Gig Guide

2008-04-24T14:11:00.002+10:00

Check out this one. I never even heard of this place, although that doesn't mean I wasn't there at some point. They obviously got some good acts in there. Early days for INXS and the Angels - "first city gig"! June 28th would have been a good night... Icehouse were still known as the Flowers, and the Numbers were being recorded live for Double Jay. I wonder if they recorded INXS while they were at it?

Anyone remember Chequers?

Manzill Room

2008-04-24T14:08:00.002+10:00

Lets go! To the Manzill Room!
This wasn't really a venue I went to a lot - hardly ever actually. I was a north shore boy, and at the time there were enough venues on the north side to keep us busy most of the time. That's not to say we didn't get over to town at all, but it was much easier to drive mum's car home with a belly full of beer from the Manly Vale or Mosman Hotel than the Cross. Still, there were nights at the Manzill for sure. Others will have much fonder memories of this place.
Some good bands on this bill: Matt Finish for one. Ayers Rock were brilliant - free jazz/rock fusion jamming. "Big Red Rock" is the album.

Redgum / Sunnyboys

2008-04-24T14:05:00.005+10:00

Ah Redgum. I still have many of their records. Of course the early stuff was the best. For a while they were really big with leftish semi-alternative folks. Their gigs were extremely humorous and entertaining, with lots of John Schumann's political anti-government raves and folky, country, fiddly, acousticky music. Good fun, often sitting on the floor, or great outdoor gigs for the thinkers rather than the dancers.

Sunnyboys! I just recently nicked a copy of their first (best) album of the 'net. Love those guys. Only saw them a few times back then, but remember huge energy, very loud and tight sets. Most of the songs sound the same, but uniquely Sunnyboys. Don't know where they disappeared to, but fond memories for me. I still have my original yellow cardboard "cigarette box" cassette of the Happy Man ep. See? I keep everything.

Midnight Oil

2008-04-24T13:56:00.002+10:00

Oils. What can I say. Midnight Oil gigs are ones that I'll never forget. There will never be another band like them. Extraordinary live gigs. I don't remember how many times I saw them, but the energy and imagery from those nights is firmly hammered into the back of my brain. All great musos, amazing songs that everyone could connect to at the time, Garrett utterly rivetting to watch, adoring crowds of people who made the most of every opportunity to watch this unique and fairly rare spectacle. The place to see them was the Antler at Narrabeen. Have you seen that place recently? End of another era of Sydney live music. Tragic. Well that's progress on the Northern Beaches.
I saw Midnight Oil a couple of years ago on the Redneck Wonderland tour, but both they and I had become much older and the vibe wasn't really there for me...