Well hi.

For whatever reason, I've recently decided to upload scans of band gig posters from my early days in Sydney, when I used to regularly go out and see at least two or three bands a week. I'm talking 1979 - 1990 ish here. At that time, Sydney had a healthy, thriving pub band culture which f
ostered the careers of many of the top Aussie export bands of the last couple of decades. The Angels, The Radiators, Midnight Oil, INXS, (Le) Hoodoo Gurus, The Church, etc etc etc. Anyway, being a lifelong collector of strange and irrelevant things, I find myself with scraps of paper, flyers, set lists, coasters and more from many of the gigs I attended, so at least I have something to remember them by. Most of that era is a total blur in my memory, but I just know that I had a really good time, and my tinnitus and foggy brain was worth it all.

Now, I'm not claiming to be any kind of expert or authority on any of these bands, or the era in general, I'm just sharing what I remember, and a few bits and pieces that may bring back memories for some. Feel free to add your own recollections, tell me if I'm wrong, share stories of gigs you went to.

You can click on them and they get bigger.

Monday, August 18, 2008

The Venue, Dee Why

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


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

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

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

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

Nice line-up.

Do Re Mi

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

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.