Hotel Manly
Hotel Manly was a classic pub venue. One of the hardest working that I’ve ever seen. In its heyday it had live bands, often more than one, on every night of the week.
I first worked there with Bandanna back in 1985. The following year we supported Chain which was a massive gig for us. It was packed and we got to use a big PA system belonging to the main act and operated by “Arthur”. Anyone around the Sydney music scene of the 80’s & beyond will know Arthur.
Have a look through the flyers below & see for yourself what a busy and important Sydney gg the Hotel Manly was.
What’s your favourite memory of the Hotel Manly? What was the best gig you saw there? Let me know in the comments.
Images
Video
Mad Gorilla Hotel Manly 1983
Known Gigs
| Date | Artist | City | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23/07/83 | Q.E.D. | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 02/08/85 | Bandanna | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 12/10/85 | Bandanna | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 16/11/85 | Bandanna | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 21/03/86 | Final Image | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 05/06/86 | Chain | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| supported by Chain | |||
| 05/06/86 | Bandanna | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| supporting Chain | |||
| 17/06/86 | The Venetians | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 14/10/86 | Wa Wa Nee | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 19/04/88 | Blues Brothers Revival | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 20/04/88 | Vegimite Reggae | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 21/04/88 | Zarsoff Brothers | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 22/04/88 | Dave Dobbyn | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 23/04/88 | Nawhom | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| + The Stetsons | |||
| 25/04/88 | Vegimite Reggae | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 26/04/88 | Huxton Creepers | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 27/04/88 | Baby Loves To Cha Cha | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 28/04/88 | Gold Zeppelin | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 29/04/88 | Stevie Wright & Hard Rain | Manly | Hotel Manly |
| 30/04/88 | Kalabash | Manly | Hotel Manly |
More Gigs here
Bernie Zarsoff, Terry Zarsoff and I started playing in the front bar of The Hotel Manly in 1979 (Sundays, from memory), firstly as The Likker Act, then as The Zarsoff Brothers. Because live music hadn’t worked there for a while (if ever), we had to talk the hotel’s management into letting us charge $1 a head at the door, and we eventually built it up to about 300 punters (not bad money for a 3-piece in those times). Management then got greedy and decided that they would take the door and give us a flat fee of $150 or so. We declined the generous offer, but got to come back later, when The Manly evolved into a proper gig. By then the music had moved into the side bar and a bigger room, and we were happy to accept our bottom-line figure of around $1,500 for a spot.
Thanks so much for this topic. I had some great nights at the Manly pub seeing bands such as Electric Pandas, Cockroaches, Phil Small’s band the Pound, Huxton Creepers, Cockroaches & a lot of others I can’t recall. Hands down however the best band I ever saw there was a band called the Notations. I think they were locals who played a lot of covers and some excellent originals. They used to do the Who covers including substitute, your generation and they had a British rock n roll sound and feel. The singer was also the lead guitarist who put on a fantastic show. They were all great players though. I often wondered what happened to those blokes. I saw them many times and they were always fantastic. I’ve tried to find anything online about them but nothing comes up. Would love to know who they were and where they are now? Go the Manly!
Have great memories playing in The Booze Bros at Manly Hotel. Sydney certainly had a great live music scene back then. It’s a shame to see so many live venues shut down.
Hi Ted, great to see you here. I remember mixing the Booze Brothers on quite a few occasions at the Hotel Manly (and a thousand other venues!) back in the day. You guys were always fantastic. I’ve got some Booze Brothers photo’s somewhere that I will dig out & post here.
Cheers, Mark
Thanks Mark … that would be great, would love to see them!
I was in Australia(from England) I worked in The Cosmopolitan on the Corso and every Sunday a big crowd of us would go to see Vegimite Reggae.Happy days,great band a nd always a brilliant atmosphere
Worked in the drive through out the back with Paul bell, blond Julie and Brett Cohen ( when he bothered to turn up) in the early 80’s, when henske hill of grace was $22 a bottle( now $499). We would dive into the gig every night after we shut the bottle shop. Happy days.
What date did the Hotel Manly close and what were the reasons for it’s closure.
Also does anyone have any images of the Hotel Manly/ Stage setup etc?
I would be GREATLY APPRECIATIVE if you could email them to me @ mattychampion@live.com.au.
They will be used in a research assignment on live music in manly.
Thanks so much,
Matt
No one has answered your question
When did it close????
That question is from 7 years ago so he’s probably finished his assignment by now! Anyway, according to the article linked below, the Hotel Manly closed on March 5 1989. It was demolished and a residential complex was built there in the mid 90s.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/northern-beaches/a-sight-for-sore-eyes-manly-hotel-a-premier-attraction-for-nearly-60-years/news-story/da0186e7078adf586884ef1ccf5bc2d3
i rember seeing The Hitmen Wet Taxis Lime Spiders S Celibate Rifles Surfside Sixcreaming Tribesmen Motorhead _- good times
Saw the Numbers at the Hotel Manly in 1984 or maybe it was late 1983. I remember Chris and Annalise Morrow (2 of the band members) wore dark sunglasses on stage, pretty good crowd there and I was drinking schooners of Tooheys New. I remember it like it was yesterday. Great band, great gig, good venue, great memories.
Loved this gig did it a few times with The Blues Brothers Revival
Manager there… best time, Staff were lovely and very motivated. Sadly no more pub venues for Aussie bands to learn the trade. Hi Matt. Closed about 1990ish