Narara Music Festival 1984
Our article from sometime back on the Narara Music Festival of 1983 has proved to be one of our most popular with many folks leaving their recollections and memories in the comments. Many also commented that they’d like to see an article about the 1984 Narara concert. The problem has been a lack of reference material though. I still haven’t been able to find a full list of the acts that played. Rather than hold off, I thought I’d get the post started with the little information I have and let the commenters fill in the blanks once again.
Here’s what I’ve got so-far…
Like the 1983 concert, Narara Music Festival 1984 was held on the Australia Day long weekend from Friday the 27th the Monday the 30th of January 1984. It was held at the same location, being Somersby NSW.
MC’s – Austen Tayshus, Rodney Rude
Friday January 27th
- Party Girls
- Eurogliders
- Real Life
- Eurythmics
- Simple Minds
- Mondo Rock
Saturday January 28th
- QED
- Zarsoff Bros
- The Johnies
- Kids In The Kitchen
- Hoodoo Gurus
- Machinations
- Sandii And The Sunsets
- The Models
- INXS
- The Pretenders
- Talking Heads
- Mental As Anything
Sunday January 29th
- Drop Bears
- Deckchairs Overboard
- Strange Tennants
- The Expression
- Dynamic Hepnotics
- Little Heroes
- Sunnyboys
- Jon English & The Foster Bros.
- Def Leppard
- The Radiators
* Note: The show was washed out at this point & the following scheduled acts did not play.
- Australian Crawl
- Allniters
Monday January 30th
- Mighty Guys
- Celibate Rifles
- Avion
The concert was marred by heavy rain and suffered reduced crowd numbers. Some say it was also due to the large number of overseas acts at what was an all- Australian event the year before.
This was the last of the Narara concerts.
* Update *
I got an update to the band list from John Vasey who wrote:
“The last act to perform at Narrara 84 was the Radiators on Sunday night. There were no acts on Monday. At that point it was decided that the stage was too dangerous as the water was washing away the soil under the scaffolding.
Andy Pollard was stage manager. Reg Dew built the stage.
Eric Robinson and Michael Coppel could tell you more. Kerrie Jarvis, Swampy’s widdow was also there with Swampy.
I was on the sound crew.”
Videos
Images
Mark, The Zarsoff Brothers played Narara 84 during the day on Saturday. Thats when the mudfights were happening in that big pile of mud right in front of the stage. There was a photo in the old People Magazine of the day (it was called Pix back then) of the mudfights, and you could clearly see me standing in the mud in front of the Zarsoffs! When the concert was abandoned on Sunday I hightailed it back to Sydney and caught the Zarsoffs at Auburn Baseball Club that night, and Izzy got me up onstage to show the crowd the Narara mud that was still on my Nose Pickin Boogie t-shirt! That shirt, by the way, has been signed at one time or another by just about every member of the Zarsoff’s (there have been quite a few over the years!), plus road crew members, and even a ‘groupie’ that was in the dressing room one night! Some of the very original ones washed off over the years, but last time I looked it still had heaps of signatures on it. It is currently somewhere at my Mum’s house in Sydney. I don’t know about you mate, but I would consider that shirt to be a genuine piece of Australian Music History! lol Come to think of it, do you remember that black Washburn B3 bass I used to play back when you were mixing Bandanna and we were supporting? I bought that bass off Izzy Foreal, and he had played it at both Narara’s, making it a piece of history too lol
haha awesome – that mud sure did stick. I played drums with the zarsoffs later that decade till the mid 90’s I guess and it was so much fun,
I can tell you a few more stories too if you like Mark
That’s a genuine piece of nostalgia you have there JR.
Thanks for the tip about the Zarsoff’s too, I’ve updated the band list.
Mark, I just remembered seeing George Smilovitch there too.
I have pictures of the mud fight.
Matt Finish also played Narara.
I’m sure I have a program at home with a list of most of the bands that played. I think they published it and then more acts signed on.
Thanks heaps Bec, I’d love to see that photo and that program if at all possible.
Cheers, Mark
G,day there. I was just a youngan at the time, but I was at Narara in 84 to see Def Leppard. From my fuzzy memory (I was pissed and covered in mud) the rain meant that Def Leppard did no play. Is this correct?
According to Phil Collen, on worstgig.com, they did:
“I could probably go on all day because we’ve done so many gigs over the years. The first one that springs to mind is the Narara Festival in Australia in ’84. I’ve never seen rain like it. It was like biblical, Noah’s Ark, baseball-sized drops. It covered the place up. There was a crowd of about 35,000. Everyone left. There were only 3,000 people left in the mud, honestly, three-feet deep in this mud and rain. And we thought, ‘Shit, we’ve come all the way from wherever we were at — it was our first time in Australia — we’re going on!’ It wasn’t a bad gig, actually. It was pretty triumphant.
yep Deff played for sure rem watching them
We stayed till the end- the rain went & came out sunny!
“It wasnβt a bad gig, actually. It was pretty triumphant.”
You’re kidding
It was on a side stage not main stage – there were 40- 50 people watching at best and you only did 2 or 3 numbers before being booed off. By the way all you folk who claim to have thrown water bottles at them – I don’t recall ANY water bottles going up don’t think it was a thing to have bottled water in Oz then.
I remember a load of paper plate frisbies and paper cups going up, (guilty my apologies) and half a can of coke, and maybe a sprite which I thought was a bit over the top and dangerous.
I sure wouldn’t call it triumphant
Def Leppard played I was in the mixing tower with the crew and nearly shorted the electrical equipment when I let the pool of water off the roof
The concert was awesome, I came on a bus from Briso and pitched my little tent as soon as i got there, never saw it again!! Did not sleep for days, when i did it was with people i did not know. I had a life experience of music, people, drugs and alchohol all mixed in togeather. I would not trade it for anything. First Hoodoo Gurus experience for me and became a steady fan of theirs after Narara. Loved Pretenders, Chrissy can sing. Ni ce site, lets build it now….
Cheers, Bretto. WA.
This was absolutely the woodstock of Australia. I will never forget it as well. It was the ultimate. I slept on the ground not far from the stage, and remember simple minds waking me up at 2am Saturday morning. It was that bloody loud. It was the only concert where everyone just did their own business, without any fuss. It was real music, (not this Britney shit).
They need to do it again before we get to old. Why didn’t Midnight Oil play?
Actually Tanelorn was Australiaβs Woodstock and the Oils blew shit up. Split Enz played next, first song: hard act to follow.
I thought Sunbury 1973 74 and 75 (especially) was our Woodstock and Narara 84 was my favourite with Talking Heads Stop Making Sense a masterpiece.
I was there!
I watched the Sunnyboys in the pouring rain – ACE!
Hoodoo Gurus were there – I think Stoneage Romeos had just been released. I knew one song, thought they were good but seemed very loose new band still finding their feet.
The Johnnies played a fabulous shambolic drunken set – it was their singers last gig and he was absolutelty smashed – skulling cans instead of singing.
The models were there. I remember Hunters horn section came out and played a track or 2 with them so I’m guessing Hunters & Collectors must have been on the bill as well
Rodney Rude was there and came out at the height of the rain and told the audience “if I can make you guys laugh in this weather then I’ve gotta be the funniest c*nt on earth!”
The johnnies lead singer, after performing, Passed out in front of the food tents in the middle of the afternoon.
Everyone just stepped over him to get to the stalls like he wasn’t even there.
The Johnys were the band that preceded INXS and were booed off badly. Who remembers the beer selection that one could buy? 1ltr or 2ltr plastic bottles filled from a keg $4 and $8 respectively. Fosters or Fosters lol.
I remember the Johnnys getting booed off so badly. I also remember the only choice of beer was the $4 and $8 Fosters
The beer was absolute flat piss! Thank god the acid was good!
Loved it all didnβt trip but we smoked our heads (off). I remember staggering back to my tent, no idea how I found it but it was actually relatively dry inside (this was Narara 84 right, the rainy year). I woke up in the middle of the night half in and half out of the tent, freezing. Crawled inside and curled up on the air bed had the best sleep of my life. Woke up n3xt day no hangover felt great actually. The people I went with quizzed me where did you en$ up? So told them they were all up all night with washed out t3nts! I neve4 knew as I was totally out of it when I collapsed back in my tent. Such a great event and such a great era for music!
Def Leppard did play. They were delayed for a long time as the rain had soaked the PA and they had to do a lot of work to make sure everything was safe. When they finally came on they played a good set but I think they were a bit unsuited for the crowd who didn’t really respond (or just didnt know the music). They ended up playing some standards – cant remember exactly what but might have been something like twist and shout or johnny b goode – stuff like that – which struck me the band were very conscious of the crowd not knowing their songs which was a shame
was at 83 and 84 as a young lad (13/14), My father was working the tattooing stall.
power was from car batteries as the power supply was stuffed, i have a memory that someone was killed /seriously injured in the mud pit in 84. anyone know the story?
one of the best gigs in term of acts and worse in regards to facilities, but being over 25yrs ago maybe time blurs the memory.
Yep I remember the tattoo tent.
The sign outside said tattoos
Payment, gash, cash or hash
I remember it well , my friend and I had the best time Talking Heads were amazing same with Def Leppard I wonder if anyone remembers the rows of porter loosβs that got knocked over after the Saturday night session.. we walked past them on the Sunday morning and Iβm sure we watched one of the doors opening up but we didnβt stick around to see what emerged , the rain the mud and the bands were epic it was awesome !!!
The fatality occurred in 83. An intoxicated punter drowned in the swimming dam up the back near the car park, far from the stage. I believe it was a tourist from America.
hi … yes, at Narara 84 I think it was a british tourist that drowned in the dam that everyone was hanging out in during the rain.
The facilities were nothing great but I think they suited the whole scene … what an amazing event … such a shame they only did 2 of them.
G’day, you’re right Roxy that tourist did drown in the dam my brother Pete (The Tracker) was in the dam and tripped on him on the bottom. He pulled him out. As you can imagine it freaked him out.
The last night of Narara ’84 was washed out completely. I think Aussie Crawl played their set then it was called off for the night because of relentless, driving rain.
Trying to get to sleep that night in a tent with a torrent running under it was one of the worst nights of my life. I obviously wasn’t pissed enough.
But the first two nights were great. Excellent atmosphere in an era of sublime Australian music which was created by the thriving live music scene of the day. How can we bring it back? Any ideas?
i went to both narara both 83 and 84 and i remember the no police policy and the signs up selling whatever you wanted and there was no problem ,..
had the most amazing time both years ,..unbelievable.
pm
i wish i took more photos,..was too busy having fun,.
Was there both times and got smarter with importing of bottles of booze into the festival the second time by digging out the inside of uncut loaves of bread and hiding them (first time we sat at the front gate and skulled two bottles of tequila with two beautiful women because they would let in glass … fair enough too… we were that pissed a friend had to set the tent for us)
Def Leppard made fools of themselves in front of an Australian crowd and got pelted with hundreds of plastic bottles when lead singer asked people to stop throwing them.. I think they walked off stage… it had been pissing with rain all weekend… fanbloodytastic
Doug Mulray and the Beetroots came on after Dragon to which they played three encores of ‘I’m a Real Cunning Stunt’ (I think)… in my opinion made Dragon look stupid… very very funny
The Mud Queen and her followers, The Mudmen, some of who were nude other than mud
Memories go on and on….
1983 all the ground in front of the portaloos was like a bouncing castle… maybe that was the acid
1984 walking down to the stage in knee deep water and passing tents with people sitting in the torrent having a wow of a time
What about Tanelorn, Werikimbe?
Hi Mark,
I was at Narara ’84 as lead guitarist & bv’s with the “Party Girls”. We performed on the same day as the “Eurythmics”.
Before their show the backing vocalists for Annie had run out of hairspray…couldn’t buy any, so they asked me could they use mine. Well, I got an empty can back & had none left for my hair….and you know what hair was like in the 80’s!!!! I watched the Eurythmics from side of stage & when Annie sang “Who’s that Girl” she pointed stage left, right at me, & I yelled out “Where’s my hairspray?”
They also smoked all my cigarettes! It was a real blast…unfortunately I don’t have any memorabilia left..all stolen by fans.
xx
“Where’s my hairspray?”
How funny, considering the break after “Who’s that girl?” is sung. Made me laugh out loud!
Didnβt appreciate how awesome it was at the time that line up was insanely good. Had my first kiss off a lesbian watching Annie Lenox and I went on to be a huge supporter of the party girls in Sydney
My Little orange tent was washed away too stoned to go back to it just crashed in some strangers tent till morning. Best concert EVER
Hey Paul,
You didn’t happen to get any pics of a guy busking near the bar on Friday night at the 84 gig playing a miniature guitar and wearing welding goggles by any chance, did you?
I was at both Narara’s- Talking Heads were awesome, one of the best acts I have seen – the show followed the exact same format as in the Stop making sense film- minus the big suit.
It was one of the greatest moments of my life, I went there with some journo mates so I mostly hung out in the restricted area to the right if the stage, which was cool as it was a lot easier to truck fresh slabs in from the nearest town. The only downside was that one night I got so drunk I fell asleep and missed out on the tent orgy!
I can remember seeing Macinations and how the lead singer, so full of joy, jumped into the mud pit just below the stage, and danced and danced, and covered in mud continued to sing. The Models were also there, they were one of my favourite bands at the time. David Lee Roth was also there with Van Halen, they played on the Sunday. There were so many wonderful bands, there was one from Japan and they had a hit at the time but I can’t remember their name, perhaps some else will.
The food area was well run and there was even a vegie shop, and lots of toilets. The rain was outrageous.. I remember a tent that was pitched atop a little knoll and the rain and wind had filled it to the extent that it was bowing out from the rock looking a somewhat spherical shape.
Narara was one of the best weekends of my life.
i was there in 83 and 84 and van halen never played there .you might be thinking of def leppard who played on sunday night but they were great weekends and i miss those times
Hey Melissa, I know it’s 7 years since you left your comment but I thought I would answer your question: Van Halen didn’t play, probably would have preferred them to Def Leppard, and the Japanese band was Sandii and the sunsets, who were on an Australian tour with INXS, they were quite good, I saw them at Lismore workers 2 weeks before with INXS.
Cheers Pete
No,Van Halen didn’t play,do remember the Jap band,think there hit at the time was..Sticky Music!
Sandii and the Sunsetz — Open Sesame.
I worked on site as crew. Still have ‘ALL AREA’S PASS’ id. T shirt , cap and heaps of photo’s. What a wicked event ! Give me a while and l’ll send info. I got stories that ….well l wont be telling my chlidren about ! They gave me a motorbike to ride around on so l could be everywhere at any time. It was like the only big band in the world that wasnt playing was U2. Any one remember the Midnight Oil plane flying over advertising their off site gig ?????
Some things should be left unsaid …..but….. tbc
G’day Mik,
Hey mate why don’t you put up some of the photos you’re telling us about. I’m sure everyone would love to see them. Cheers, Wayne.
Is that you Mecco Steve?
The Japanese band Melissa mentioned would be Sandii and the Sunsetz. They were there, and the song they had out at the time was Sticky Music.
anyone got any t-shirts they want to sell from that gig? My brother was the lighting director.. Jeffrey Merryweather… i would love to have some memorabilia to remember him by…
Hi Lisa, I don’t have a T shirt but if you give me a call I’ve got a poster from 84 You’re brother was a great lighting guy.
Recko- 0421851142
Check out the updated band list folks!
howdy folks i went to both Narara’s & both were fanbloodytastic!! Although some of the memories are a bit vague due to intake of drugs & booze! 83 gig highlights were The Angels, Austen Tayshus’s intro to Chisel & Chisel themselves were brill. I do remember some bloke wandering around with a garbage bag full of weed making some handy beer $$$, not finding my way back to my tent oops. 84 would have to be Talking Heads – wow! 84 we travelled on a bus all the way from Adelaide & getting that wet I remember arriving back there still damp.
I just found this site and wow! You’ve all sparked some great memories of the 84 festival…what a fantastic time it was and all those great bands in one place, awesome, and yeah Talking was a highlight as was The Pretenders and so was…well the list goes on! Jono…my boyfriend at the time and I were also on that bus from Adelaide, pretty sure on the way up we lit up a joint too….we were sitting right at the back very close to the toilets.
Yes there was also a guy with a huge bowl of mix walking around giving free samples, but sadly everyone ran out of durry papers on the first day!!
Hi , U2 were scheduled to play at the 84 gig but pulled out . my memories of the 84 gig are blured at best so iam sure i had funnnn, the pretenders were great as were the eurythmics but Talking heads were unbelivable .
Hey most of you guys have it all mixed up between Tanelorn and Narara. I did all 3 gigs and have the pictures and programs to prove it. Matt Finish definitely didnt do Narara only Tanelorn. I also have the mud pics of Fred loneragon and shots of Pretenders and INXS, Chisel, Rodney Rude, the dam and heaps of others. Anyone wanna see them??
Hey Jeff,
Yeah mate I’d love to see them. I was at Tanelorn & Narara ’83. The wife and I had a great time at both these festivals. Unfortunately, the camera I had at Tanelorn was knocked off by some low life while we were hunkering our tent down before that dirty great storm hit. I hope that if he/she reads this they may put up some of the close stage shots I got over those few days. We would’ve got some beauties of Billy Thorpe & Broderick Smiths Big Combo while sitting on a big steel garbage bin just to the right of the stage. We must’ve been sitting on it for a few hours. Next thing, we here banging on the lid under us, so we opened it up to find some really wasted guy in there. I don’t know how he didn’t die from the suffocation or the smell. He just hopped out and wandered off without uttering a word. I remember the cops being very cool at Tanelorn also. A mate and I were packing a bong when we looked up and saw these 3 coppers walking past looking at us. One of them just winked at me and they continued on their way. I bet that wouldn’t happen nowdays. Anyhow, Cheers mate, Wayne.
do you have any of the Radiators from 84??
Hi Jeff, I know it’s 5 years since you posted, we were at both concerts and would love to see some photos.
Thanks
Cathy
Yes please!
Hi Jeff White i would love to see the shots of everything as i was there at all three ,would love to see them.my PS my email is wadepeter2@gmail.com
Would love to see pics as well.
My email is bjkj1969@bigpond.net.au
Pictures will be available here soon.
thanks
Jeff
narara 84 drove there in my ek panelvan great remember def leopard and austin tashsus in that superman put fit what aheadtrip great memories i was 17 year old got great photos and 8 mm movie footage all the best andy ward
i still have original t shirts and ticket stubs and concert program and great photos
I’ll hafta come over and see some of that stuff Andy, I was at 83/84 and Tanelorn 83 I got the gig to pick up all the rubbish in front of the stage, I went down th O. B pub and said to some mate who wants to make a couple of bucks ! We went and bought a boot load of garbage bags and went back there, we were knee deep in coke bottles but we found wallets, money, drugs etc. we’d work for a while and then head over to the tavern at old Sydney town for beer and scrumpy , I fell in love with the tavern wench buxom babe she was, 84 remember the bloke dying there and me and me mate pushing the car out of the mud with his future wife driving during the mass exodus at the end, we were soaked and covered in mud, I’ll tell you about Tanelorn when I see you cheers mate
Hey I am covering a story in september 09 for a local newspaper on the Central Coast on the Narara Festival (s) and need all the info i can get……need pix and anything that you people out there have – please email me (with your approval of course for printing) I am covering story and some of the bands then and where they are now……ANY INFORMATION WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. I need all this information ASAP.
LETS SEE WHAT YOU GROOVERS BACK THEN CAN GIVE ME EH.
hey debstar am very interested i n your story on narara as i was there and remember it well i can provide information as my two older brothers were there also regards andy ward
[…] Here is another installment from Jeff whites amazing photo collection. This time it’s Narara 1984. […]
Didn’t Jim Kerr from Simple Minds propose to Chrissie Hynde from the Prentenders at a Newcastle beach the night after Narrara ended?
Hi Guys….didnt manage to do the story yet…need a lot of time and information to have this story done correctly. I need pix and info from as many people as possible to include….also any comments and pictures from members of bands who played would be greatly appreciated ………please email me directly to debstar.s@hotmail.com with any information (printable) and I will begin compiling this great memorable event.
thanks
[…] 27th – 30th Jan 1984 – Narara ‘84 Concert […]
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i was at both shows , an over seas tourist drowned in the dam , rose tattoo kicked arse ! def lepard . were great as i had the first 2 albums how ever every one else hated them !! van halen did not play … never heard that ? how was jimmy barnes running through the crowd and climbing up the sound desk as a 14 year old my eyes were wide open blew me away !! i have some old photos some where i’ll up load them
Hey Craig,
Yeah I remember having a swim in that dam and hearing from someone about that guy having drowned there earlier. Poor buggar. And later that day some guy apparently was leaning against a tree and another fella chopped half his hand off while trying to get some wood for his fire. Wild times.
I was camping with that guy. It was 3 fingers he lost … we were scraping through the leaves to find them. They were cutting down a tree so we could see the stage from the tent. He managed to sneak a machete in and my glass roll on deodorant was taken off me at the gate …. go figure heh.
Sadly I wasn’t there (being only ten years old at the time) but I have had in my possession for years a concert poster of INXS with special guests Sandii & the Sunsets at the Lismore Workers Club (of all places). The date on the poster is January 4 with no year, but looking at this info I surmise that it is from 1984. Cool huh & thanks!
I went to both 83 and 84 , the proof is my tickets that this site is using for the pages ! , thanks for the link to my site
@ AL 1983 all the ground in front of the portaloos was like a bouncing castle⦠maybe that was the acid
Ha ! you know I thought no one would ever remember that , but I do and I tripped out with everyone else on the squishy ground , the acid didnt hurt the experience either !
We marked our tent with a bed sheet with a large red cobra painted on it with the words ” Brain Damage – Woy Woy ” so we could find it in the sea of tents
People began using this as a waypoint to find their own tents and soon an acid dealer setup shop sellling superman trips , lots of people took photos of our banner
I also remember the cops amassing across the paddock in Old Sydney Town as folk were sneaking under the fence , a wasted young lad walked down the fence and gave them the bird , within minutes there were hundreds of festival goers along the fence yelling abuse , chucking browneyes , holding up bags of dope and generally having a grand old laugh , the cops never came in !
Great page !
BTW I have a Werrikimbe ticket stub and a couple of fuzzy pics if you want em
Steve, I would love to see anything you have at all on Werrikimbe.
It would be quite rare Id say.
Looking forward to seeing what you have. Cheers, Mark
Did you go to Werrikimbe? I was there in haze of piss and drugs, I think it was about 2.00am on Sunday morning and the Angels(?) played. Can’t really remember, but what i do remember clearly is the lead singer (Maybe Doc) in a yellow jump suite climb the speakers and jump into the crowd and do some crowd surfing. I also caught the footage one night on rage. Can anyone help me out now that that I’m supposed to be a respectable father trying to piece back together the unreal time we had through that 80’s period when pub rock was at its finest in Australia.
jr : comment 17 …….the guy your talking about was called johnny bongwater: he went out of business when this guy smashed out of his head pissed all over his amp….on the sunday arvo , it was wrong but oh so funnnneeeee……crazy few dayz on the acid and hash and thai sticks ..
Hey Andy Ward – did you get any 8mm footage of my band The Zarsoff Brothers?
I went to both, and still have some great memories, including a t-shirt I purchased for 84. I so much remember the rain, the mud from that year. I am so sure that Men At Work headlined in the same year. I remember Colin Hay, his great vocal, and my introduction to Def Leppard. Great band and still going, near the same lineup. Fun times, great music.
hit random google button and bugga me look at this.was at both concerts 83 was awesome 84 a bit damp.me an some mates rented a house about 400 yrds from main gates so got to some organisers so we got a unresticed pass which allowed us to come and go any time any gate.so being enterprising young blokes we smuggled people in all weekend and as was the times for hash cash or gash.worked on the site for a month in 84 an had to drive my landrover to get arond site it was so wet.so when the weekend rained was a prob gettin fuel to gennies to supply power to all areas. some vendors of tucker lost big time. crowds were down so the third year opion was never taken on
I’ve got some piccies from Narara 84 – great experience – I remember walking through the mud in the great exodus and feeling something extra squishy underfoot – it was an abandoned sleeping bag under the mud.
i enjoyd 83 the best especially with aussie crawl and the angels and the summer heat.i remember angry anderson threatening to jump in the to crowd and punch someones head if they didn’t behave.
I heard they are trying to revive this concert again. Has anyone heard!!!!. I’ll be there…..
[…] at Narara 84 “Original Sin” (Either JavaScript is not active or you are using an old version of […]
I was mixing FOH for Jon English & the Foster Bros in those days, Scoobie was doin stage, my son was 2 days old, we were on about 6ish, on Sunday night, possibly before Def Leppard, who were obscenely loud. The rain flogged down for hours and backstage was a pig sty, mud eveywhere, me an Scoob were glad to get it over with, pack up the stage gear & piss off.
Reminded me of Sunbury ’75.
Cheers,
Mark Edwards,
I remember Jon English calling the US artists pussies for saying in their vans, while he was on the stage getting soaked & still rocking!!
my name is kevin wheatley ( 53) i was a stage roadie for radiators,eurogliders,dynamic hepnotics and d.d. smash. i attended narara 83 e 84 as a punter (83) with mick frost light operater for church + jimmy and the boys . in 1984 i was a stage roadie for the eurogliders,my my last gig for them was narara 84 .we were touring through january from noosa to gosford then narara we were given t-shirts and our backstage passes in QLD. people would say things like ” was it a great festival man” and other smartass coments, at narara itself unlike the previous year bands and crew had to leave the backstage after the day of performances. i had met up with my flatmate in a tent which got flooded out. the concert ended with the radiators,chris tagg($2000 ludwig kit)was angry his kit was setup and left in the rain.myself,on the day ,we arrived early to setup i had a bass synth whitch grace played ,that needed to be powered for about an hour before hand to stay in tune i had it powered for 4 hours. during the performance it kept dropping out of tune. this was bad for me i never had to run on stage to repair anything.i did my job so well. from there it became a disaster every thing started going wrong. this culminatd in bernie lynch stopping mid song as i was trying to again tune the synth introducing me to the 20,000 punters as our inept stage roadie kevin wheatley i was booded of stage.this was my last gig for them there was going to be a little gathering for them to say goodbye this didnt happen of course .i was justified later though, real life came of stag and asked the eurogliders whatb went wrong. when informed they said they had the same synth but had got rid of theres because it was garbage going out of tune.narara site manager roger dan my tour manager with radiators, who was always on my back to do a good job came up to me and said it was a case of murphys law and not my fault i never had problems with any other band i worked for. my expeirience at narara still hurts today because i loved the eurogliders
I was there both years, and had an absolute blast (helped along by some fine substances).
The highlights for me was Talking Heads in 84! Fantastic concert! Awesome. The lowlight was Def Leppard who were woefully ill suited to the audience and the culture at the time.
Pretenders were great, INXS were as well. Angels were awesome.
So many bands. The two years have blurred together in my mind, but I will always have fond memories. I hung out in the mud up front for the entire weekend in 84. Got lots of great shots, but have lost them all now I think.
Thanks to the cute girls who let me sleep in their tent on Saturday night after mine was washed out. I’ll never forget it π
Yeah Geoff..I totally agree with you Talking Heads fantastic, The Pretenders, INXS wow, I feel blessed to have seen really up close and personal some of the best bands in the one place at the same time. All up Narara was one of the best experiences of my life. π
was there…and had the most awesome time. Was with the “Terrigal” crowd (where I lived at time) near stage sound mixing stand. Remember drinking bucket loads of the aweful “Prefect” wine on sale there,and partakeing of some other equally wicked substances in copious amounts (guys were GIVING it away!..lol) swimming in the water hole to right of stage on hill where a tourist drowned, walking ’round with an “imaginary” pet on a lead (a novelty that was sold there)…and the truckloads of mud at front of stage. When we left on Sunday night we left our tent and belongings behind…largely because I was too trashed and zoned out to care by then (as did so many others because of the horrendous conditions) and went back the next day (Monday arv – took a whole day to eliminate the hangover etc.) to find scalpers everywhere and the shipping container which held all the seized “weapons”(knives, axes etc.) had been broken into and cleaned out.
But most of all I remember the legendary line-up and Austen Tayshus as MC – tho Def Leppard were forgetable. I still have heaps of photos taken then…..and the Central Coast Express Weekender Narara ’84 programme pull-out dated 20th January. Went to Tanelorn too….which was absolutely amazing (still have pics & slides of that too)… was a totally different experience to Narara, but equally amazing band line-up.
It was definately a defining time AND experience (was 31 then)…feel sorry for those that missed it. π
G’day Steph,
Would be great to see some of your pics of Tanelorn and the ’83 Narara festivals. I was at both also and had a ball. If you can be bothered putting some up here, I’m sure many of us would be very pleased. Cheers, Wayne.
Wow, only did ’84 as a 21 year old, concur completely with comments on talking heads, still blown away all these years later incomparable! me and two mates drove all night and were in the first twenty through the gate with our 18′ X 12′ auto tent that we set up straight in front of the stage on the crest of the hill, thousands more after that, i still remember all the ones in the gullies washing away and the 80 to 100 people that sheltered that night. why do i think susie and the banshees were there, based on the stuff posted i must have been on drugs! cheers!
I was at 84 festival with my cousin. Had such a blast, was 16, and remember catching the train. So many bands and so much fun. Not sure if anyone rembers, but when Talking Heads was on stage there was a tent that caught on fire, as it happens just as Burning Down the House was playing. We had a prime tent spot right at the front of the main paddock, just before the concert field. It all happened so quickly, but the things i remember are, that my hair was saved by a wet Japanese headband, I got 2nd degree burns on my hands(as i had to rip open the tent as my cousin wa trapped in side, after the gas burner leaked and turned the tent in to a flaming inferno.) Unfortunately I am off to Sydney this week to give a eulogy for my cousin, as he passed away last week, so now I don’t have anyone that can corroborate my story. But I still have the memories, and the moment the blood stopped pounding in my ears the lyrics of “Burning Down the house” coming through…will be memory that is etched/burned in to my mind.
I don’t remember much about the whole weekend. I do remember the Zarzoff bros and Talking Heads. I suppose the rest must have been good though.
Hey I have some live footage of my band Kids in the Kitchen at Narara 84
see it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrJlVVL1vOQ
Woody was king
He’s the only one original band member who actually did truly understand the music scene and what was cool and hip and what was not.
He was also responsible for most of the good music from Kids in the Kitchen as he inspired the rest of the members with his melodies and chordal progressions and his love for electronic instruments and sounds which was fundamental to the originality of the sound.
The other four members
Scott Carne
Greg Dorman
Craig Harnath
Bruce Curnow
We’re genuinely in my opinion clueless without
Greg (Woody)Woodhead
Yeah,what a great weekend will never forget these tiny bits of memorys that are still here,the blurry bits coulda been anywhere,went up especially to see Talking Heads,my favorite band,stopped at the pub at west gos ,6 of us and got charged up a bit,3hour session, and headed up,got to the turnoff to sydney or narara to find 5 cops stopping traffic ,thought i was gone ,they said Narara or Sydney ,and 6 pissed people all screamed NARARA and they pointed the way,that was the start,Remember being 9 parts to the wind when i heard {after Crisse Hynds and the Pretenders the next band will be Talking Heads}mate charged down to the front row,and stood and watched the biggest and best live band rip i have ever seen ,it was awesome,joints coming from left and right passed along,will allways remember everyone was so friendly ,even with the rain,Fantastic time in my life so glad i went…………………………..
SUPERMAN ( THAT’S ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE SAID….)
Came across this site, and the memories came flooding back. Our tent’s were pitched on a hill over looking the valley down to the stage. We where High and dry -so to speak. loved the Music and the people..I recall seeing a guy in “Foil” wondering around.(Tripping) on “supermans” . Not washing for two days, not eating. Watching Def Leppard standing in water up to my knees. A guy trying to dance with me ,he had a unbrella with, just the frame. Wading back through Knee high water trying to find our tents .What a great time, i was 19 .
travelled from geelong Brought some hash when we got there ,spent the rest of the day at food stalls ,food was unreal
i had a fabulous time. lost all my camping gear, found it again. enjoyed greatly; talking heads (just got a mail from Tina Wheamouth- what a charming babe), the gurus, sandy and sunsets, austentashous, def leopard (skiing and skidding in rain onstage), rodney rude, that guy dragging people into the mud after they just had a shower- he didn’t try it with me.
there is arial photography shots done with a helicopter fitted with gyroscopic stabilization. published in hard cover. the whole site is visible- i even identified my own tent!
email me if interested
james
Love to see it James. Email affixed to this comment. Much appreciated mate. Wayne.
hi wayne,
the photo was in a hardcover book on australiana in general. my cousin in the states bought it while holidaying here -at circular quay. i don’t have a copy. you could make enquiries about who did the helicopter shots. it was full colour of the whole site and yes you could see every tent. i read it like an aerial recon map! and found my tent! i will try to get a copy off her.
I have that book. It is called Aussie:Australians at play. By Phil Jarratt published 1984.
well!!!! no shit? that is great news. do you think you could upload the image to this site. it would be a real joy for a lot of people. i couldn’t get the book myself but that sounds right. tnx big time for info. phil was a jj/jjj person- unless my memory fails me. ha ha. well done mikk. i cant wait to see this pic again. p.s. try this one >psyfari.com< tnx again.
I was there in ’84, can’t remember a thing!!
I thought I was the only one. Well, I do remember a lot, but I don’t at all remember the rain and mud! How is that possible?! I was 23 years old, and backpacking around Australia (I’m from the US). Went to Narara with some musician friends I’d hooked up with. Best band there, from what I can remember…The Talking Heads!
Narara ’84 what an awesome weekend, so many memories come flooding back after reading the above! Still have my t-shirt π & ticket. Does anyone else remember the Hari Christinas at the gates while we we waiting to get in? Walking around with cut watermelon for everyone. My g/f & I camped in an old canvas 2 man tent, & everytime we touched the sides the water would seep in lol The bands were great from what I remember lol One of the mornings there was white all over the ground around the food stalls, looked like snow to bleary eyes, someones bean bag had exploded. good times cheers
What a difference nearly 30 years makes. At Narara we all sneered at and taunted the cops across the lake in old sydney town. While they stared on helplessly across the water. From my memory there were at least a few dozen police and many cars and paddy wagons there at times.
Now at the big day out you have to run the gauntlet of the dogsquad before they let you in
Talking heads, Simple minds and INXS were awesome. Never have I seen so many drugs, of so many different kinds, shared, given away and sold. Not to mention enjoyed. I didnt see any trouble at all. Even with the rain and cancellation people were too stoned to give a shit. One of the best weekends of my life.
thanks for reminding me
Hi Mik,
Yeah, poor kids nowdays will never know the relaxed and carefree atmosphere of festivals such as the Narara’s, Tanalorn etc. These days everything is too organized and policed, and unfortunately, a lot of the audiences are now rude and aggressive. It’s almost like being in a concentration camp instead of a peaceful gathering of music fans. Pity.
Was 23, camped in a crowded Toyota Hiace with friends. I was in music heaven..INXS, Eurythmics, Simple Minds Talking Heads (favourite), Mentals…..
Did illegal stuff and had a ball!..am now 51 and my kids are just like me!
’84…..drove up in the back of a ute from Sydney, got massively sunburned first day wearing a narara singlet, the next day I went with no shirt and people were asking me how I was gunnacwash the singlet ( because I was so sunburned, looked like inwacwearing a white singlet) top weekend spent with best friends in the world I was 25 and living them dream
the Angels also played at Narara
I LOVE THIS MUSIC . BUT MY ENGLISH ITS NOT SI=O GOD AND CAN NOT COMMENT SO MUCH . I-M FROM ROMANIA BUT I LOVE THIS MUSIC. ROCK ON
hyeeeeee .MY NAME ITS MARIA AND I-M FROM ROMANIA AND MY ENGLISH ITS NOT GOD SORRY. I LOVE THIS MUSIC FROM MY CHILHOOD. ROCK ON!!!
Both Nararra’s were superb,rain & all in 84… If musik were my life…my life waz the Narrara experiences…mmm not 2 forget Werrikimbee either…oooh & Tanelorn… B-)
Besides many other great memories etched in my mind was Jon English performing in the pissing rain on stage. I remember he was advised it was too dangerous to play but he got up there anyway. I remember being down near the stage front standing up to my shins in mud being totally stoked at Jon’s willingness to screw the advice and still play the gig. I remember he was getting drenched by sheets of rain while playing. Thanks to all who contributed so many comments and details. I have fondly reminisced about Narara 84 over the years and have had a great laugh reading about those memories. Will never forget The Pretenders, particularly Martin Chambers’ drumming skills, ricochetting his drumsticks off his kit into the crowd while never missing a beat. I’ll never forget the Booze Hut where they kept all the confiscated grog. I think you were allowed to get bottles of grog back with your pass out but it had to be consumed outside the perimeter fence. I remember tunneling back under the fence to smuggle the bottles back in.
Ahhh! Thats who it was! I remember those flying drumsticks so well!
RIP JON ENGLISH AND CHRISSY FROM DIVYNALS X
Don’t throw straws in the porta loos the crabs can pole vault.
I was 20 yrs old at the 84 concert. On the Friday night me and around 15 friends spread out and went bush in an attempt to scale the fences. It took about 3 or 4 hours but eventually 5 of us made it. From that point on my memory gets a bit foggy but I do remember on the Saturday a guy that had a pound of dope drying out in the back of his ute. Tv choppers overhead didn’t faze him at all. I will never forget the Pretenders. I think I fell in love with Chissy Hynde that night. Ha. It was a great weekend and I would gladly pay to do it again
oh, nearly forgot. i have numerous 35mm colour negs and prints. need help converting to digital and uploading. help appreciated.
Best thing I ever did in my life. I was 20. Lots of things happened there that I will take to my grave. Always in my heart.
I remember Talking Heads, the stage was totally empty for an hour and then David Byrne came walking out with his little boom box and started Psycho Killer, we all went apeshit!!! No one had ever done anything Iike that before, by the end they had 20 people on stage just rocking the fucking roof off. Stop Making Sense movie captures it pretty well. Still the greatest musical genius of his time in my humble opinion. When he joined with Eno they changed music forever.
Remember how his suit got bigger and bigger after every song.
YES LOL
Narara ’84 was absolutely AWESOME! Taliking Heads were/are my favourite and I remember their set so well. Unfortunately I have trouble remembering the rest of the weekend. There was so much dope wafting through the air that you got stoned just standing still!
I still have a cap, T-shirt, ticket stub and some souveniered corflute direction signs that somehow made their way into my car on the way home. Oops!
Funny! Maybe that’s why I don’t remember it raining. And I asked one of my friends the other day, if he remembers rain. He said, “no.” He remembers it being hot and dry. HAHA!! Maybe it was all that funny smoke in the air!
Does anyone remember Austen Teyshus on stage early morning Saturday wearing his hat sunglasses and dressed in a Superman suit with microphone turned up yelling “WAKE UP MOTHER F…KERS” Friggin hilarious.
didnt someone die in the mudpond in 83 ?
Yes, well. I just looked this up as a result of a pub conversation. I hadn’t thought about this concert since 1984. And what a trip it was. Leaving Sydney with a mate and some of his ratbag mates in a Ford Galaxy 500 we were lucky to make it there alive as the driver was tripping the whole way. I have a vague memory of a cursory pre-terrorist search for drugs and alcohol which had no effect. Our small group pitched a little tent which, like others, I didn’t see again for the whole gig after the first night. Just about the only memory I have of the music is David Byrne and his psycho killer tape recorder. My other memories are little tiny snatches – the rest were probably wiped out by drugs and alcohol. I can’t remember having much money so people must have been pretty generous. The rain and mud I remember well – I was swimming in the mud. I also learned to juggle although I cannot recall how. Before that gig I couldn’t and afterwards I could – that is all I know. I didn’t see my mates until i was back in Sydney. it was one of those weekends. With smartphones, social media and the nanny state you just couldn’t have an event like this ever again. Maybe that is a good thing, maybe not. But I am glad I was there, I think…
Wow this brings back awesome memories. Drove from Sydney in a Valiant Charger, myself and 2 chick mates. Walked thru the gates to see a guy wearing a sign “LSD for SALE – inquire within”, ” My kinda gig”!! Pitched a 6 man tent that I got from a army surplus store and it was one of the few that stood the test of the down pour, so we had an extra 30 doss with us. I witnessed tents floating down stream, the amazing Talking Heads & Pretenders and many others. I remember it all and I came back to earth 4 days later ” I guess that’s what Lysergic acid diethylamide and dack does to ya mind. My fondest memory was lying back, listening to good music, pulling out an ounce and rolling a splif, thinking ahhhhhhhhhhh being young and bullet proof. I feel akin to others who attended this festival of freedom : I tip my cap to you all”…… Big T
I think I came and crashed out in yr tent when ours washed away. Yours was canvas and about the only one surviving. Thanks mate lol I was 18 first concert you guys were a lifesaver ( if it was yr tent??) best concert of my life x
[…] Here is another installment from Jeff Whites amazing photo collection. This time it’s Narara 1984. […]
Hey It was a great concert but the porta toilets in the rain were horrible. No amount of nostalgia can make me forget the mud amd wee ridden toilets. Using them was worse than sleeping in wet sleeping bags in a leaking tent. Talking Heads, Def Leppard and Superman were the best acts
My memories as follows,,83 swimming in the dam that smelt like arse and underarm andSydney draught all mixed together,the other little stage up the back had some great acts,the 3am Sunday morning melted plastic bottle lava flow,acid,kites,secure motorbike parking,sunburn,losing my tent,acid,mud men,great music and crazy good people and not having 5 cents to my name for the toll at the harbour bridge on the way back to the gong. .84 took a garbage bag as my mobile home ,tore a hole for my head to go thru when it started raining and promptly got it torn off,all the paint in the drapes side stage running into a blur from all the rain .
Went to Narara ’84 with a friend as an 18 year old having just left school. Definitely my first music festival and possibly first trip away from home. As we were setting up our little tent a chap stuck his head in and asked “You fellas right for some puff?” We put some money together to buy a little from him. Simple Minds and Eurythmics were wizard on the first night. Was so excited by the Pretenders on the second night that by the time the Talking Heads came on next the disgusting white wine, fatigue and pot had taken their toll and I fell asleep shortly after Psycho Killer. My friend tried to rouse me after the set but couldn’t so went back to the tent without me. I woke up in the paddock in front of the stage around dawn covered in grass still very hazy and with my wallet missing – other people around me were still dozing in the gradually increasing light. The nice person who nicked (or found) my wallet had handed it into lost property without the few dollars and dope it contained. On the last night it had started raining and as we slept our air mattresses floated on the water that flowed through our tent. The forty dollar ticket was great value for the whole eye opening experience.
Anyone remember the war of the Chrissies?
Hynde demanded that Amphlett and Co were taken off the bill or Pretenders wouldnt play the festival.
I remember the crowd going mental as the Pretenders helicoptered in.
RIP CHRISSY Divinals were great. Pretenders were amazing. Talking heads blew the crowd away. Mud bath but didnβt really matter at the time just slept in the wet for few hrs then stood up again and walked back towards the stage to see whoβs on next . Best concert ever! Big shout out to all who were there thatβs reading this forum ?especially to the woman who persuaded me to be a lesbian lol best move of my life ?
Well that certainly was a life changer for you ! Amazing what a Rock Concert can bring out in a person !
Hi Mark,I was driving through the area the other day, and I started to remember those great shows. I have vivid memories of both years, Jimmy Barnes in the speakers, which was used in later adverts for chisel shows later that year before Last Stand in Sydney.
I remember waking up from a little snooze, and seeing an empty stage, and David Byrne walking on to stage with a “Boom box”, with a tape in it of course and playing Psyco Killer, wow, who are these guys, later that year “Stol making sense” came out and it was the same show.
I’ve gotta say Def Leppard making us wait in pouring rain for 2 hrs disappointing, couldn’t stay up for the Rads after that.
I had just seen INXS and Sandii and the sunsets a few weeks before, and I vividly remember Michael complaing about the boom camera in front of his face….I had a great time both years…
Cheers Pete
I have great memories of Narara 84. Clearly remember being huddled in our tent throughout Def Leppard’s set trying to shelter from the rain. There was about half a dozen or more of us who drove up from Melbourne, all Uni and band mates. All the overseas bands were great, although the Aussies more than held their own. I have some photos of the aftermath the morning after – the entire field just covered in shit. I also should still have the t-shirt somewhere, although I remember it being pretty thin so it may not have survived too well. Looking forward to reliving some of the memories next year at A Day On The Green, with Simple Minds, Models and Machinations all playing. Machinations were a great band, one of the few bands from Sydney I loved at the time, we would often go and see them whenever they came down to Melbourne. I’ll try and dig out those photos and the t-shirt.
WOW memories,got to the 84 early and set up tent,hardly any one there,boy didn’t that change.After the first nights indulgences it was a bloody fluke to find it again! Talking Heads where brilliant. We knew Rodney Rude pretty well then from getting up on stage with him many times at previous comedy gigs he’d done,it was his big breakthrough show and he was nervous.He happened to walk past us in the crowd so we grabbed him and got a run through of many of his jokes he was going to use later,talk about laughing our tits off with him.As unreal as it was I reckon Werrikimbe beat it ,The Angels and Tatts shit yeah! I think we where 1 of the last cars to get out of car park before it was an absolute bog.
[…] Source: https://australianmusichistory.com//narara-music-festival-1984/ […]
Was thinking about Christie hynde today & found this chat, so many memories, my parents have Aussies at play, I’m in the pic with mates looking at people sliding toward the stage in the mud. Dropped the superman trip & walked on the spongy path as it kicked in. Austen Tayshus freaked me out. The giant artwork covering the speaker stacks was moving ( hallucinating) as David Byrne came on stage. Camped in my first car 74 kombi. A bottle of tequila each night. Sunday night smoked a 20 paper joint under a tarp watching def Leppard
One of the best weekends of my life, what a lineup
Still love music & still going to festivals with the love of my life & 16 yr old daughter is jealous & thinks We’re cool
I still wouldn’t mind being 20 again
My brother Craig and I traveled to Narara from Melbourne and on the way we picked up a German backpacker, who ended up coming all the way with us. This was the first concert, I think 83 and I still have my t shirt, which would be an antique now. I did go to the second one in 84 on my own. The rain pelted down and everyone got smashed in the rain and the mud. I think from memory someone drowned in the dam or creek. All the big names were there, the only band that didn’t play at Narara was Midnight Oil. Does anyone know why? they were pretty big at the time, maybe they were overseas at the time.
I was there for both concerts, 83 the water went out in the showers and I had shampoo through my long here. My friend Kim and I drove home as we lived on the Central Coast, had a shower, thought about how we could smuggle alcohol back in and did so with great success. Casks of wine sewn into pillows, vodko in loaves of bread but we did have a bottle of perfume confiscated on the way back in, yah we got the alcohol in.
How lucky were we to experience such a gathering as Narara will never forget it,from the ample smoke and booze to the awesome bands and partying,no police allowed into event just patrolled the fence line as we casually smoked weed right in front of them,Talking Heads were awesome as were the Pretenders,Oils were to play but pulled out in protest as they expected an all Aussie line up,unfortunately this prompted U2 to do the same..damn!! Was a young 17 year old headbanger so went mainly for Def Leppard,crowd was unreceptive to them at the time and showered them in plastic bottles in the peeing down rainthats the only downer of a weekend I’ll never forget,does anyone remember the guy in the wheelchair who insisted people pick him up and sling him full velocity through the mud,again and again..awesome!!..Hats of to all who were there that weekend,we were the lucky ones!
I was at Tanelorn & both Nararas, I was 29 at Narara 84 & I remember Simple minds, pretenders & Talking heads playing but in my mind they played in that order as the last three acts on the final night, I also remember when the drummer of the Pretenders hit the floor toms someone had put water in the tops so it all sprayed up in the air as he hit them & thinking WOW what an amazing effect. Talking Heads was the highlight of the w’end for me & I remember the sound of Pscho killers doing a long, slow build & then a single spot light picked out David Burn & then other spots progressively picking out the other band members as the song continued but I DON’T remember ANY rain, funny how memories work( or don’t) eh !
A little late in this post. Iβll never forget it. So many recollections as a young 20 something. Parking and being horded into trucks with everyone bleating like sheep to arrive at the event. Once in, karate guys providing security, drug sellers everywhere!
Pitched the little tent and just got into it. Awful showers and toilets!
We took something and had the most amazing experience right in front of the stage in the Sat night. We didnβt move for about 10 hours. Iβll never forget Talking Heads – they were fantastic, didnβt finish until about 5 am. We turned around and the place looked like a battle field afterwards. Fell into the tent and then it started to rain.
It was so bad we just left the tent and found the car and sought shelter. Came back in the Monday and actually found what was left of the tent!
Images of that weekend I will never forget!!
I was there at ’84…the Sunday was my 18th bday, so this was a huge weekend for me. I caught a Pretenders drumstick…loved seeing Gurus do Wild Thing… James Baker their drummer got up front to sing that track, & swung the mike stand around in the air, but it collected the bass players headstock, & tuning keys went flying off…I think that was one of Bakers last gigs with them…the weekend was brilliant…loved the fact that people had tents with “acid for sale” painted in huge letters…you don’t see that anymore these days…
I had such a great time at Narara ’84 tho it was definitely a mixed bag. Talking Heads, the experience next to the mud bowl was intense as the crowd was getting the shits with mud being flung, big surges away from it causing a few lines of people to go down like dominoes. I went and stood next to the pond, thought would rather get dirty than squashed. Then after waiting for what seemed to be a very long time, Dave Byrne walked out with a small amp and an acoustic guitar, people were going ‘what we’ve waited all that time for this??” – but then he launched into ‘psyco killer’ and all was forgiven. Next song (cant remember which) a few more band members wandered on, amped a more. Then full blown tom tom club on for ‘Burning down the house’ – just then got a surge of goose bumps just remembering it. Never to be forgotten and all forgiven for the wait and mud sandwiches.
Simple Minds, Pretenders and very memorably Dyno Heps actually did a great set. Crashed out in my little tent that night actually dry all night as the air matress sat above the river flowing thru!
and now a new “Narara music festival’ 2018 coming up on 5th May! Bit different lineup (and venue I think) but still looks good, think I’ll go! The recent Girrakool blues festival at the same site was a gem
We drove from the shire up in a packed Hillman Hunter, unpacked the car, went in and pitched the tent by freak accident 2 meters from the people we where suppose to meet, right near the pond, no mobiles back then. Have great pics, still have the tshirt somewhere. Never forget the pretenders, talking heads, inxs and can always remember walking across to the food stalls and hearing this incredible voice and saying who the hell is that, and did a sharp left and headed for the stage. That was the voice of QEDs singer Jenny Morris- I remember waiting for that album to come out. Def Lepard LOL – Rocket Yeah ……absolute classic in the mud. The Rads and Angels where a regulars at the Cronulla Workers but fun to see them there. Will post the pics one day
[…] Here is another installment from Jeff Whites amazing photo collection. This time it’s Narara 1984. […]
18 years old and my first ever concert. Still think of this concert as the best in my lifetime. Annie Lennox was amazing inxs played all the songs I loved at the time had my first tab acid and first smoko and first lesbian kiss in front of the Pretenders! Wow!! Absolute mud bath best time ever! My little orange tent was washed out . I lost all my stuff just had the clothes on my back but wandered into a tent that was dry and crashed till morning lol didnβt really realise at the time just what an incredible line up played at that concert. Felt like what I imagine Woodstock wd have been like. Such a WONDERFUL experience never forget it βΊοΈ
I just read the whole thread and man it brought back so many great memories. I was at the ’84 gig and the night that Talking Heads played would have to have been one of the great line-ups of any festival ever. Talking heads finished so late and were so good that I remember the crowd wandering away from the stage in an overwhelmed daze. Mental as Anything played after them but there was hardly anyone there. They were trying to get people to stay. I loved Mentals and really enjoyed their show….. not really sure how I managed to stay awake for it after everything that we had consumed.
I don’t remember the rain at all which is a bit weird, however given that I was High and dry in a Kombi that’s probably the reason.
So many other funny bits and pieces, would do it all again in a heartbeat.
[…] at Narara 84 “Original Sin” Tina Arena “Chains” The Go Betweens “Streets Of […]
Yes I was there and my friends were doing camera for an OB so it must have been recorded . The Saturday night was an amazing night . The OS acts came in by helicpter and left by heleicopter doing an hour each on stage. We took off when the rain started it turned into a mudfight . !
Australia Day 36 years later, lets wallow in the still alcohol addled mess of our mind. Ended up at Narara after hitch hiking from Shepparton Vic to the other side of Mackay QLD, for a month or so, with me Cuz (Darron, mate, what the fuck happened). So we made a left turn off the highway and hiked along the road to the festival, long walk, not so much good will getting to the venue (fuck you to the cunt that threw the empty stubbie at us). Got there; got drunk on the cheapest booze at the venue. Only shelter was a tent cover tied to the fence, only food were two minute chicken noodles that soaked overnight in the rain water that ran off the cover. Looking at the mess around us after the down pour, we were geniuses. INXS, Talking Heads, see the list. It was…. Joined the Navy four months later, 35 years later ( sounds like a Billy Joel lyric) Davey in the Navy. Best and worst year of my life; 1984.
Does anyone remember the name of the book that the 1984 pics is in? Iβd like to buy a copy for my mum
What would I do to go back to those days with all those great aussie bands…
Sadly I missed both years :'(
I wasnβt there as I live in Scotland but in Feb 1984 I seen Simple Minds at the Edinburgh Playhouse and Jim Kerr was wearing a Narara 84 t shirt. I was so intrigued to find out what this was but I didnβt have to wait long to find out as several music mag interviews at the time had Kerr excitedly talking about the festival meeting his idols Talking Heads, he described chatting with David Byrne and how βthe lights were on but no one was homeβ lol, but more importantly meeting and falling in love with Chrissie Hynde.
I went to Narara 84 and can boast(!) that I have slept through some of the greatest acts in the world! Loved many of the performances but much of the time I was passed out with my so-called mates tossing cigarette butts at me in the mud. This thread has helped me remember bits, much wasnβt very pretty. I can remember David Byrne walking onstage and starting Psycho Killer and then everything went blank. I left some of my dignity at Narara 84, but would do it again in a flash. Oh, the mud!
So great to read all these comments! I hitched all the way from Adelaide for the 84 weekend. The highlights were Talking Heads and The Pretenders. So many great bands! I was camped next to a tent that had a river flowing through it. The occupants were so wasted they slept until morning and the tent had completely collapsed on top of them. They all crawled out and started partying again. I found a mate’s sister wandering half blind from some dud trip someone had given her. She was covered in mud and didn’t know where she was. I put her in my tent for the night and then couldn’t find it again until morning. Clearly remember the dude wandering around selling weed from a big bin bag and another guy sitting near the food stalls selling trips. Different times. When everyone was leaving after the flood the place was like a war zone. Many just left all their gear and walked away. After it was all over I hitched back to Adelaide with about twenty bucks in my pocket. Got harassed by cops out in the sticks near Bathurst. I was in the middle of nowhere and they just left me standing by the side of the road. I later heard that a hitchhiker had been abducted and killed on that road!
What can I say music is not the quality of what it was back in the 80s! There were so many great Aussie bands playing back then and seeing so many of them at Narara was incredible! I was at the 84 concert so I was privileged to see Simple Minds,Talking Heads,Eurythmics Pretenders,etc! I’m like everyone else pretty hazy memories too much booze and dope but what a blast! Will live with me forever!
I was there in ’84. I went with an organised camping company. They supplied the tents, mattresses, food and transport from Melbourne. We were right at the back and had a camp fire. On Sunday they rigged a canvas tarpaulin in between the buses. I managed to stay dry until I went to bed. My sleeping bag and sleeping mat were soaked. All I could hear all night was people leaving. In the morning we dried everything and pooled our drink tickets. We did a pub crawl in The Rocks in the afternoon. I took 2 Serepax on the bus trip home. After all the drinking it was pretty dumb, but I lived.
Talking Heads the standout … and the mud!!!
Took canned food (my can opener was confiscated at main gate because someone was stabbed the year before, pretty hungry). Talking Heads the standout … and the mud!!!
From Canada and we were touring Australia and went to Narara 84 What an experience Annie Lennox was amazing Remember the rain warm beer hash great bands and terrible amenities Would love do it again
All I remember is the rain and mud, caught the SAFM Adelaide radio station bus, rolled a joint just leaving Adelaide and smoked it with my mate on the bus on route. Had plenty of fun though! All started out dry then the rain arrived and it all went to shit from there, tents being washed away, clearly plenty of crew were wandering around in a drugged and booze fuelled haze but no hassles.
βThe Celebration Continues!β how fitting that was the slogan, now 40 years later weβre still celebrating and reminiscing on that amazing event! Most of us are probably in our 50s & 60s now, hopefully still listening to 80βs tunes, and remember what great music, great concerts, great bands, great times were really like – wild & free. βHey, anyone seen me tent?!β
Awesome weekend. I was at 84. Talking heads,i INXS, sandy n the sunsets etc etc. lots of booze , drugs and mud. Definitely a hi light in my life. I was only 17 but the memories will last a lifetime. So good reading everyoneβs comments.
Rook on people.