The Grand Hotel – Broadway Sydney
The Grand Hotel’s short but huge claim to fame as a venue for bands came about in 1977. The publican Dennis was approached with the proposal of opening the doors to a new style of music for that time, Punk Rock. The Oxford Funhouse at Taylor Square Sydney had just closed its doors to Punk…
Read MoreThe Prisoners – 1979
The Prisoners were a short-lived Sydney-based Punk Rock band that emerged soon after Punk Rock band Rocks had disbanded. Bill Webb (a.k.a. Bill Posters) in early 1979 had approached his fellow Rocks‘ guitarist Peter Davie and drummer Greg Morris with the idea of putting a new Punk Rock band together. His idea was not to…
Read MoreSunnyboys
Sunnyboys were a Sydney based band which went through a number of active periods from 1980-1984, 1987-1989 & again in 1991. I have to admit that I never actually saw them which is unusual given how popular they were at the time. Jeremy Oxley, Peter Oxley and Bil Bilson had played in a garage band…
Read MoreBackstage passes
My Brother Brett gave me a bunch of his backstage passes to scan recently & I finally got around to getting some done. I also managed to get a start on some of mine too but there are still quite a few to get through so check back on this page often to watch the…
Read MorePseudo Echo
Pseudo Echo is a Melbourne based band originally active from 1982 to around 1998. They reformed around 2000 & still perform at the time of writing. Formed by school friends Brian Canham & Pierre Gigliotti, they were spotted early on by Molly Meldrum who put them on Countdown playing their first hit “Listening”. Their sound…
Read MoreClive Shakespeare has passed away
Sherbet founding member Clive Shakespeare has passed away after a long battle with cancer. Shakespeare was born Clive Richard Shakespeare in Southampton, England and emigrated with his family in the 1960’s. He formed Sherbet around 1969 and was guitarist with the band through to 1975 when he was replaced by Harvey James who also passed…
Read MoreThe Icemen
The Icemen is a band I was not even aware of until recently, even though I knew three out of the four musicians involved. I recently ran into a gentleman by the name of Dave Owens at a memorial concert for the late great Johnny Norman. I knew of Dave as he was a member…
Read MoreMy 4 Favourite gigs as a punter
Before I started working in the music industry I was, like most folks of my age, a dedicated “punter”. I would regularly see two or three bands per week from the time I was old enough to pass for 18. Many people reminisce about the good old days when there was a venue on every…
Read MoreTommy & The Dipsticks (The Crooked Hearts)
Tommy & The Dipsticks were a Sydney based Punk Rock band that started around 1977. The Dipsticks’ guitarists John Cowper & Peter Mullany from Johnny Dole & The Scabs were school mates so Peter was able to help the band with their first gig. Like Johnny Dole & The Scabs, they were one of the…
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