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The Music Box – part of Live! Queensland Band Culture

Posted on 17 May 2013| by Robyn Hamilton |

The Music Box

Promising something new and exciting every time you open it, The Music Box is a multi-faceted pop-up venue on State Library’s ground floor. Featuring performances, visual displays and audio treats, plus a chance to weave your own story into music history, drop in and see what’s on.

To kick off the Live! Queensland Band Culture exhibition, the Music Box has become a recording booth, and we would like to hear from you! An interactive video questionnaire asks you the following questions:

In what ways is music part of your life?
What was your most memorable live music experience in Queensland and why?
What is your favourite Queensland band?

Whether you have played in a band or followed a band, your memories are important. Whether you have marched and played for Anzac Day, rocked out in your garage, moshed at a nightclub or jitterbugged your way around the dance floor, your stories will help us paint the picture of band culture in Queensland. Tell us about your favourite band moments – the time, the music, the venue. We would like to hear from you!

The Music Box

A program of upcoming events will be posted regularly on The Music Box and online.

: The recording booth

Robyn Hamilton – Queensland Music Coordinator, State Library of Queensland

David Bowie, Russ Hinze and the “intolerable” Brisbane concert

Posted on 10 Nov 2012| by Myles Sinnamon |

Pop star David Bowie (left) and politician Russ Hinze (right). Published in the Telegraph newspaper, 22 November 1978. Images in copyright

This is a tale of two concerts; one in 1978, the other in 1983. The first concert caused such controversy that Brisbane still hadn’t recovered from it 5 years later.

UK pop star David Bowie arrived in Brisbane on 19 November 1978 as part of his Isolar II tour. He was scheduled to perform an open-air concert at Lang Park (now Suncorp Stadium) on 21 November, with The Angels as the supporting act. He was accompanied by 40 tons of equipment and a mobile stage, transported by 7 semi-trailers. Eager fans started queuing and camping out at Lang Park for over 4 days ahead of the concert so they could get in early to get good vantage points.

The concert was a success, attracting between 16,000-18,000 fans, however the extreme noise levels generated by the performance angered some local residents. According to newspaper reports, the noise was described as “intolerable” by residents in the suburbs of Paddington, Bardon, Milton, Ashgrove, Rainworth, Toowong and The Gap. People complained they could not hear their television sets and were forced to shut their windows and doors. Not everyone living in the area shared this perspective; some locals enjoyed the “noise”, taking advantage of a free concert and sitting on their verandahs to listen. It was stated that the concert could be heard as far away as the top of Mt Cootha.

Russ Hinze, wearing his Minister for Noise Abatement hat, commented, “These pop singers come out here to make a quick quid by disturbing our peace and tranquillity. The fact that he’s a Pommie as well wouldn’t help“. Mr Hinze said that the newly formed Noise Abatement Authority would investigate after complaints about the noise were received from residents around Lang Park. The maximum fine at the time was reported to be $500.

Russ Hinze said there were thousands of complaints, but concert promoters said they only received eight. A representative from the concert promoter stated they had received many phone calls congratulating them on the concert. She was also quoted as saying “It would be disappointing if Mr Hinze spoils it for other performers by acting on a few complaints. Queensland is the only place we have had complaints.”

The Telegraph newspaper, which is available at the State Library of Queensland on microfilm, published two reviews of the concert. One covering the music and the other examining the conditions of the moshpit. Of the latter, the journalist, who found the whole open-air rock concert experience a bit daunting, said “Never before have I sniffed so many armpits, been abused so frequently or been trodden on so freely”. He went on to describe the concert as being cramped and conditions as hot and humid, writing “I had lost sight of my two friends, had my softdrink can knocked from my hand and half my meat roll was plastered on the back of some guy’s shirt”. To make conditions even more uncomfortable he also stated that “gropers and bottom-pinchers had the time of their lives”

Headline from the Telegraph newspaper article (22/11/1978) regarding the David Bowie concert in Brisbane

Rory Gibson in his regular column gave a more critical eye to the music played. He described the concert as “vaguely disappointing” and pointed out that the set list missed a number of Bowie’s big hits.

Nearly 5 years later to the day, David Bowie returned to Brisbane to perform once again at Lang Park, on 16 November 1983. Even after 5 years Brisbane officials hadn’t forgotten (or perhaps forgiven) Bowie for the “noise” at his last concert. This time the Brisbane City Council imposed a $50,000 bond on the concert promoters which would be forfeited if the noise level exceed 80 decibels at nearby houses. An independent acoustic consultant was employed to monitor the entire concert.

This concert was very successful with an even bigger crowd, with over 27,000 fans attending. This time around there were residents who were hoping for another free concert, and who organised “Bowie Parties”, but had to turn on their record players when the concert organizers stuck to the imposed noise limitations.

The State Library of Queensland holds a fantastic collection of historical and contemporary Queensland newspapers, most of which are available on microfilm. You can search our collection via our One Search catalogue.

Myles Sinnamon – Project Coordinator, State Library of Queensland

The Monkees make a splash in Brisbane

Posted on 28 Sep 2012| by Myles Sinnamon |

The Monkees at a press conference in Brisbane, 22 September 1968. Published in the Sunday Truth newspaper. Image in copyright

American pop band The Monkees began their tour of Australia and Japan in September 1968. The Monkees had achieved worldwide success with a string of chart topping singles and a television comedy series which was originally influenced by The Beatles’ “Hard Day’s Night“. By 1968 The Monkees were in decline, their television series had recently been cancelled and record sales had slumped. The band had also completed shooting their debut feature film “Head”, a psychedelic comedy. Released several months after the tour, the movie was a commercial failure and alienated many of their loyal, teenybopper fanbase. Despite this, fans were ecstatic to welcome The Monkees during their first visit to Australia.

After performing in Melbourne and Sydney the group travelled on to Brisbane, arriving on Sunday 22 September 1968. Over 3,000 screaming fans were at the Brisbane Airport to greet them from behind a safety fence with police keeping a close watch. The Courier Mail reported that “a cavalcade of five cars carried the entertainers and their party from their plane past the yelling, waving crowd“. The band made a slow procession along the tarmac to wave at fans. This procession came to an abrupt end when two girls managed to evade security and ran toward The Monkees’ black imousine. The Monkees made a speedy retreat to the main exit.

During their Brisbane press conference The Monkees were very outspoken about their opposition to the Vietnam War and National Service. Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz discussed the fact that they were both classified 1A (which was the highest classification for the draft) and could be called up for service at any time. Dolenz believed that as a celebrity his drafting would be made a priority. “They’ve admitted they want to get me in” he told reporters. Guitarist Peter Tork also commented that the US had recently cut the budgets of “visionary projects in favour of military ones“.

"The water-throwing incident" at The Monkees press conference in Brisbane, 22 September 1968. Published in the Sunday Truth newspaper. Image in copyright

During this press conference an unfortunate incident occurred between Davy Jones and a Channel Nine television reporter named Keith Sharpe. The Courier Mail reported that Sharpe “riled the group from his first question” – “When do you think you might break up and try something like music?” – “It was a losing battle but Sharpe kept on“. According to the Sunday Truth newspaper Sharpe had also questioned The Monkees on why they shouldn’t be sent to Vietnam. As the interview deteriorated Davy Jones picked up a glass of water and began to pour it over Sharpe’s head. In turn this provoked Keith Sharpe who grabbed another glass of water and hurled it into the face of Davy Jones. Keith Sharpe was immediately ejected from the press conference by “two bouncers“. The next day the Courier Mail published a photograph of Davy Jones with a wet shirt and hair with the headline – “Monkees’ Davy dries off after water-throwing”

The Sunday Truth newspaper went further by interviewing Keith Sharpe about the incident, “..I’d do the same again in the same circumstances“, he told the newspaper, “I didn’t think it was funny then, and I don’t think it’s funny now…nobody does that to Keith Sharpe and gets away with it“. The Truth devoted nearly an entire page to the story.

The Monkees concert took place at the Brisbane Festival Hall on the evening of 23 September, with two performances starting at 6pm and 8:30pm. The Monkees were supported by two Australian bands, The Cherokees and Marcie Jones and the Cookies. The latter was originally formed in Brisbane, later moving to Sydney.

The Sunday Truth, The Telegraph and The Courier Mail are available on microfilm at the State Library of Queensland.

Myles Sinnamon – Project Coordinator, State Library of Queensland

It’s hot in Brisbane but it’s Coolangatta

Posted on 13 Aug 2012| by Robyn Hamilton |

With it’s red and blue cartoon cover, the song It’s hot in Brisbane but it’s Coolangatta is an endearing novelty for voice and piano composed in 1953 by Claude Carnell, for the Coolangatta Chamber of Commerce. State Library holds the sheet music for ‘Coolangatta’s souvenir song’, which includes promotional information about Coolangatta, and offers the performer a choice of a ‘slow bounce’ version or ‘Dixieland or fast’ version.

The song was recorded in 1953 by Gwen Ryan, with Claude Carnell’s Orchestra and additional vocals from Doug Roughton’s Hokey Pokey Club. You can hear the digital sound file via the National Film and Sound Archives catalogue. The National Library’s digital score can be reached from the item record in the State Library catalogue.

Robyn Hamilton – Queensland Music Coordinator

Multicultural Brisbane, the 1920s

Posted on 26 Jul 2012| by Joan Bruce |

Muses Magazine, August 1928

Muses Magazine only lasted for 14 issues, but from November 1927 to January 1929 it reflected a surprisingly cosmopolitan Brisbane. Describing itself as a monthly review of the musical, artistic, literary and intellectual life of Queensland, it reported on the activities of cultural organizations such as the Dickens Fellowship and also a variety of ‘ethnic’ organizations which had sprung up at around the same time. They included the Brisbane chapters of L’Alliance Francaise and La Societa Dante; Spanish, Polish, German, Greek, Israeli groups and even an Esperanto Society.

The driving forces behind Muses Magazine were Henri Alexis Tardent and Luis Amadeo Pares. Tardent was Swiss born, but Pares grew up in Mareeba, before leaving for Sydney to study music and then moving back to Queensland in 1923.

Muses Magazine, September 1928

The magazine was well-produced and contributors came from the cultural and intellectual elite of Queensland. At the end of its first year it was going strong. The October/November issue for 1928 reported circulation penetrating to almost every part of Queensland, to every capital of the Commonwealth and to fifteen countries abroad.

After only three more issues, however, Pares was bankrupt and it was gone.

More information

Buckridge, Patrick. Harmonising the City: Music, Multiculturalism and The Muses’ Magazine in Brisbane. Queensland Review. 2011: 18: 26-41.

Evans, Raymond. A History of Queensland. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Tea and Music: Musical Odditorium

Posted on 10 Jul 2012| by Robyn Hamilton |

There are a few odd things happening at SLQ this month… to tie in with the Odditorium display in The Parlour, of course! Tea and Music on Tuesday 17 July is a Musical Odditorium, featuring quirky folk duo Cloudstreet. Multi-instrumentalists Nicole Murray and John Thompson will present a selection of folksongs and anecdotes. Between them they play guitar, English concertina, whistle, flute and violin, not to mention an array of unconventional instruments. It’s fun to suit the whole family. Tea and Music starts at 10:30am on the Queensland Terrace and tickets are $12, which includes refreshments.

Robyn Hamilton – Queensland Music Coordinator, State Library of Queensland

The Beatles come to Brisbane

Posted on 29 Jun 2012| by Myles Sinnamon |

“The shrieks, the screams, the sobs bounced off the ceiling. The girls – and boys – threw their arms above their heads. They bounced up and down on chairs; they sank to their knees in the aisles. It was bedlam and judging by the upturned open-mouthed faces it was pure bliss. It was the Beatles” – Telegraph (Brisbane), 30 June 1964, p.6

The Beatles 1964 World Tour kicked off on 4 June. On the Australian/New Zealand leg of the tour the Fab Four visited Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin, Christchurch and ended with Brisbane on 29-30 June. It was estimated that over 200,000 fans across the 8 cities attended their shows.

The Beatles arrived at Brisbane airport just after midnight on 29 June where they were greeted by thousands of screaming fans. Over 200 uniformed police lined the tarmac with 20 detectives mingling in the crowd. Due to the swell of the crowd one of the restraining fences shielding the VIP area was reported to have started bending. Six girls were treated by ambulance workers; 2 for hysteria and 4 who fainted in the crush.

Paul McCartney was first to step off the plane and onto the gangway, followed by John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison. They stepped on to an awaiting table-top truck and began a tour of the fence line to acknowledge the crowd. The excitment was marred by an unfortunate incident when a handful of attendees at the back of the crowd threw a barrage of eggs, tomatoes, orange peel, newspapers and a cushion at the Beatles. Paul McCartney later remarked “We were disappointed at the egg throwing…it was all so pointless.” Due to this incident the Beatles did not make any further public appearances outside of their concert performances. It was reported that John Lennon said, “No more unscheduled public appearances we’ve had enough eggs. As long as we’re in Brisbane it’s just here [Lennon's Hotel] and the [Festival] hall for us.”

“…the Festival Hall was lucky to escape with its roof intact.” – Courier Mail, 30 June 1964, p.2

There were four concerts played by the Beatles at Festival Hall over two nights (29 & 30 June 1964). There were several support bands including The Phantoms, Johnny Devlin and Sounds Incorportated. The Beatles were the last act, performing for 30 minutes of the 90 minute show. Approximately 5,000 fans attended each of the four concerts. A reporter from the Brisbane Telegraph newspaper stated “mostly you could hear the drum beats from Ringo, the guitars sometimes and all the time the non-stop screams. You couldn’t hear the Beatles sing…. Every time they opened their mouths, so did the crowds..”. The Governor of Queensland, Sir Henry Abel Smith and his wife Lady May attended one concert and stated “We thoughly enjoyed last night…we were nearly deafened but everyone had such a good time”.

“Did someone blunder on Beatles Bookings? Fans claim they got ‘dirty deal’“ – Sunday Truth, 9 April 1964, p.3

A few months earlier when tickets first went on sale the Sunday Truth exposed a scandal regarding tickets and the allocation of seats.
The newspaper accused Festival Hall management of giving large blocks of choice seats to Parliamentarians and airline and oil companies before tickets officially went on sale. Apparently one Queensland State MP had block booked 35 seats two weeks in advance. Meanwhile fans queued for up to 41 hours at Palings only to find the best seats had already been taken.

”Lennons Hotel management had to keep a “pretence of secrecy” about where the Beatles would stay…” – Telegraph (Brisbane), 29 June 1964, p.3

During their short time in Brisbane the Beatles stayed at Lennon’s Hotel on George Street. Prior to their arrival management at Lennons Hotel strenuously denied that the band would be staying there, but secretly had the group booked under a code name. The Beatles occupied a 4th floor suite which was protected 24 hours a day by security guards. There were several attempts by teenagers to gain access to the Beatles’ suite, including one enterprising 16 year old who dressed himself in his uncle’s clerical grab and tried to enter the hotel at 1am. He was wearing horn-rimmed glasses and carrying a small black book. He told puzzled security he had “come to give the Beatles guidance” . He was tumbled however as he was wearing “Beatles Boots” and the “black bible” he was carrying was in fact a history book.
“As the four waved finally from the aircraft steps, there were cries of “Don’t go, don’t go,” and many girls cried.” – Telegraph (Brisbane), 1 July 1964, p.1

The Beatles departed on 1 July from the Eagle Farm Airport with 500 screaming fans (and 100 police) to see them off. Fans started arriving at the airport at 4:30am. Some parents brought their children – still dressed in their pyjamas. The group arrived late, the plane finally departing at 7:45am, much to the anguish of screaming fans. As the plane took off a policeman was overheard to remark, “Well thank goodness that’s over”.

Of the Brisbane tour Paul McCartney said, “”We thought Brisbane might be a let down after the rest of the tour, a sort of anti-climax. But really, the audiences here were tremenedous, as good as or better than any we ever faced”

The State Library of Queensland holds an original concert ticket plus The Beatles Australian tour 1964 : official souvenir booklet. The State Library also holds the Courier-Mail, Telegraph and Sunday Truth newspapers, from which the above quotes were taken, on microfilm.

You can find out what else was reported about the Beatles visit to Brisbane in the newspapers by listening to this ABC Local Radio Queensland podcast.

Myles Sinnamon – Project Coordinator, State Library of Queensland

Symphonia Eluvium by Elena Kats-Chernin

Posted on 09 May 2012| by Robyn Hamilton |

In late 2010, commissioned by the Brisbane Festival 2011, acclaimed Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin began a symphonic work for Brisbane. When the floodwaters engulfed the city in January 2011, Elena put aside the composition she had drafted thus far and started again.

Symphonia Eluvium (Symphony of the Floods) is Elena’s response to the devastation and heartbreak of the 2011 Brisbane flood, but also to the community spirit and determination of the people who lived through it. In four movements, the choral symphony tells the story of that time, and according to its composer was inspired by ‘turbulence and noise, survival and loss, the mud army and resilience, optimism and moving on’. Lyrics include excerpts from the ‘We are Queenslanders’ speech given by then Premier Anna Bligh at the height of the flood.

In January 2012, Ms Kats-Chernin very kindly donated to State Library a selection of her manuscripts for Symphonia Eluvium. These handwritten and annotated typeset draftsshow the composer’s process as she refined and distilled her ideas, and translated her emotions and experiences into an evocative soundscape.

Symphonia Eluvium (Symphony of the Floods) made its world premiere on September 2011 as part of the Brisbane Festival, performed by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, led by noted Israeli conductor Asher Fisch, and accompanied by the Brisbane Chorale and the Canticum Chamber Choir. This performance has also been heard on ABC Classic FM, and can be seen on ABC iview.

From 7 April to 19 August State Library ‘s exhibition Floodlines shares contemporary and historical memories of Queensland’s floods – making sense of the past and celebrating the spirit of recovery. Divided into two spaces, Floodlines: a living memory pays tribute to the resilience and community spirit of Queenslanders in the face of devastasting natural disasters of the summer of 2010-11, and Floodlines: 19th century Brisbane tells stories of survival, loss and recovery from floods past.

The selection of Symphonia Eluvium manuscripts can be viewed in display cases in the John Oxley Library on Level 4.

Robyn Hamilton – Queensland Music Coordinator

John Edward (Ted) England – Queensland’s foremost basso

Posted on 02 May 2012| by Robyn Hamilton |

In 2011, State Library received a donation of scrapbooks, programmes, newspaper clippings, photographs, notes and music scores which traced the performances and musical endeavours of leading Queensland basso and public servant Mr J.E. England (1887-197?).

John Edward England was born in England but immigrated to Australia as a child, and formed an early interest in choral music. His career as a singer began in 1911, and his fine and unique voice was in demand at state functions throughout the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. As a chorister or featured soloist he performed in countless concerts of the Brisbane Liedertafel (later the Apollo Club), the Brisbane Austral Choir, the Toowong Male Choir, the Windsor Musical Union, the Queensland State and Municipal Choir and many others. While he was still singing publicly in the late 1960s, he was best known for outstanding performances in Handel’s The Messiah and Gounod’s Faust.

Mr England attended Brisbane Grammar School, and joined the State Public Service in 1903. During World War I he served with the A.I.F. in Egypt and France. In World War II he was Controller of Liquid Fuel and later chief administrative officer of the Allied Works Council. Mr England was the first Queenslander to be elected Australian chairman of the Federal Institute of Accountants, and he was, at one time, chairman of the Queensland State Transport Board. When he retired in 1952 he had been Main Roads Department secretary for 31 years.

Among his other recreations was lawn bowls, and he was a foundation member, and in his later years patron, of the Hamilton Bowling Club. As an old boy of Brisbane Grammar School, he became chairman of Trustees of both the boys and girls’ grammar schools. The donation, and in particular the scrapbooks, provide a detailed picture of musical life in Brisbane in the first half of the 20th century.

Royal banquet, 1920

Robyn Hamilton

Queensland Music Coordinator

International Jazz Day

Posted on 30 Apr 2012| by Myles Sinnamon |

Brisbane is celebrating International Jazz Day today (30 April) with many interesting events organized in the city. We have supported this UNESCO initiative by displaying a selection of our Queensland jazz materials on Level 4 of the State Library.

It also seems like a good opportunity for me to let you know that the library has recently begun to focus on collecting Queensland jazz material in partnership with the Queensland Jazz Archive. Through the Queensland Jazz Archive, members of the jazz fraternity are assisting us in sourcing important jazz resources and materials which need to be preserved as part of our cultural heritage. We wish to collect items from the beginnings of jazz history in Queensland right up to contemporary items from the present day and recent past. If you have, or know of any material which you think should be preserved as part of the State Library collection, please let me know. We’re hoping to develop a rich resource for the benefit of current and future members of the public and researchers. We’re interested in items such as recordings, manuscripts, letters, posters, handbills, flyers, tickets, programs and memorabilia. All items donated will be housed in ideal conditions for their long term preservation, and will receive conservation treatment when appropriate.

My contact details are listed below, should you know of any material you would like to discuss with me.

Laurel Dingle, Queensland Music Coordinator, Queensland Memory
Ph: 38407835
Email: l.dingle@slq.qld.gov.au