Michael Gudinski

By Chris Mineral

The Bart Cummings of the Melbourne music scene, Michael Gudinski of House Mushroom passed on in the first days of March.

People were sad and shocked to hear of this. He was a titan in the music industry. Mercurial, temperamental, passionate, a bloke Bruce Springsteen called a “music man”. He was a promoter who was determined to support the artists. Through lockdown 2.0 and beyond he was giving everything he had to make things happen in the music industry.

Gudinski had the ambition to make Skyhooks, the band that he managed, to be the biggest act in the land. Skyhooks were blessed with a charismatic front man in Graham “Shirley” Strachan, the genius of Greg Macainsh’s catchy and topical songwriting and the theatrical flair on guitar of Red Symons. They were trailblazers, singing about Balwyn, local night-time scenarios and living in the ‘70s. Ego Is Not A Dirty Word encapsulates the band’s upfront confident posture. This attitude is exemplified by the riff rama of You Just Like Me ‘Cause I’m Good In Bed. All My Friends Are Getting Married is an ironic dig at marital contentment. Horror Movie is more than ever appropriate. Skyhooks had great songs. Gudinski backed Skyhooks and Greg Macainsh’s songwriting to the hilt. There’s a bit of Skyhooks in Australian Crawl. 

The larger-than-life Gudinski was also part of a syndicate that won the Melbourne Cup three times as owners. What could be more thrilling than winning a Melbourne Cup as an owner? Winning it two more times. He recognised that horse-racing is one of the most spectacular sports entertainment events in the world. A St Kilda supporter, in 2010 it was so close, yet for the bounce of the ball, so far. Countless musical acts like Jimmy Barnes, The Church, Kate Ceberano, Paul Kelly, Sports, Stephen Cummings, I’m Talking, Machinations … all benefitted from his drive, determination, insight and wisdom.

Michael Gudinski organised the first legendary Sunbury Rock Festival, back in the day when Peter Brock in a Torana XU1 raced against Allan Moffat and Leo Geoghan in their Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III. And later he would organise many massive benefit concerts on a grand scale. Gudinski will be missed.

The City of Melbourne did a great job in extending Melbourne Music Week, creating many more gigs and extending the festival to encompass all of summer. Very innovative and creative programming resulted in there being a real buzz around town in the music scene. These extra gigs included a clutch of shows on a Monday night at the Sydney Myer Music Bowl where pubs like The Old Bar and The Tote curated a couple of bands. Cash Savage and The Last Drinks and The Meanies were two highlights.

Innovation was shown by the team from Mushroom when, to signpost the beginning of musical gigs returning to Melbourne, Daryl Braithwaite played a series of pop-up shows around Degraves St and Bourke St.

An interesting fact is that a day or two beforehand, Daryl Braithwaite and his two bandmates and the technical group drove around the alleys of Southbank and Port Melbourne, getting the groove going in setting up quick for improv shows on the street. Kind of like a pre-season Formula 1 test. Working things out in the alleys of Southbank, with no audience and then descending upon the city and performing to the crowd. Daryl Braithwaite’s shows were part of Melbourne Music Week Extended. When writing about the passing of Michael Gudinski, he wrote that he recalled seeing Michael Gudinski beaming like a Cheshire cat as he sang outside Pellegrini’s Bistro on Bourke St. The music man was digging the music returning to the city in venues.

The Australian Music Vault also paid tribute to the music man, who was a founding patron of the Vault.

Gudinski’s tireless lobbying and support of the Australian Music Vault led to its funding by the Victorian Government and eventual launch in 2017; a permanent space that charts the story of contemporary Australian music from the 1950s until today showcasing the iconic people, events and places that define Australian music.

This project was one of Gudinski’s lifelong dreams and his passion for it was a constant source of inspiration for the Australian Music Vault and Arts Centre Melbourne teams. As well as being the visionary behind the Vault, Gudinksi was also founding patron alongside other icons of the Australian music industry including Tina Arena AM, Kylie Minogue AO, Archie Roach AM and Ian “Molly” Meldrum AM.

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of industry giant and champion of Australian music, Michael Gudinski,” Arts Centre Melbourne CEO Claire Spencer AM said. “He was a friend to many of us at Arts Centre Melbourne but it was his advocacy and commitment to realising the Australian Music Vault where we are truly indebted to him. Just as he shaped the Australian music industry in this country, Michael’s legacy will live on at the home of Australian music stories, the Australian Music Vault. My sympathy to Michael’s wife Sue, his two children Matthew and Kate, and to all those who loved him. I will miss him terribly.” •

Vale Michael Solomon Gudinski AM •  

Image credit: Brian Purnell.