Part two of the series explores the evolution of post punk in Melbourne.
The years 1977 to 1983 saw an explosion of musical creativity in inner city Sydney and Melbourne. Following the do-it-yourself revolution of punk, young Australians were inspired to make challenging music without boundaries, to form bands, start independent labels, and to run live music venues, all outside the commercially driven confines of the mainstream industry. This groundbreaking activity laid the foundation for contemporary music in Australia. The vital output from Australian post punk has gained an international reputation.
Sydney’s inner-city post-punk music scene revolves around a social set based in the terrace houses and industrial spaces of then run-down Darlinghurst and Surry Hills. Bands shared living spaces, rehearsal rooms, equipment, and band members, forging sounds without precedence. And for the first time, women were taking their place as equal and integral players. Inner city pubs and clubs, faced with a dwindling clientele of working men, opened their doors to the art-punk bands and an enthusiastic audience soon followed. Iconic venues included the Sussex Hotel and the Trade Union Club. By 1980, the burgeoning scene also gave rise to the independent labels M Squared and Terse Tapes.
Melbourne’s post punk scene is defined by distinct locations, and ideologies — the North Fitzroy Beat; St Kilda’s Crystal Ballroom; and the Clifton Hill Community Music Centre. Led by Melbourne’s most infamous band the Primitive Calculators, the North Fitzroy Beat gave rise to the anarchic Little Bands movement, with the Calculators inviting anyone to step up and use their music equipment. Meanwhile, ‘south of the river’, St Kilda was the decadent playground of larger-than-life groups such as The Birthday Party, the Moodists, and the touring Go-Betweens. The Clifton Hill Community Music Centre was an experimental space for a strange mix of Melbourne intelligentsia, music academics, and precocious post punks, giving rise to the groups Tsk Tsk Tsk and Essendon Airport.