Underground Melbourne 1980, Far side of crazy. Footage inside the Crystal Ballroom St Kilda and Festival Hall during performances of the B 52's, The Cure, La Femme and The Models. Excerpt from Punkline sourced from the special features of the Dogs in Space dvd. Fitting song added cause I like it. 😊
This song was from about 1985, off the Seven days from Sammystown record. But I agree it was crazy times back then, I started going to Ritchies in Preston 1983, went to the Seaview Ballroom a few times in the mid 80's to see bands. The Church and Hunters & Collectors from memory.
Awesome when Melbourne was a kick arse city grew up in Sunshine but my parents had a souvlaki shop in Lonsdale st City. As a 10 year old in 1980 spend alot of time in the city on Friday & Saturday nights & ventured far & wide. Got to know all the strippers from the 2 strip joints on Swanston street as they come out the back lane way for a smoke. Take there order & always a can of Tab, lets say as a 10 year old I saw the far side of crazy in Melbourne. I was known as little sweetie & great tippers 20 cent tip big money in 1980. But it was safe walk the city at 10 pm at night no worries. To think all these rockers are in there 60's and 70's now some great looking woman amongst them too. Cheers Louis Kats
cool story mate. im a bit younger than you but remember places like what your parents had along Swanston St and all the arcade game shops etc good times back then when you could go in the city and the drunks were harmless and just kept to themselves then they close off Swanston and it becomes a slum...... whatever happened to0 the Hari's dancing along, my Dad got real upset at me when I grabbed a book from them and made me put in it the bin straight away but I remember the bin was full of them !!
@@chrisferguson237I wish to remain silent as anything I say may incriminate me... & it's all too hot for public credence anyhow! but I do have the scar tissue to prove it...
Festival Hall, love it. Saw Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, The Hoodoo Gurus, Big Pig, A Big Country, Moby, Endorphin and a few i cant remember! Happy Memories 😊
Yep, it was 100% a bunch of white kids having the freedom to express themselves, not just through fashion, but through the music. Melbourne really wasn't culturally that great, but as a dumb white kid, I got to experience exactly what these people in the clip experienced. Some of the behaviour was misguided but overall it was a safe environment where we as an "outsider" generation had the opportunity to be as creative as we wanted to be. This era of looseness and fun and danger cannot be recreated, that's why this kind of document is fairly important, good stuff as always Gez!
Yep. Your generation got free uni, jobs that didn't get reviews every 6 months or were gig, houses before they became investments for every person with equity.
To be fair, it references an event that took place in 1980 (i.e. the murder of John Lennon... as well as the shooting of Ronald Reagan in '81). I thought it was a good match for the vision, actually.
@@Gezza1967 The nightclub at the Olympic Hotel, Bell St Rock was actually "underground". Dangerous joint at times in the early 80's. Wlaked down stairs to the basement from the bar.
@@iankearns774 I’d believe that, a few mates and I went there in the mid 80s. It was full of bikies.😅 A couple of their girlfriends came up to us within a few minutes of being in there, we smelt a rat and got the fark out of the there. Hehe
@@Gezza1967 Yeah full of bikies, but good metal bands played there. Was a bloodbath at times, I knew a few handy blokes so I was alright. The chicks coming up was a setup, smart to get out of there as you did.
It was a real mixture. There were definitely a lot of private school kids at the Ballroom, but a whole contingent from the northern suburbs as well. I went there a bit later than this, it was a great place to go to.
@@NewFalconerRecords I was from West Heidelberg so not private school at all and went there quite a few times to see bands, also to the Palace and the Venue. Back then you just said you were from Heidelberg and didn't mention the West part.
Underground Melbourne 1980, Far side of crazy. Footage inside the Crystal Ballroom St Kilda and Festival Hall during performances of the B 52's, The Cure, La Femme and The Models. Excerpt from Punkline sourced from the special features of the Dogs in Space dvd. Fitting song added cause I like it. 😊
Thanks for introducing me to another 80s banger. Just when I thought I'd exhausted that decades music, I find something else
This song was from about 1985, off the Seven days from Sammystown record. But I agree it was crazy times back then, I started going to Ritchies in Preston 1983, went to the Seaview Ballroom a few times in the mid 80's to see bands. The Church and Hunters & Collectors from memory.
I must be old and slow ,only just ' discovered ' Mexican Radio and Far Side of Crazy ' 6 mths ago
I first went to Melbourne in July 1980. 19 years old. Dark, scary and feezing cold place it was. But the clubs and music venues were great. Still are.
Awesome when Melbourne was a kick arse city grew up in Sunshine but my parents had a souvlaki shop in Lonsdale st City.
As a 10 year old in 1980 spend alot of time in the city on Friday & Saturday nights & ventured far & wide.
Got to know all the strippers from the 2 strip joints on Swanston street as they come out the back lane way for a smoke.
Take there order & always a can of Tab, lets say as a 10 year old I saw the far side of crazy in Melbourne.
I was known as little sweetie & great tippers 20 cent tip big money in 1980.
But it was safe walk the city at 10 pm at night no worries.
To think all these rockers are in there 60's and 70's now some great looking woman amongst them too.
Cheers
Louis Kats
Stalactites?
@@mregas78 No just a basic souvlaki hamburger joint near corner of Lonsdale & Swanston St.
Long long gone
@@louiskats5116 Cool story. My old man had a business in the city for 50 years so grew up around the CBD as well in the 70s and 80s.
@@mregas78👍👍👍
cool story mate.
im a bit younger than you but remember places like what your parents had along Swanston St and all the arcade game shops etc
good times back then when you could go in the city and the drunks were harmless and just kept to themselves
then they close off Swanston and it becomes a slum......
whatever happened to0 the Hari's dancing along, my Dad got real upset at me when I grabbed a book from them and made me put in it the bin straight away but I remember the bin was full of them !!
0:04 Debbie Dinosaur in the cowgirl shirt. Absolute bloody legend. Worked at Missing Link, one of the first people I ever met in the scene.
Back then lived in a squat in StKilda.
Crazy times indeed...
Tell us more!!!
@@chrisferguson237I wish to remain silent as anything I say may incriminate me...
& it's all too hot for public credence anyhow!
but I do have the scar tissue to prove it...
@@o8thman812 lol. sounds like a hit song. Take care
We are all now approaching our mid 60s 🙂
Yep, 65 this year😮
Thanks for reminding me
Great footage..well done gezza on another top video 👍👍
I'm in this briefly. Know a lot of the others too.. What times!!!
Festival Hall, love it. Saw Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, The Hoodoo Gurus, Big Pig, A Big Country, Moby, Endorphin and a few i cant remember! Happy Memories 😊
Great song
fantastic video mate.. cheers
Underground,just white kid's having fun in old Australia,God take me back .!!!
And they wonder
why older Australian's want to return to old Australia.😢
Great song, classic footage. Cheers Gezza
Oh yeah😊
I’m on a Mexican, radio, oh oh.
This not King Street's The Underground club...
@@peterfranks-ue “underground” as opposed to mainstream. See description
Yep, it was 100% a bunch of white kids having the freedom to express themselves, not just through fashion, but through the music. Melbourne really wasn't culturally that great, but as a dumb white kid, I got to experience exactly what these people in the clip experienced. Some of the behaviour was misguided but overall it was a safe environment where we as an "outsider" generation had the opportunity to be as creative as we wanted to be. This era of looseness and fun and danger cannot be recreated, that's why this kind of document is fairly important, good stuff as always Gez!
Yep. Your generation got free uni, jobs that didn't get reviews every 6 months or were gig, houses before they became investments for every person with equity.
You say white as though it was lamentable
@@NickGreiner1988 It was actually what made our country great. Most of Melbourne is now a low trust society
1985 song as a soundtrack for a 1980 video?
To be fair, it references an event that took place in 1980 (i.e. the murder of John Lennon... as well as the shooting of Ronald Reagan in '81). I thought it was a good match for the vision, actually.
@@bigyin2586 true, I normally try match the years up, I reckon the song goes well.
He'll redo it with Shaddap your face, happy now?
Glad I missed that era. :)
Looks grouse 😂😂😂😂 i was 12 -13 wasnt ready yet
Everyone has really shiny hair.
Are they drinking coolers?
Where are they now?
Underground?, really? . . maybe get some 1980's footage of the Mansel Room or early nineties footage of The Hell Fire Club . .
I don't remember the 80s unfortunately.. 🤣🤣
Nothing underground here ! This is all pop concerts. Mainstream 1980 all the way !!
@@brin57 name a few ‘underground’ joints in Melbourne back then?
@@Gezza1967 The nightclub at the Olympic Hotel, Bell St Rock was actually "underground". Dangerous joint at times in the early 80's. Wlaked down stairs to the basement from the bar.
@@iankearns774 I’d believe that, a few mates and I went there in the mid 80s. It was full of bikies.😅 A couple of their girlfriends came up to us within a few minutes of being in there, we smelt a rat and got the fark out of the there. Hehe
@@Gezza1967 Yeah full of bikies, but good metal bands played there. Was a bloodbath at times, I knew a few handy blokes so I was alright. The chicks coming up was a setup, smart to get out of there as you did.
@@iankearns774 😀👍
Looks like a bunch of private school kids drinking at the Nicholas Building. Not very underground, more cringe pre-hipster.
It was a real mixture. There were definitely a lot of private school kids at the Ballroom, but a whole contingent from the northern suburbs as well. I went there a bit later than this, it was a great place to go to.
Tosser
@@mregas78 You know you're getting old when you attempt to apply grammar to neologisms.
Pre hipster is yuppie mate, I hated yuppies. Painters & Dockers got it right in the song.
@@NewFalconerRecords I was from West Heidelberg so not private school at all and went there quite a few times to see bands, also to the Palace and the Venue. Back then you just said you were from Heidelberg and didn't mention the West part.