Festival Hall : Exit stage right
Festival Hall is about to be demolished. Apparently, business has been steadily declining to the point where the old place is running at a loss, having been surpassed by newer and more prestigious venues. But, there was time when it was Melbourne's main concert facility. Wandering around its shabby exterior it looks so antiquated – a black and blue architectural dinosaur that was never any beauty to begin with. Hard to believe that it was once an epicenter of international show business where the world’s biggest and brightest music stars did their thing in return for the thunderous applause of capacity crowds. The Beatles, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr.. they all appeared there.
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| Seeing stars at Festival Hall (left to right) the Beatles (1964) (Getty Images) Judy Garland (1964)(Getty Images) and Sinatra (1974) (Herald Sun) |
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| Festival Hall during an event in the '70s (University of Melbourne) |
Today, however, with most of the famous names of earlier times having long since winged their way skywards, the iconic landmark mainly plays host to an endless procession of irrelevant and deafening ‘alternative’ rock bands . Yet, despite its fall from grace, there’s still something about it ; a quirky, nostalgic charisma, the distant echo, perhaps, of the sounds and spirits of the great and near great who once prowled its legendary stage. Standing alone, you can almost hear the replay coming back across the decades. An extra tweak of the imagination will also provide the visuals.
I see images of the headline-grabbing rhythm & blues powerhouse Johnnie Ray, frantically whipping his young audience into a dangerous frenzy in the summer of '59, his tall lanky frame draped in a stunning electric blue tuxedo and drenched in a torrent of sweat and Vodka as he twirls the mike stand and the band belts out “Flip, flop and fly". A gigantic Cadillac limo with towering fins and lots of chrome is docked in the security driveway which runs down the side of the building
From the movie There's No Business Like Showbusiness (1954) (IMDB)
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| Johnnie Ray in action (right) (1950s)(Getty Images) . Backstage with Elvis in Las Vegas (Google) The Johnnie Ray Show Saturday 21st June 1958 - YouTube |
Now I see Sinatra, in the winter of ’74, swaggering down the same alley, dressed in street clothes, wearing shades and being pursued by a scramble of TV and newspaper journalists, their cumbersome film cameras whirring as Frank’s bodyguard warns everyone not to get too close to the man. An Age photographer captures the scene. It’s a classic Melbourne moment which will remain forever in my memory.
Sinatra out front leads the way in West Melbourne
(Fairfax photo)
There was nothing trendy or fashionable about West Melbourne in those pre "gentrified" days. A rough working class neighborhood by day, at night, became the black heart of the shadowy inner suburbs. The slightly ominous “stadium”, as many still called it, loomed over the street and seemed to scowl. Turning off Spencer Street and driving down Dudley towards the waterfront, there was both a physical and psychological sense of venturing into the nether world; of sliding towards the industrial badlands of the city’s bleak, western frontier.... and you had to get out of the car as well ! For the nicer families from the nicer suburbs there was a definite feeling of adventure and daring about a night trip to West Melbourne. And it was that curious mix of sparkling international glamour being presented smack dab in the middle of such sinister and threatening surroundings that fused together to create the sense of surrealism that was a night at Festival Hall.
Concerts at Festival Hall :
Sammy Davis Jr
Beatles
Bee Gees
P.J.Proby 1966
Carpenters
Frank Sinatra 1959 : Audio only
AC/DC 1974
Pink Floyd 1971
Frank Zappa 1973
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P.S This piece was uploaded several years ago. I'm pleased to report that Festival Hall has now been saved from the wrecker's ball and it will be continuing as a concert venue
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