On February 18th 1990 more than 42,000 punters rolled up to an outdoor picnic atmosphere benefit concert featuring some of Aussie rock music's finest in support of the Lord Mayors Earthquake Relief Fund... otherwise it might never have happened. This it the concert that set the benchmark for Wave Aid and Bushfire Relief that followed in recent years!!
Out of the tragedy of the Newcastle Earthquake came this once off experience pulled together by Michael Chugg, Rock City's Peter Anderson and the Lord Mayor's Office. Aussie rock royalty loved being part of the day and felt it was 'the rock industry at it's best.'
Part of a wonderful extended group of friends we picnicked on the oval with a collection of rugs and a fairly amenable crowd feeling until the usual 'hangers on' did start to encroach in search of the front of stage...
The atmosphere that day was as unique as the circumstances. In today's crowd security arrangements you would not be allowed to build human towers more than 10m in the air or blanket trampoline the lightest member of your group [and certainly not a bikini clad girlfriend] while the whole crowd cheered you on... until they mysteriously didn't rebound at some point!!
The Bands included:
v Spy v Spy
The Party Boys + Ross Wilson + Mark Hunter
Johnny Diesel [aka Diesel aka Mark Lizzotte] + The Injectors with Jimmy Barnes
Noiseworks
Ian Moss
Crowded House
The Angels
Split Enz
and
Midnight Oil
Things I recall include:
- the emotional connection for Split Enz/Crowded House who were due to play the Workers Club the evening of the Quake and lost roadie John O Shanassy in the collapse
- The pre concert promo where the collected musos were asked "how do you decide the playing order for something like this and all presented simply agreed "well, the Oils go last, no argument there, and the rest of us just work it out from there..."
- Michael Chugg's now legendary MCing and crowd control profanities
- Crowded House having 'tech difficulties' with their keyboard and Neil Finn making a couple of mistakes and being teased mercilessly by the late Paul Hester as it was so often the other way around. He threatened Neil with a bucket of water that ended up being full of confetti!!
- An unforgettable set from the Angels including Doc Neeson climbing to the very top of the speaker stack/scaffolding tower, mic tucked into his pants, taking up the singing of 'Let the Night Roll On' waving a Newcastle Knights flag
- The way every artist committed to the day out of respect for Newcastle live audiences and the old Workers Club as a venue to play
Thirteen people lost their lives at the Workers Club and various inner city houses, Beaumont St Hamilton shop awnings collapsed and many buildings were demolished or damaged. The plays and stories capture the same sense of gravity and purpose as this one day in February 1990. I and others still have the t-shirt to show we were there!!
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