Discovering rock and roll’s vault

by Allan Mannings 

When rock and roll first became a popular form of music in the mid 1950s it was generally scoffed at by parents and older musicians. Considered a non-form of music, many wrote it off as a passing fad that would soon be over. Some 70 years later it’s still around, some of it almost unrecognisable from those early days but still having a lineage from then. Not only has it stuck around, but over the years it became a multi-billion dollar industry that in turn spawned its own history.

In 2017 the Victorian Arts Centre recognised the cultural and historical importance of Australia’s popular music history, and in association with the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame, opened up the Australian Music Vault, located within the Arts Centre complex on St. Kilda Road, Southbank. Centrally located, it’s within easy walking distance of the Melbourne CBD. and the Flinders Street railway station.

Gold record award presented to Bunbury singer Christie Allen for sales of her 1980 album “Magic Rhythm”

Although not large in size – it can easily be covered in around 30 minutes – the exhibition space nonetheless contains many artefacts that will be instantly recognisable to anyone who has had the merest exposure to Australian popular music. From awards to clothing to musical instruments to some of the posters that once adorned derelict buildings and railway bridges the vault is a treasure trove and collectors delight.

Today’s concert goers, brought up on some of the biggest acts in the world, have come to expect nothing less than spectacular staging and lighting. But back in the 1950s one of Melbourne’s earliest rock and roll groups, The Planets, impressed their audiences with a simple oval shaped lamp with the group’s name in red lettering on a yellow background. This lamp flashed continually while the group was playing and proved to be a popular addition to their music. The lamp has survived and is on display.

Scattered throughout the glass display cases are many items of clothing, ranging from the outfit that Judith Durham of The Seekers wore at the Myer Music Bowl in 1967 through to Danni Im’s outfit that she wore at Eurovision in 2016. Being Melbourne, the home of the long running Countdown television show, it is only to be expected that one of Ian “Molly” Meldrum’s trademark hats is on display and you won’t be disappointed.

Other clothing items include one of Chrissie Amphlett’s (Divinyls) schoolgirl outfits and there’s a West Australian connection with a brown leather jacket frequently worn by Bon Scott of AC/DC in the second half of the 1970s and which he wore in the 1980 film Let There Be Rock.

One of the major supporters of The Vault has been Mushroom Records and there’s a whole section devoted to their donations. Apart from a football signed by Ed Sheeran presented to the late founder of Mushroom Records, Michael Gudinski, there’s another West Australian connection with a gold record presented to the late Christie Allen, probably the only person from Bunbury to ever appear on Countdown.

1971 King Of Pop Award presented to John Farnham, a crown awarded to him as a perpetual trophy for winning the King Of Pop Award for five consecutive years(1969–1973) and the gold obelisk presented to mark his induction into the A.R.I.A. Hall Of Fame in 2003

Other highlights include three items donated by John Farnham. In honour of his winning TV Week’s King Of Pop Award for five consecutive years 1969–1973, Farnham was presented with a crown which is on display along with the statue for his win of 1971. Alongside those two items is the golden obelisk presented to him to mark his induction into the ARIA Hall Of Fame in 2003. One minor complaint is that the honour board noting the ARIA Hall Of Fame inductees ends at 2020. It would only be a matter of a few hundred dollars to update the board each year and give recent winners their rightful credit.

Among the many eye-catching posters is one from the late 1960s for a suburban dance in Footscray, In the psychedelic style font so popular at the time and in day-glo orange, the headline act is one of Australia’s wildest groups of the era, The Master’s Apprentices. Admission was just a dollar but underneath that is a note about male dress standard – a collar and tie! The Master’s Apprentices in Footscray, late 1960’s. Guys to wear a collar and tie!