The OzMusic collection

Paul Kelly and Michael Gudinski. Image sourced from Townsville Bulletin.

At least 70 Stereo Stories come under the category of ‘OzMusic’, more than 10 per cent of our stories.This is not surprising, given that Stereo Stories was born and raised in Australia, in particular Melbourne, a city very proud of its music, especially its live music.

For 50 years the Melbourne, and Australian, music scene was dominated by Michael Gudinski, a music mogul and entrepeneur, who died suddenly on 1 March, aged 68.

Gudinski was the godfather of OzRock. He blazed the trail for local bands to tell their own stories, sing their own songs about life here in Australia. From the early 1970s we no longer had to be pale imitations of overseas performers and trends.

The careers of many musicians featured in our OzMusic stories would have been shaped in one way or another by Gudinski.

Our collection takes us from Mackenzie Theory and Spectrum to Baker Boy and Gang Of Youth, from Skyhooks to Courtney Barnett, from Vince Jones to Jarrow. Plus The Angels, The Bee Gees, Birds Of Tokyo, The Blackeyed Susans, Kasey Chambers, Chris Wilson, The Go-Betweens, Dave Graney, You Am I, Powderfinger, Regurgitator…and many more (But no stories about Kylie!).