The Grand Hotel was a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

located at Broadway, Railway Square, in the suburb of ,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in the state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The hotel was established in 1849 and demolished in 1983, where it was situated at 815-821 George Street, Haymarket and backed onto Bijou Lane as its rear entrance. The Grand Hotel was later replaced by a $3.6 million motel development complex which included retail shops. Some of the original structure remains at the back but from the front it is totally unrecognisable from its original look.

History

Primarily its history was the same as many hotels of the time but in September 1977 its publican Dennis (last name unknown) opened its doors to the new music craze of the time, punk rock. At first the bands were booked by the manager and lead singer of

Johnny Dole & The Scabs Johnny Dole & the Scabs were an early Australian punk rock group formed in 1976 by Terry Walsh ( Johnny Dole) on lead vocals, Dave Berry on bass guitar and vocals, Peter Mullany on guitar and Greg Morris on drums and vocals. They disbanded m ...

, Ray Walsh and Johnny Dole and the first bands to play there were Johnny Dole & The Scabs supported by Tommy & The Dipsticks. Opening the Grand Hotel to punk rock coincided with the

Oxford Funhouse Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Taylor Square 500px, Taylor Square, Darlinghurst Taylor Square is a public square in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Taylor Square is located beside a major road junction, where Oxford Street meets Flinders Street. Taylor Square is also on the border of ...

closing its doors to the bands that played there, which included punk rock bands such as

Radio Birdman Radio Birdman is an Australian punk rock band formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. The group influenced the work of many successful, mainstream bands, and are now considered instrumental in Australia's musical growth. Hist ...

Psycho Surgeons Psycho may refer to: Mind * Psychopath * Sociopath * Someone with a personality disorder * Someone with a psychological disorder People with the nickname * Karl Amoussou or Psycho, mixed martial artist * Peter Ebdon or Psycho, English snooker p ...

and also Johnny Dole & The Scabs. Because of this the Grand Hotel would gain the reputation of "the" place to play for a punk rock band and for starting the career of some of Australia’s most well known bands including Mental As Anything. The Grand Hotel as a venue for punk rock was short lived and stopped the bands around 1979 but during this time most of the bands that played there have gone on to be the origins of what would soon be called new wave, which spawned many well known bands that still play into the present including Rocks, and the Thought Criminals.

References

External links

The Grand Hotel - Australian Music History

Johnny Dole & The Scabs - Australian Music History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Hotel - Broadway Pubs in Sydney Defunct hotels in Sydney 1849 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures demolished in 1983 1983 disestablishments in Australia Haymarket, New South Wales Former pubs in Australia Demolished buildings and structures in Sydney

History

See also

References

External links