Michael Solomon Gudinski
AM (22 August 1952 – 2 March 2021) was an Australian record executive and promoter who was a leading figure in the
Australian music industry
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
. Born and raised in Melbourne to
Jewish Russian
:''This List of Jews contains individuals who, in accordance with Wikipedia's verifiability and no original research policies, have been identified as Jews by reliable sources.''
The following is a list of Jews born in the territory of the for ...
immigrants, Gudinski formed the highly successful Australian record company
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...
in 1972 through which he signed several generations of Australian musicians and performers ranging from
MacKenzie Theory
MacKenzie Theory was an Australian jazz rock group formed in September 1971 in Melbourne. Rob MacKenzie (lead guitar, ex-Leo & Friends, King Harvest, Great Men) and Cleis Pearce (electric viola) were the mainstays. They recorded two albums, ''Ou ...
, the
Skyhooks
Skyhook, sky hook or skyhooks may refer to:
Fiction
* 'Skyhooks' or 'Skyhooks II', parts 1 and 8 respectively of the Adventure Time Elements (miniseries), Elements miniseries.
* ''Sky Hook'', a Hugo-award nominated science fiction fanzine
* Sk ...
,
The Choirboys,
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
, and New Zealand's
Split Enz
Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built ...
to newer artists such as
Eskimo Joe,
Evermore and others.
Gudinski was considered to be "one of the most significant and powerful players" in the Australian music landscape.
Early life and education
Gudinski was born in
Caulfield, a suburb of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, to
Jewish Russian
:''This List of Jews contains individuals who, in accordance with Wikipedia's verifiability and no original research policies, have been identified as Jews by reliable sources.''
The following is a list of Jews born in the territory of the for ...
immigrants Kuba and Nina Gudinski, who had arrived in Australia in 1948.
He was educated at
Mount Scopus College and
Melbourne High School
Melbourne High School is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1905, the school caters for boys from Year 9 t ...
.
Career
In his teenage years, Gudinski began promoting
dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and citi ...
events around Melbourne.
In 1970, Gudinski established the Consolidated Rock
artist agency with Michael Browning, managing artists including
Chain
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...
and Healing Force. The pair later founded the short-lived music magazine ''Daily Planet''.
Gudinski and fellow music agent Ray Evans formed
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...
in late 1972. The company's first album was a triple-LP live recording of the 1973
Sunbury Festival. In its first few years Mushroom released albums and singles by some of the most significant Australian rock acts of the period, including
Madder Lake
Alizarin (also known as 1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone, Mordant Red 11, C.I. 58000, and Turkey Red) is an organic compound with formula that has been used throughout history as a prominent red dye, principally for dyeing textile fabrics. Histori ...
,
MacKenzie Theory
MacKenzie Theory was an Australian jazz rock group formed in September 1971 in Melbourne. Rob MacKenzie (lead guitar, ex-Leo & Friends, King Harvest, Great Men) and Cleis Pearce (electric viola) were the mainstays. They recorded two albums, ''Ou ...
,
Matt Taylor,
Ayers Rock
Uluru (; pjt, Uluṟu ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone formation in the centre of Australia. It is in the southern part of the Northern Territory, southwest of Alice Springs.
...
, and
the Dingoes
The Dingoes are an Australian country rock band. They were initially active from 1973 to 1979, and reformed in 2009. Initially based in Melbourne, the band relocated to the United States from 1976. The most stable line-up comprised John Bois on ...
.
Mushroom struggled to survive for its first two years, hampered by lack of airplay on commercial radio, and the company reportedly came close to folding on several occasions. But the label was dramatically pushed to the forefront of the Australian music scene in early 1975 with the massive success of
Skyhooks
Skyhook, sky hook or skyhooks may refer to:
Fiction
* 'Skyhooks' or 'Skyhooks II', parts 1 and 8 respectively of the Adventure Time Elements (miniseries), Elements miniseries.
* ''Sky Hook'', a Hugo-award nominated science fiction fanzine
* Sk ...
, whose debut album ''
Living in the 70's
''Living in the 70's'' is the debut album by Melbourne band Skyhooks. Released in October 1974 on the Mushroom Records label, the album achieved relatively little success until early 1975. It spent 16 weeks at the top of the Australian album cha ...
'' became the biggest-selling Australian LP ever released up to that time.
In 1977 Gudinski opened the music venue Bombay Bicycle Club in Bourke Street, Melbourne, soon moving it to Sydney Road Brunswick and renaming it
Bombay Rock
The Bombay Rock is a rock music venue located on Sydney Road, Brunswick, Victoria, Australia, which originally ran from 1977 until it was destroyed by a fire in 1991. The venue had previously been located in Bourke Street in the city under the ...
. This became one of the premier music venues of Australian and international rock bands in Melbourne.
Gudinski was convinced to sign expatriate New Zealand band
Split Enz
Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built ...
, who had recently relocated to Australia. Although they had only moderate success for the first few years, Split Enz scored huge success in 1980 with the release of their album
''True Colours'' and the hit single "
I Got You", which marked the emergence of
Neil Finn
Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is known for being a member of Crowded House, Split Enz (which he co-fronted with brother Tim), and Fleetwood Mac. Finn rose to prominence in the late ...
.
Through his ownership of Consolidated Rock, which later evolved into the Premier Artists/Harbour Agency group, Gudinski became the major player on the Australian east coast booking circuit, and enjoyed a virtual monopoly on rock music bookings in Melbourne for much of the 1970s. In partnership with others (including Frank Stivala, Philip Jacobsen and Ian James), he diversified his business interests to include most sections of the music industry including venues, concert promoting, merchandise, publishing and recording.
In 1988, Gudinski co-founded
Melodian Records
Melodian Records was an Australian independent record label founded in 1988 by record producer and music journalist Ian Meldrum with Michael Gudinski and Amanda Pelman. The name ''Melodian'' is a combination of 'melody' and Meldrum and Ian.
Bac ...
with
Ian Meldrum
Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM (born 29 January 1943) is an Australian music critic, journalist, record producer and musical entrepreneur. He was the talent co-ordinator, on-air interviewer, and music news presenter on the former popular mus ...
.
In the early 1990s Gudinski sold 49% of Mushroom to
News Ltd
News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of the American News Corp. One of Australia's largest media conglomerates, News Corp Australia employs more than 8,000 staff nationwide and approximately 3,0 ...
, who had owned Australia's largest record label,
Festival Records
Festival Records (later known as Festival Mushroom Records) was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005.
Festival was a wholly owned subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to ...
since 1961. He sold his remaining 51% share to News in 1999 for a reported
A$60 million, claiming that the sale was a protest against the changes to Australia's parallel record importation regulations.
In November 2005, shortly after the sale of Festival Mushroom's recording division to
Warner Music Australia
Warner Music Australia Pty Limited (WMA) is the Australian division of the Warner Music Group. WMA also distributes in New Zealand.
History
In 1969, Warner Bros. Records branched out and WEA was born. The first country in which it was estab ...
, Gudinski purchased Festival's publishing division for an undisclosed sum.
In 2020, Gudinski created ''
The Sound'', a music show for
ABC TV which was developed out of an online production called The State of Music, which was created to help Australian musicians during the COVID-19 lockdown. He was also behind the ''
Music from the Home Front'' concert, which was organised in nine days, so that artists could perform in the concert on ANZAC Day 2020.
Personal life
Gudinski and his wife Sue had two children: daughter
Kate Kate name may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Kate (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname
* Gyula Káté (born 1982), Hungarian amateur boxer
* Lauren Kate (born 1981), American autho ...
, whom Gudinski signed to
Liberation Music
Liberation Music is an Australian record company and label, started in 1999 by Michael Gudinski and Warren Costello, based in Melbourne. Its stated aim is to find, nurture and then to develop new talent for a world market while remaining inde ...
in mid-2004, and son Matt.
Gudinski was also the
god-father of
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best- ...
' daughter,
Mahalia Barnes
Mahalia Violet Barnes (born 12 July 1982) is an Australian singer, songwriter and the daughter of Scottish-Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes and Jane Mahoney. She began performing as part of children's pop group The Tin Lids with siblings, ...
.
Gudinski was a life-long supporter of the
St Kilda Football Club
The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league.
The club ...
,
and once served as their vice president.
Public image
A "larger-than-life figure", Gudinski was often referred to as the "father of the Australian music industry". Gudinski was a highly visible public figure throughout his career and is considered to be the only Australian record company executive whose name was known by the general public.
Death
On 2 March 2021, Gudinski died during his sleep at his home in Melbourne, at the age of 68. A private funeral held in Melbourne was attended by numerous celebrity performers including
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
,
Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
,
Dannii Minogue
Danielle Jane Minogue () is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. She initially gained recognition for her appearances on the television show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988) and for her role as Emma Jackson on th ...
,
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best- ...
,
Paul Kelly and
Archie Roach
Archibald William Roach (8 January 1956 – 30 July 2022) was an Australian singer, songwriter and Aboriginal Australian, Aboriginal activist. Often referred to as "Uncle Archie", Roach was a Gunditjmara and Western Bundjalung people, Bundjalu ...
. On 28 October 2021, a
toxicology
Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expo ...
report revealed that he had died of
mixed drug use, with 12 drugs including
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
,
oxycodone
Oxycodone, sold under various brand names such as Roxicodone and OxyContin (which is the extended release form), is a strong, semi-synthetic opioid used medically for treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is highly addictive and a commonly ...
and
morphine
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...
present in his body. The report additionally revealed that he had
heart disease
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...
,
cirrhosis
Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...
, and had suffered recent
vertebral compression fracture
A compression fracture is a collapse of a vertebra. It may be due to trauma or due to a weakening of the vertebra (compare with burst fracture). This weakening is seen in patients with osteoporosis or osteogenesis imperfecta, lytic lesions from ...
s.
The opening caption of the
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
video for his song "
I'll See You In My Dreams" reads: "In Memory of Michael Gudinski". The video was released on March 3, 2021, the day after Gudinski's death.
On 24 March, a Gudinski memorial concert was held at
Rod Laver Arena
Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year.
History
Replacing ...
. It featured performances by artists including
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
,
Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
,
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best- ...
and
Paul Kelly, with appearances from artists around Australia and the world. It was live-streamed on Mushroom Group's YouTube channel and ABC Radio. Minogue and Sheeran performed together, fulfilling a wish by Gudinski.
Shortly after his death,
Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...
's programme ''
Hack
Hack may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game
* ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia franchise ''.hack''
Music
* ''Hack'' (album), a 199 ...
'' (in addition to
Double J's
Zan Rowe
Susanna "Zan" Rowe is an Australian radio and television presenter. she works for ABC digital radio station Double J.
Early life
Rowe grew up in Melbourne. She attended university at RMIT University, majoring in radio and cinema.
Career ...
) paid tribute to Gudinski, discussing his contributions to the Australian music industry. ''Australian Story'' also dedicated a segment towards him.
Sheeran dedicated his song "
Visiting Hours" to Gudinski as a tribute, and performed it at his memorial service.
On 4th of March 2022, during American rock band
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...
’ final Australian concert before the passing of their drummer,
Taylor Hawkins
Oliver Taylor Hawkins (February 17, 1972 – March 25, 2022) was an American musician, best known as the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters, with whom he recorded eight studio albums between 1999 and 2021. Before joining the band in 1997, he ...
, In
Geelong, Victoria, the band dedicated their hit song
Everlong
"Everlong" is a song by American rock group Foo Fighters. It was released in August 1997 as the second single from their second studio album, ''The Colour and the Shape'' (1997). The song reached number three on the US ''Billboard'' Alternativ ...
to Gudinski.
In popular culture
Portrayals
*
Aaron Glenane portrayed Gudinski in the 2016 television miniseries ''
Molly''.
Awards and achievements
Gudinski received several awards for his work in the Australian entertainment industry. In
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
he was awarded an
ARIA Award for Special Achievement (as well as Mushroom Records),
while in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
he was acknowledged as the inaugural
ARIA Industry Icon.
At the
1998 APRA Music Awards he received the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music.
Gudinski also received the
JC Williamson Award
The JC Williamson Award (formally known as the James Cassius Williamson Award), is an lifetime achievement award presented annually as a sector of the Helpmann Awards, governed by Live Performance Australia.
The awards are named after the Ameri ...
in 2009,
and at the
2013 Music Victoria Awards was inducted into the awards' Hall of Fame, forty years after he founded Mushroom Records.
In the
2006 Queen's Birthday Honours, Gudinski was made a
Member of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
for "service to the entertainment industry", the promotion of
Australian music
The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...
and service to the community.
Bibliography
Books
*
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gudinski, Michael
1952 births
2021 deaths
APRA Award winners
ARIA Award winners
Australian Jews
Australian people of Russian-Jewish descent
Businesspeople from Melbourne
Helpmann Award winners
Members of the Order of Australia
People educated at Melbourne High School
People from Caulfield, Victoria
Australian music industry executives
St Kilda Football Club administrators