The Phoenician Club is a former
entertainment venue
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
in Sydney, Australia. It was located in
Ultimo, New South Wales
Ultimo is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Ultimo is adjacent to the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the City of Sydney west of the Darling Harbour area, ...
at the corner of
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and Mountain Street, opposite
St Barnabas Church. The venue itself had gone through various uses and had different names before it became the Phoenician Club, a meeting place for Sydney's
Maltese community, in 1980. Before then, the building and the club had existed separately. The Phoenician Club had existed as a social organisation since 1963. The building had at various times functioned as a cinema and television studio, among other roles.
The Phoenician Club became well known for hosting rock concerts, which provided its owners with a steady source of income for running community activities. It was a popular venue for both Australian and overseas groups and many concerts took place at the club during its history. Following the death of
Anna Wood, a high school student who died from taking the drug
ecstasy while attending a
rave party
A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
at the venue, significant restrictions were imposed on the club, eventually leading to its closure in 1998.
History
![Phoenician Club Plaque](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Phoenician_Club_Plaque.jpg)
The premises opened as the Broadway Theatre in 1911, initially screening silent films. It was later rewired for sound when talking movies became widespread in the late 1920s. Until its redevelopment in 2001, the building had been one of the oldest surviving purpose-built cinemas in Sydney. The building operated as a cinema until 1960.
The premises were run as a discothèque called Jonathan's Disco from 1968 to 1972 and is notable in the history of the Australian pop band
Sherbet, who played a formative eight-month residency there during 1970. It was here that they were first seen by their future manager
Roger Davies. Sherbet shared residency at the venue with the group
Fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
and
AC/DC also played at the venue during this period.
Following a fire at the premises in 1972, the building was derelict until it was re-opened as a ballroom in 1976. In 1980, Sydney City Council granted consent for the Maltese community to take over the premises as the Phoenician Club. By becoming a licensed venue, the premises' role as a major music venue in Sydney significantly expanded.
This gave the club a reliable source of revenue for its community activities.
The Phoenician Club became a popular rock venue in the 1980s, hosting many concerts by both local and overseas groups. Simulations of
Manchester techno dance parties were held at the club in 1991.
In January 1992,
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
played their first Australian show there. It became the focus of a major public controversy in 1995 following the death of Sydney teenager
Anna Wood, who died from a
cerebral oedema after taking the drug
ecstasy while attending a
rave dance party at the venue. The club survived calls for it to be immediately closed down in the ensuing public fall-out over Wood's death. Fines and restrictions imposed on it by the courts and Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing significantly reduced its role as a major music venue. The club eventually closed down in 1998
with the building once again becoming derelict. It was redeveloped in 2001 and has since re-opened with new commercial occupants.
References
External links
The day the music died
{{Coord missing, New South Wales
Culture of Sydney
Defunct nightclubs in Australia
Community organizations
Buildings and structures in Sydney
Organisations based in Sydney
Nightclubs in Sydney
Licensed clubs in New South Wales