__NOTOC__ The Sandringham Hotel, 387–391 King Street, locally known as The Sando, was a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

in the

Inner West The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson (Parramatta River) ...

suburb of Newtown in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia.

History

The pub first opened in 1870 and has a long history including being the spiritual home to several of Sydney's bands, including

Frenzal Rhomb Frenzal Rhomb are an Australian punk rock band that formed in 1992 in Sydney. Though the band's mainstream success has been minimal, four of the group's albums have entered the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Chart: '' A Man's Not a Camel'' (1 ...

, Bughouse, and

The Whitlams The Whitlams are an Australian Indie rock band formed in late 1992. The original line-up was Tim Freedman on keyboards and lead vocals, Andy Lewis on double bass and Stevie Plunder on guitar and lead vocals. Other than mainstay Freedman, the ...

. Before renovations in the late 1990s, the pub had a unique layout. The bar had an art-deco theme and was essentially a large square in the middle of the pub. It was possible to sit at the bar and watch the band on the other side of the bar in the corner. The front-middle stage used to jut into one corner of the square bar allowing performers to rest their beer on the bar at the front of the stage. Between 1980 and 1998 the pub was a thriving live music venue, for most of that time (1985-1998) hosting live music every night and "operating as a gateway to the wider inner Sydney pub rock scene". Following further renovations, the pub was bought in 2005 by music promoter Tony Townsend, who intended to revitalize the Sando as a live music venue. In June 2012, the Sandringham Hotel was placed in

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...

with management owing a reported $3.6 million to creditors. The impending closure of the popular venue caused fans to mobilise a

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

to "Save The Sando" on 26 August. The event was publicly supported by musicians

Angry Anderson Gary Stephen "Angry" Anderson (born 5 August 1947) is an Australian rock singer, songwriter, television personality and actor. He has been the lead vocalist and the longest-tenured remaining member of the hard rock band Rose Tattoo since 1976 ...

and

Tim Freedman Timothy James Freedman (25 November 1964) is an Australian musician, best known as the mainstay lead singer and keyboardist of the Australian band The Whitlams formed in 1993. Note: n-lineversion was expanded from the 2002 edition. The song " N ...

and saw an estimated 3000 supporters gather on King Street outside the pub while the former frontman of The Angels,

Doc Neeson Bernard Patrick "Doc" Neeson OAM (4 January 1947 – 4 June 2014) was an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. He was the front man for the hard rock band The Angels from its formation in February 1976 through to 1999. The band then spli ...

played to the crowd.

The Newtown Social Club

In October of the same year, The Sando was purchased by the owners of popular

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

rock venue The Corner Hotel and renamed The Newtown Social Club. The band room upstairs reopened in May 2014 with an audience capacity of 300, hosting live acts several nights per week.

Holey Moley

In July 2017, the Sandringham reopened as Holey Moley, a cocktail bar and 18-hole miniature-golf course. A spokesman for developers Funlab said the new venue would give punters much "good content for

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Popular culture

* In 1997, Australian band

wrote a song about the pub, "God Drinks at The Sando". It appeared on their 1999 album '' Love This City''. Co-written by Tim Friedman and poet Justin Lowe, it was inspired by Lowe's earlier poem "God Drinks at the Sandringham Hotel". * In 2002, Australian singer/songwriter Jodi Martin recorded her live album, ''Twenty One Stairs (Recorded Live at The Sando)'', at the pub.

References

Whitlams Website
Accessed July 2006.

External links