The Grand Hotel 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 ...

located at

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 Stre ...

Railway Square Railway Square is a plaza at the southern end of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia, formed by the confluence of Broadway, Sydney, Broadway, Lee Street, Pitt Street and George Street, Sydney, George Street. The squa ...

, in the suburb of ,

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 ...

in the state of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. 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 Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

. At first the bands were booked by the manager and lead singer of Johnny Dole & The Scabs, 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 at

Taylor Square Taylor Square is a public square in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Taylor Square is located beside a major road junction, at the intersection of Bourke, Forbes, Oxford and Flinders Streets. Taylor Square is also on the border of the suburbs ...

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. ''Classic Rock'' magazine describes them as "Australia’s first influential punk band". History Origins Deniz Tek and Rob Younger f ...

, Psycho Surgeons 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 Mental As Anything was an Australian new wave and pop rock band that formed in Sydney in 1976. Its most popular line-up (which lasted from 1977 to 1999, and recorded all of its charting singles and albums) was Martin Plaza (birth name Martin ...

. 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 ''The Thought Criminals'' were an influential and enterprising Australian punk band based in Sydney. They formed in late 1977 and disbanded in late 1981. The "angular, fast and quirky punk rock" of the Thought Criminals "was a fixture in the bu ...

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