Image: Rod Morrison (centre). Image: Supplied
The building on the corner of Bulwarra and Miller streets in Pyrmont holds a special place in Rod Morrison’s heart. The aspiring City of Sydney Councillor, running in the 2024 elections with Yvonne Weldon Independents, points to a large photo montage in the window of what is now a Woolworths Metro.
‘That’s my dad, in the recording studio of what used to be Festival Records.’
During the 1950s and 60s, Morrison’s father, Robert Iredale, was Festival’s in-house engineer and producer, cutting tracks for everyone from Johnny O’Keefe, to the Delltones, the Joy Boys, Max Merritt, Judy Stone, and the Bee Gees.
‘Best Live Music In The Country’
Iredale died in 1968. His widow remarried, so Morrison gained a new father and a new surname and went on to have a long career in book publishing.
But he inherited a love of music and says he’s lucky to have been to hundreds of gigs and played in bands in the last great era of Sydney’s live music scene.
‘From the 60s through to the late 90s, we nurtured the best live music in the country. There was literally, as Tim Freedman from The Whitlams sang, a band on every corner.’
But Morrison cites several factors that spelled the death knell for live music.
‘One of my favourite genres, loud grunge rock, sadly blew the roof off several venues. Gentrification of the inner suburbs, NIMBYism, too much council red tape, and of course the irresistible lure of pokies money accounted for the closure of dozens of other venues and made staging live bands next to impossible.’
Iconic Pubs And Clubs Close
Slowly but surely, inner Sydney said goodbye to iconic pubs and clubs like the Sandringham in Newtown, the Annandale Hotel, the Phoenician Club on Broadway, the Vulcan in Ultimo, the Hopetoun in Surry Hills, and the Tivoli, Soup Plus and the Basement in the CBD.
But Morrison believes the City of Sydney can resuscitate the scene.
‘We need to encourage creatives and entrepreneurs back into the inner city by responsibly relaxing the regulations around staging live entertainment, particularly in small venues. That means clear guidance on zoning, rates relief, extending the State government’s special entertainment precincts, working with them to reduce the cost of liquor licences and expand late-night trading by two hours, and even providing grants for operators to ensure they meet the highest standards for noise insulation.’
Many who have moved into the inner city will not welcome ‘a band on every corner’ but Morrison has an argument for that too.
‘No, we don’t want people complaining at 2 am that the music’s too loud. But we need to promote the benefits of real, live entertainment rather than AI-generated digital stuff. Whether it’s music, dance, theatre, or even a choir, we have to give our future generations the possibility of knowing the joy of being in a crowd and getting lost in live entertainment.’
Morrison’s late father, Robert Iredale, would have wanted nothing less.
