Crowded House’s Farewell to the World concert was held on the outside footsteps of the Sydney Opera House on the night of the 24 November 1996, The concert was originally scheduled for the night before but was delayed by rain. Despite the change of date the concert attracted a crowd of more than 100,000 people, with some estimates of up to 250,000.
The concert included many of Crowded House’s most famous hits
The supporting bands were You Am I and Powderfinger.
Jands Production Services provided sound, lighting and staging for the event.
Conservative protestant evangelist, Billy Graham, was in Sydney in April 1979 to present one of his crusades. These were big outdoor shows, attended by tens of thousands of people.
Jands provided sound, lighting and the outdoor roof for the event.
During the 1970s, radio station 2SM staged a series of free concerts in Sydney. The February 1979 concert turned out to be its last at Victoria Park and featured Dragon, The Angels, Split Enz, Kevin Borich and Sports. Sydney City Council subsequently banned outdoor shows there following complaints about crowd behaviour and damage to the park.
Jands sound system included both 4-way and Concord speaker cabinets. Jands also supplied lighting and the outdoor roof for the concert.
Links:
ABN2 Sydney ABC ‘The Way We Are’ December 1979 program. Includes brief clip by Australian rock band The Angels performing live at the February 18 1979 2SM Victoria Park free concert.
The “Blondes ‘Ave More Fun Tour” was Rod Stewart’s second trip to Australia. For the outdoor shows the sound system was stacked on three levels and was powered by Jands J600S amplifiers.
As in 1977, Patrick Woodroffe designed and operated the lighting which included PAR 64s, Altman Beamlights and Lekos along with a quantity of Arri 2K Blondies for audience lighting. The set featured all-white stage equipment and curtains.
Jands Crew
Vagn Stenvei, Phil Dracoulis, David Mulholland, Mark Keegan, Dave Houghton
Rod Stewart Crew
Pete Buckland, Patrick Woodroffe
Tour Dates 1979
31 January – Perth
01 February – Perth
02 February – Perth
05 February – Adelaide
09 February – Melbourne
12 February – Sydney
13 February – Sydney
16 February – Brisbane
17 February – Brisbane
18 February – Brisbane
23 February – Auckland, NZ
27 February – Christchurch, NZ
Rumours was released on the 4th of February 1977 and on 28 February, after rehearsing at SIR Studios in Los Angeles, Fleetwood Mac started a seven month-long promotional tour of America. In late 1977 they arrived in Australia and headlined the massive outdoor “Rockarena” shows in Sydney and Melbourne. They also played smaller indoor shows in Brisbane and Perth.
Jands supplied the lighting and audio to supplement the Clair Bros S4 system the band toured with.
32 x Clair S4 Speaker Cabinets, each containing:
2 x JBL 18″
4 x JBL 10″
2 x JBL 2″ Compression Driver
2 x JBL Slot Tweeter
Clair Bros Crew
James ‘Trip’ Khalaf
Chuck Hull
James Devenney
Steve Paterno
Additional System – Jands Concert Productions
12 x Hurler (sub-Low) c/w 4 x JBL 2205
4 x RCA W Bin c/w 2 x JBL K140
16 x JBL 4560 c/w 1 x JBL 2220
16 x JBL 4580 c/w 2 x JBL K120
24 x JBL 2350 Horn + 2480 Driver
16 x JBL 2355 Horn + 2440 Driver
10 x JBL 2356 Horn + 2480 Driver
48 x JBL 075 Tweeters
Jands Crew
Eric Robinson – Production Manager
David Mulholland – Audio
Vagn Stenvei – Audio
Peter Rooney – Lighting
November 8 Perth Concert Hall
November 10 Melbourne Festival Hall
November 12 Sydney Hordern Pavillion
November 14 Melbourne Festival Hall
November 15 Adelaide Thebarton Theatre
November 17 Sydney Hordern Pavillion
November 19 Brisbane Festival Hall
Status Quo’s breakthrough album ‘Piledriver’ was released in 1972 and foreshadowed a heavier, energetic sound. During the 1970s they became one of the UK’s leading rock bands and toured extensively.
The band first visited Australia, as support act to Slade, in early 1973. They returned, as headliners, later that year and toured again in 1974, 1976 and 1978. Jands supplied sound and lighting for all their tours.
Quo’s more popular songs from this era include Paper Plane (1972), Caroline (1973), Down Down (1975), Rain (1976), Rockin’ All Over the World (1977) and Whatever You Want (1979).
1973 Tour
31 August Festival Hall Brisbane
01 September Horden Pavilion Sydney
02 September Festival Hall Melbourne
04 September Apollo Stadium Adelaide
1974 Tour
13 November Entertainment Centre Perth
14 November Apollo Stadium Adelaide
17 November Festival Hall Melbourne
20 November Horden Pavilion Sydney
21 November Festival Hall Brisbane
1976 Tour
24 November Perth Entertainment Centre
27 November Adelaide Memorial Drive
1 December Melbourne Myer Music Bowl
4 December Sydney Horden Pavilion
7 December Brisbane Festival Hall
1978 Tour
18 July Newcastle Civic Centre?
21 July Sydney Horddrn Pavilion
25 July Brisbane Festival Hall
2 August Perth Entertainment Centre
6 August Adelaide Apollo Stadium
11 August Hobart City Hall
15 August Melbourne Festival Hall
The Rock Isle Mulwala Festival was held over the Easter weekend (31 March – 2 April 1972) and featured local bands including: Russell Morris, Lobby Loyde, Leo De Castro and Friends, Country Radio, Chain, Carson, Taman Shud and The Aztecs. The festival also featured, Canned Heat and Steven Stills band Manassas, with Chris Hilman.
Sound System (each side)
2 x Jands Hurler c/w 4 x JBL 2225
1 x JBL 4550 c/w 2 x JBL K130
2 x Jands 4580 c/w 2 x JBL K120
2 x JBL 2350 90 Horn with 2480 Driver
2 x JBL 2355 60 Horn with 2440 Driver
1 x JBL 2360 Long Throw Horn with 2480 Driver
2 x HF enclosures each with 2 x JBL 2402
2 x HF enclosures each with 2 x JBL 2405
24 x Jands 150w Power Amplifiers
Jands Crew
Howard Page, Phillip Storey, David Mulholland, Eric Robinson, Paul Mulholland, Edward Robinson, Andrew Batchelor.
In the late 1960 and early 1970s radio station 2SM and confectionary maker Hoadleys staged an annual Battle of the Sounds to discover Australia’s best band. In 1970 the bands competing include Flying Circus, Freshwater, the Cleves, Pyramid, NZ Fantasy Band, Autumn, the La De Das, Pirana, Elm Tree, and Clik.
Jands provided a column PA system and lighting for the heats and finals of the Sydney events.
In an essay on the ABC website Ed Nimmervoll wrote:
“As long ago as Johnny O’Keefe, Australian rock and roll had hoped for international recognition. Now it became an obsession, catered to by a national competition called the Hoadley’s Battle of the Sounds. The prize was a boat trip to London.
It’s impossible to imagine anything like the Battle happening now or ever again. Each year the nation’s biggest bands – and quite a few just looking to be noticed – pitted themselves against each other in a national contest sponsored by Hoadley’s and organised by host radio stations in each capital city. Every band was given three minutes on stage. The judges awarded points. The final saw all the state winners run the same gauntlet. Another three minutes to show their wares. Another set of judges.
The Twilights won the 1966 Battle, even though one of their two singers couldn’t perform with them. The rules only allowed five members.”
