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‘MUSIC FROM THE HOME FRONT’

A MAGIC MOMENT:

”Y ou can tell in my voice – even though my voice is stuffed – it’s something that I will never forget,” Michael Gudinksi told STACK in 2020, just a few days after the Music from the Home Front event. (His voice was, indeed, like an eggbeater in a bowl of gravel.) Koalas and Kiwis alike were suitably gobsmacked on ANZAC Day three years ago, when the Music from the Home Front – devised as a show to celebrate the ANZAC spirit and show gratitude to our frontline workers during the COVID pandemic – beamed into our homes and the cockles of our hearts. Chief event organiser and big dog of Mushroom himself, Gudinski, was audibly still on a high. ”The whole thing flowed,” he enthused. ”We went an hour and seven minutes over. They blew off Doctor Doctor .” Good decision, Channel Nine.

”I think what was critical was, we only had nine days to put it together,” he explained. And how exactly was that possible? ”Well, it’s not,” he chortled. But somehow, it happened. ”There were a number of acts who were in like Flynn straight away – obviously Jimmy Barnes, he helped me quite a bit with it,” Gudinski revealed. ”And I thought his vocals on the show were – it was one take, bang! The best I think I’ve ever heard him sing, to be honest.” Barnsey

Tina Arena, Troy Cassar-Daley, and the late Archie Roach give sterling performances. Gudinski emphasised that variety was important: ”We wanted to make sure that the show appealed to a wide audience, so I was very happy that we got in a number of younger, breaking acts, like Ruel, Jack River, Vera Blue. And G Flip was sensational!” ”I think the Australian people, particularly in times like this, they want to support our great artists –

MUSHFACT:

Gudinski signed Yolngu pop-rock

legends Yothu Yindi to Mushroom in 1988, and two years later added Gunditjmara and Bundjalung singer songwriter Archie Roach to the roster. This was at a time when Indigenous acts weren’t given anything like the deserved attention by musical gatekeepers that they are today. Mushroom released every one of Yothu Yindi’s six studio albums, and Roach released all ten of his albums with the label too, remaining with Mushroom until his death in July last year.

its been inspiring to all of us,” Gudinski continued. ”From when I started [Mushroom Records] in ’72 – geez, that makes me feel old – this is one of the greatest moments of my whole career. And it’s been a long, great career.”

wasn’t the only established icon who performed; we also saw Crowded House, Dave Dobbyn, Vika & Linda Bull, Diesel, Bliss n Eso, Paul Kelly,

THE COLLAB TRACKS Mushroom have been drip-feeding us some absolutely blinding reimagined singles from their extended catalogue as part of this year’s celebrations. Here are a few of our favourites. Budjerah and WILSN Crowded House’s Indigenous artist Budjerah (the inaugural recipient of the Michael Gudinski Breathrough Artist ARIA Award, and Mushroom signee since 2021) and soul bobcat WILSN (signed to Ivy League) would work so well together deserves a box of Lindt’s Assorted. The Crowded House classic has been turned into a neo-soul diamond: Budjerah’s voice is flat-out stirring from the song’s first verse, and the pair’s final ”I know I’m right, for the first time in my life” will literally raise your neck hairs with its beauty. Dan Sultan Archie Roach’s Took the Children Away Six-time ARIA winner Dan Sultan has been part of the Mushroom fam since 2008, and his kinship with the late Uncle Archie Roach sits as a critical cornerstone in the Indigenous musician’s story. Sultan describes Roach’s 1990 track Took the Children Away as ”the perfect song”, and attests that its meaning elevates it to ”the pinnacle of artistic endeavour.” ”I’m honoured to know it and to perform it,” he says. Absolutely do not miss this rendition which morphs Roach’s organ and guitar-plucked gem into a string-swept, piano Better Be Home Soon Whichever bright spark realised

The official doco about the life and times of the late Michael Gudinski, Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story , premieres at MIFF this month. Featuring commentary from Kylie Minogue, Dave Grohl, Sting, Shirley Manson, Jimmy Barnes, Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen, and Billy Joel interwoven with never-before-seen footage of Gudinski’s incredible mission to floodlight Oz music, It’s due to drop into cinemas on August 31. It boasts – as you may have predicted – a stellar soundtrack via Mushroom label Bloodlines, which will be released at August’s end. Here’s our review of the collection. THE MICHAEL GUDINSKI STORY EGO : PAGE 1 - FRONT COVER

M ushroom’s first album release was Sunbury 1973, The Great Australian Rock Festival – Australia’s first triple album. Now, in a neat nod to the past, the soundtrack to the documentary that tells the tale of Michael Gudinski’s remarkable rock ’n’ roll life is a three-disc set. With 44 tracks from 33 acts, it’s a marvellous mix tape, featuring many Mushroom milestones including Madder Lake’s 12lb

Toothbrush – the label’s first top ten hit in Melbourne. Then there’s Skyhooks’ Horror Movie , Mushroom’s first national number one single; The Sports’ Who Listens to the Radio , their first top 50 hit in the US; Hunters & Collectors’ Talking to a Stranger , the song that launched Mushroom’s White Label; Kylie’s Locomotion , the label’s biggest selling single and biggest hit in the US, and I Should Be So Lucky , the

company’s first number one in the UK; Archie Roach’s landmark Took the Children Away , the first song to receive an international Human Rights Achievement Award; and Yothu Yindi’s Treaty , the first top 40 hit by an Indigenous band. Of course, this collection is tinged with sadness as Gudinski didn’t get to celebrate the label’s 50th anniversary; but the music he launched onto the world will live on forever.

washed march which builds to a triumphant crescendo in step with the original.

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