Above: Jimmy Barnes at The Coogee Bay Hotel, 1984 by Grant Matthews Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra. Left: Angus Young,AC/DC, LA, 1978 by Rennie Ellis Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.
An exhibition that celebrates the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on the nation’s identity.
The pub rock phenomenon spread across Australia throughout the 70s and 80s, resulting in an evolution of music that has had an enduring impact on Australia’s identity and culture. Numerous Australian bands cultivated their style and their followings in urban pubs, making these venues – some now long-gone – integral to the evolution of Australian rock and pop music. For the artists documenting this distinct cultural moment, the line between fan and portraitist was naturally blurred.
Drawn primarily from the National Portrait Gallery’s collection and enriched with works by leading Australian music photographers, including Tony Mott and Wendy McDougall, Pub Rock features staged portraits and publicity shots alongside images captured during unguarded moments and the grungy energy of live performances.
The exhibition includes pioneering 1960s performers such as The Easybeats, Little Pattie and Col Joye, moving through to the early nineties via ground-breaking Australian punk; the bluesy, guitar-driven rock of the 1970s; the synthesised pop of the 1980s; and the sunburnt settings of music festivals and protest rallies.
Featuring internationally successful homegrown performers like AC/DC, INXS, Nick Cave, The Bee Gees and The Divinyls, the exhibition also explores the strident activism inherent in the music of Midnight Oil, Paul Kelly and Us Mob and the enduring appeal of hard rock anthems penned by the likes of Cold Chisel, The Angels and Men at Work.
