History

Phil Eastick died in Adelaide aged 55 in February, after a very long battle against kidney disease. He had a transplant last year. He fought for around 20 years, but not too many people knew he was ill. CX first knew Phil from the road. Phil attended (very occasionally!) Adelaide University Law School in the…

Expelled from school and having worked briefly as a copy boy for the defunct Sydney Mirror, I took my only $12 and registered my first business on March 1st, 1973. The Certificate of Registration for Zapco Lightshow was framed and hung above my old desk at home. I was 15.   Blame Led Zeppelin; whose…

When former Chisel roadie Gerry Georgettis took his life in dramatic style early last year, media from around the world picked up the story. How could a seemingly placid, stable theatre manager go suddenly crazy and burn down a car dealership in Miami; then hang himself in a cramped airplane toilet? What darkness exists in…

Gary Glitter is today better known as inmate Paul Gadd and is doing hard time in a Vietnamese jail for child sexual abuse. But in the early 80’s he was on the revival trail and became the first significant overseas act for a local promoter, who scheduled a run of the east coast of Australia.…

In a tragic tale, ex-pat Australian sound engineer Gerry Georgettis took his own life on board a United Airlines flight from Washington to Los Angeles in early February. The flight was diverted to Denver, after crew discovered Gerry in the lavatory, where he had somehow killed himself. People who knew the 56 year old theatre…

Dear People, I first met Swampy (Wayne Jarvis) when I was playing drums in the ‘Wild Cherries” in Melbourne and worked with him many times as he was so good at keeping everyone together. The thing that made Swamps stand out from the other guys was his incredible energy and from 1968 to the LWTTT…

In 1973 there were two kinds of lighting. Stage Lighting in the Theatre (say it with a prim and proper English accent like this: Thea-a-tRe) or psychedelic lighting. Neither camp spoke with the other. The latter attracted me. The first time I went to a venue and saw a band it was at a place…

  For those that have only worked in and experienced the entertainment industry of the last ten years, some of the most import people in the history of our industry may be unknown to you. Reg Batram, Dennis Irving, Jack Singe, Roger Barrett are big names from an era of technical production that is still…

The CX website states that the first custom lighting desk with flash buttons was made in the mid 1970s. There was at least one built as early as 1971. In 1969 I started in the lighting department at GTV9 Melbourne at the tender age of 19. I got the job on the basis of my…

Sydney audio industry identity Walter Gerin died today at Calvary Nursing Hospice in Sydney. Walter had terminal cancer. He was in denial until this week. His story is told by Jeff Stewart, a friend and a former employee. Jeff was forced to close the doors at Anything Audio, Walter’s company, last week. “He had a…

I would like to add my appreciation of swampy. A fond memory we used to tour via me being an employee of JPS with numerous acts. I remember one time going into the production office and as I usually did and asked if it was ok for me to be booked on the next flight…