[Powderworks] (no subject)
Megan Fitzgerald
mfitzgerald@michelswarren.com.au
Fri, 19 Oct 2001 15:39:44 +1000
For Sydney workers...
There is a great picture of PG in the Sydney Morning Herald page 3 (not a
bad in spot in the SMH)
And the story-
MINISTER STRIKES RIGHT NOTE ON HOUSE OF HITS
The musical tastes of Andrew Refshauge usually run to classical and modern
jazz.
But yesterday the Planning Minister put himself on the line with the Bee
Gees, Johnny O'Keefe, Midnight Oil and a host of other recording names, by
announcing an interim conservation order on Studio A at Festival Records,
Pyrmont.
The company had planned a major refurbishment of the 1939 building for
office space. But this would have entailed demolition of the studio, built
in 1967 and regarded by the recording fraternity as unique, not only for its
place in Australian music history but also for its acoustic and recording
qualities.
It was the first in Australia to install a 24-track NEVE recording console,
believed to be one of only two surviving in the world.
Dr Refshauge told Parliament he had been advised that the building itself
also had ``unique acoustic properties which would be difficult to
replicate''.
``Studio A has a unique sonic signature which makes it very desirable for
recording and markedly different in character to modern digital consoles,''
he said.
He likened it to Abbey Road in London or Sun Studios in Memphis (where Elvis
Presley recorded). This was where Peter Allen's signature tune, I Still Call
Australia Home, was recorded. Other Australian artists associated with the
studio ran the gamut from Cold Chisel and Yothu Yindi to the Wiggles, the
Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony.
The Rolling Stones, Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, Neil Sedaka and Julio Iglesias
are among the international artists have also used the studio.
``This is our chance not only to conserve a piece of Australian recording
history but to support the future of the music industry in Australia by
ensuring the survival of a one-of-a-kind facility,'' Dr Refshauge said.
Retention of the studio would also prevent several jobs going to Melbourne a
possibility the minister had been warned of by Midnight Oil frontman Peter
Garrett.
The interim order would give ``some breathing space'' to enable the Heritage
Office to work with the owners to determine is heritage significance and to
examine ``the possibility of continued studio use and opportunities for
tourism''.
(Minister strikes right note on house of hitsFairfaxSydney Morning
HeraldGeraldine O'Brien, Heritage Writer3)
Copyright © Fairfax, 2001
Megan Fitzgerald
PR consultant
Michels Warren (Sydney)
phone 61 (2) 9957 4233 or 0401 755 227
fax 61 (2) 9925 0076
Level 1, 153 Walker Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
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