Corner Hotel

Last updated

The Corner Hotel
Corner Hotel Richmond 1a.jpg
Corner Hotel
General information
Address57 Swan Street, Richmond, Victoria
Coordinates 37°49′29″S144°59′33″E / 37.824858°S 144.992377°E / -37.824858; 144.992377
Opened1871

The Corner Hotel in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Victoria, Australia, is a remodelled 19th-century pub which has been a live music venue since the 1940s and, since 1995, a popular rock music venue and rooftop bar. [1]

Contents

History

1871-1983

In 1871, the premises was licensed to David and Jane McCormick. Business thrived because of the close proximity to the Richmond railway station. In 1881 it was renovated by William Malone, who improved both the accommodation and the liquor quality. Malone was the licensee until 1895. Between 1895 and 1929 the hotel changed hands seven times. From 1929 to 1935 it was operated by Nelly O'Connor and her husband. [1]

The pub is thought to have begun presenting live music during the 1940s jazz era. During the 1950s it was owned by the Melbourne Cooperative Brewing Company, an offshoot of Carlton & United Breweries. [2] They rebuilt the hotel in 1954, [3] [4] [5] obtaining permits to serve alcohol during the reconstruction. [6] This was the peak time of an Australian custom known as the six o'clock swill, where venues were required to stop serving alcohol at 6 p.m. This law was a relic of World War I and operated from 1915 until its abolition in the mid-1960s (1966 in Victoria). It meant that workers would rush to pubs after finishing work and consume as much alcohol as possible before the bar closed.

In 1966 the pub was demolished and rebuilt in a slightly shifted location, to make space for the widening of the railway lines. [1]

1984-1995

Brian Hartung from Carlton & United Breweries approached Wayne Gale in 1984 and asked if he could start music at The Corner Hotel. At that time Gale was running venues at The John Barleycorn Hotel in Collingwood, The Tiger Lounge (Royal Oak in Richmond) and The Prospect Hill Hotel in Kew.[ citation needed ]

The first bands to play the venue were The Adventure and Big Music Works on Friday 28 February 1983 with Big Pig following on the Saturday night. At first live music was played only on Friday and Saturday nights.The first band to hold a Saturday night residency was the Spaniards which was fronted by Australian music legend Mick Pealing. During the period that Wayne Gale was the owner and band booker the cream of Australia's music industry played there. At one point he achieved 15 full houses in 16 days and the missing day was a break to allow the staff to recover. This was an outstanding achievement considering the strength and fierce competition in the Melbourne music industry at the time.

Bands such as Johnny Diesel & The Injectors, Spy vs Spy and Baby Animals all used the venue to build their profile in Melbourne and achieved this by playing on rotating monthly residency. Both Mick Jagger [7] and David Gilmour performed separate, unannounced, shows during 1988. [1] Pink Floyd first played at Corner on a Monday night with the resident band the Party Animals and they had so much fun they returned to play as the whole band the following Friday night. During this time the Corner Hotel played host to many music industry master classes and at one class by Liberty De Vito (drummer for Billy Joel ) to everyone's surprise Billy Joel jumped up and sang.

The Corner Hotel also played host to many overseas bands such as Ian Gillan, Spencer Davis, Canned Heat, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Lonnie Brooks, Charlie Musselwhite and Junior Wells. The majority of major Australian played during this period and some of the names were Ian Moss, Don Walker, Jimmy Barnes, Tommy Emmanuel, Painters and Dockers, TISM, Joe Camilleri, Nick Barker, Screaming Jets, Kevin Borich, Stevie Wright, Masters Apprentices, Weddings Parties Anything. Other bands such as The Saints, The Stems and Ups & Downs also played the venue during this time. During the time Wayne Gale was the owner The Corner Hotel became known as the place to see Melbourne's up-and-coming bands.

1996-present

Owners Tim Northeast & Mathew Everett took the reins of the Corner in the mid-1990s. [8]

The Corner has also played host to a number of significant moments in music history. The White Stripes created the riff to Seven Nation Army during their soundcheck [9] in 2003. In 2006 U2 filmed a video for their single Window in the Skies in the band room and rooftop garden of the hotel. [7] Crowded House chose the venue for their final Melbourne show in 1996, though they later reformed. The Living End used footage from their 1997 Corner show for the film clip to Second Solution.[ citation needed ]

The venue was one of the first in 2005 to make all shows smoke-free and has also been stamping out sexual assault and harassment, [10] and unspecified environmental initiatives.[ citation needed ]

The Corner Hotel launched the Corner Award in 2016, an annual award for local artists. Previous recipients of the Award include Sampa The Great, Cable Ties and Baker Boy.[ citation needed ]

The Corner has received a number of accolades over the years including Music Victoria Best Venue 2013–2018, [11] [12] NLMAs Victoria Venue of the Year 2016, [13] and AHA National Awards for Excellence - Best Entertainment Venue 2019, AHA VIC State Awards for Excellence - Best Live Entertainment Venue 2017 & 2018. It has also held its place as the top Australian venue in the Pollstar Top 100 Global Club Venues since 2013, the highest placement being #13. [14]

Artists that have played the Corner include:

Airbourne, Alison Wonderland, Amity Affliction, Amy Shark, Architecture in Helsinki, Band of Horses, Ben Harper, Biffy Clyro, Big Scary, Birds of Tokyo, Black Lips, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Blink-182, Bliss n Eso, Boy & Bear, Cat Power, Charles Bradley, COG, Courtney Barnett, Crowded House, David Hasselhoff, Deftones, Diesel, Derrick May, Dinosaur Jr., Diplo, Dropkick Murphys, Easy Star All-Stars, First Aid Kit, Flight Facilities, Frente, Future of the Left, Grimes, Grizzly Bear, Hilltop Hoods, Hot Water Music, Hozier, Interpol, Jebediah, Jimmy Cliff, Joan Jett, Joe Strummer, John Butler Trio, King Krule, Lorde, Magic Dirt, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Midnight Oil, Ministry, Morcheeba, Mr. Bungle, Mutemath, Northeast Party House, Northlane, Nothing but Thieves, Opeth, Paul Kelly, Peaches, Pennywise, Pinch Points, Public Enemy, Queens of the Stone Age, Rocket from the Crypt, Rodriguez, Rowland S. Howard, Sam Fender, Sharon Jones, Shella, Shlomo, SIA, Silversun Pickups, Something for Kate, Spiderbait, Spoon, Steve Earle, Swans, Tallest Man on Earth, Tame Impala, Tash Sultana, Tex Perkins, The Avalanches, The Black Keys, Michelle Shocked, The Bronx, The Darkness, The Drones, The Hives, The Horrors, The Libertines, The Living End, The Misfits, The Rapture, The White Stripes, Trophy Eyes, Vance Joy, Vengaboys, Violent Femmes, Wanda Jackson, Weddings Parties Anything, Xavier Rudd, You Am I. [15]

Awards

Music Victoria Awards

The Music Victoria Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006. The award for Best Venue was introduced in 2016.

YearNominee / workAwardResultRef.
Music Victoria Awards of 2016 Corner HotelBest Venue (Over 500 Capacity)Won [16] [17]
Music Victoria Awards of 2017 Corner HotelBest Venue (Over 500 Capacity)Won
Music Victoria Awards of 2018 Corner HotelBest Venue (Over 500 Capacity)Won
Music Victoria Awards of 2019 Corner HotelBest Venue (Over 500 Capacity)Nominated
Music Victoria Awards of 2020 Corner HotelBest Venue (Over 500 Capacity)Nominated
2021 Music Victoria Awards Corner HotelBest Venue (Over 500 Capacity)Nominated [18] [19]

Related Research Articles

Pub rock is a style of Australian rock and roll that peaked in popularity throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and that continues to influence Australian music into the 21st century. It is named after the live music circuit in which most associated bands developed their sound: inner-city and suburban pubs. These often noisy, hot, small and crowded venues favoured loud, riff-based heavy rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punters Club</span> Pub and live music venue

The Punters Club was a pub and live music venue located on Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, in inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlton & United Breweries</span> Australian beverage manufacturer

Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) is an Australian brewing company based in Melbourne and owned by Japanese conglomerate Asahi Breweries. Its notable brands include Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught, Foster's Lager, Great Northern, Resch's, Pure Blonde and Melbourne Bitter.

Coran Capshaw is an American music industry executive, entrepreneur and founder of Red Light Management, a company that represents recording artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weddings Parties Anything</span> Australian band

Weddings Parties Anything. was an Australian folk rock band formed in 1984 in Melbourne and continuing until 1999. Their name came from The Clash song "Revolution Rock". Musicologist Billy Pinnell described their first album as the best Australian rock debut since Skyhooks' Living in the 70's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandringham Hotel, Newtown</span> Building in King Street, Newtown

The Sandringham Hotel, 387–391 King Street, locally known as The Sando, was a pub in the Inner West suburb of Newtown in Sydney, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Street, Melbourne</span> Street in Melbourne

King Street is a main road in the Melbourne central business district, Australia. It is considered a key hub of Melbourne's nightlife and is home to many pubs, nightclubs, restaurants, and adult entertainment venues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain Goat Beer</span>

Mountain Goat Beer is a brewery in Richmond, Victoria, Australia. The brewery was founded in 1997 by Cam Hines and Dave Bonighton. The company's first commercial brew, 'Hightale Ale' amber ale, was released in October 1997. Mountain Goat Beer was purchased by Asahi in September 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esplanade Hotel, Melbourne</span> Building in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The Esplanade Hotel, commonly known locally as "The Espy", is a hotel and music venue in the inner bayside suburb of St Kilda, in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Built in 1878, it overlooks Port Phillip from the Upper Esplanade. It is famed for its long history of live music, and served as the filming location for the live music trivia program Rockwiz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devonshire Arms Hotel, Fitzroy</span> Building in VIC , Australia

The Devonshire Arms Hotel is a former pub located at 38 Fitzroy Street, Fitzroy, in the state of Victoria, Australia. It operated as a hotel from 1843 to 1920. It is Fitzroy's oldest surviving building and Melbourne's oldest known extant hotel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coffee palace</span> Type of residential hotel

A coffee palace was an often large and elaborate residential hotel that did not serve alcohol, most of which were built in Australia in the late 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian pub</span>

An Australian pub or hotel is a public house or pub for short, in Australia, and is an establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. They may also provide other services, such as entertainment, meals and basic accommodation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindley Street</span> Street in Adelaide

Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs between King William Street and West Terrace. The street was named after Charles Hindley, a British parliamentarian and social reformist.

The Australian ska scene has existed since the mid-1980s, when it started enjoying the same sort of interest as it did in the United Kingdom, following the success of UK 2 Tone bands such as The Specials, The Beat and Madness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Hotels Association</span>

The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) is a federation of not-for-profit employer associations in the hotel and hospitality industry, registered under the Fair Work Act and respective State Laws. The AHA's role is to further and protect the interests of its members throughout Australia which are employers and can be owners, operators or lessees of hotels, bars and other hospitality businesses. The areas of focus include accommodation, food, beverages, entertainment, wagering and gaming; the maintenance of the law; promotion of business activity, education, training and advocating the economic and social benefits of the industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tote Hotel</span>

The Tote is a live music venue, pub and former hotel located in Collingwood, Melbourne, Australia. The venue hosts many independent local, Australian and international acts, and carries a reputation for showcasing new and emerging independent musical acts of a variety of stylistic origins, having done so since the 1980s. The venue operates 5 days a week with performances across 3 settings, the "main stage", the "cobra bar" and the "front bar". It is located at 67-71 Johnston Street.

A Music Victoria study finds Melbourne hosts 62,000 live concerts annually, making it one of the live music capitals of the world. Victoria is host to more than three times the live performance national average, making it the live music capital of the country. Melbourne is host to more music venues per capita than Austin, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crystal Ballroom (Melbourne)</span> Music venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The Crystal Ballroom was a music venue that opened in 1978 in St Kilda, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Located within the George Hotel at 125 Fitzroy Street, it has often been referred to as the epicentre of Melbourne's post-punk scene, launching the careers of The Birthday Party, Dead Can Dance and many other local groups, as well as showcasing international acts, including The Cure, New Order and The Fall.

The Old Bar (2001) is a bar and live music venue on the premises of 74–76 Johnston St, between Brunswick and Nicholson streets, in Fitzroy, an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Croxton Park was a multi-purpose sports venue located in present-day Northcote and Thornbury, Victoria. It comprised a horse racing track which was in use from 1865 until 1873, and a grassed oval used for Australian rules football and other sports until the 1910s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Johnston, Chris. "Corner–House of Rock" in The Age magazine, issue 13, November 2005. Text available at "Corner: 15-year Anniversary" Page 31, on official website. Accessed 24 August 2015
  2. "More bottled beer soon". The Argus . 5 November 1955. p. 16. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  3. "RICHMOND HOTEL REBUILDING". The Herald . 5 November 1954. p. 6. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  4. "BRAND ALL THOSE DIRTY FOOD SHOPS". The Argus. 5 June 1956. p. 1. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  5. "BREWERY TO SELL HOTEL". Herald. 1 February 1954. p. 13. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  6. "BEER'S OFF AT THE ROYAL FOR 7 MONTHS". The Argus. 20 April 1955. p. 3. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  7. 1 2 Adams, Cameron (20 November 2006). "U2 at Corner Hotel". Herald Sun . Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  8. Butler, Ben (13 April 2019). "Corner Hotel owner in trademark battle". Weekend Australian. ProQuest   2208205777.
  9. Sadler, Denham (14 August 2015). "Live music in Melbourne: four of the best places to see a gig". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  10. Alexander, Stephanie (20 March 2018). "Victorian live music venues stamping out sexual assault, harassment". ABC News . Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  11. "Previous Winners". Music Victoria. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  12. Brown, Jen Jewel (6 January 2019). "How the statue of INXS's Michael Hutchence will help Australia get over cultural cringe". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  13. "2016 Nominees & Winners!". National Live Music Awards. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  14. "Quarterly Worldwide Ticket Sales Charts". Pollstar. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  15. "Corner Mag". Vol. 3. 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  16. "Previous Nominess". Music Victoria. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  17. "Previous Winners". Music Victoria. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  18. "Music Victoria Awards Reveals Line-up And Nominees for 2021". Noise11. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  19. "Music Victoria Awards 2021 Winners". scenestr.com.au. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.