Tana Douglas

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Tana Douglas is an Australian author who is best known as the first female rock and roll roadie. [1]

Contents

Career

Douglas' first experiences as a "roadie" were unplanned and unpaid. She assisted the production crew of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit when he walked between pylons on the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1973, [2] secreting the film footage of the event to ensure that it was not confiscated by police. Later that year she helped Melbourne band Fox load their truck after a gig in Sydney, hoping to secure a free ride home to Melbourne for her roommate. When the band next returned to Sydney, they hired her to join their two-person crew. [3]

In Melbourne in the summer of 1974, a booking agent introduced Douglas to a band that was recording their first album and needing a road crew: AC/DC. [4] At age 17, Douglas was hired as the band's first backline roadie, and was paid $60 a week for food and incidentals. [3] Later she served as the band's sound engineer. [3]

Douglas worked for Suzi Quatro, Leo Sayer, Carlos Santana, Status Quo, Neil Diamond, and others on their Australian tours. She then moved to London and worked for Iggy Pop, Status Quo, Whitesnake, Ozzy Osbourne, and The Who on their European tours. [2] When The Who played Wembley Stadium in 1979, the band specifically requested her for the show. [5]

Although Douglas had no formal training, [5] she served in multiple roles as part of road crews: backline roadie, sound engineer, electrician, rigger, and lighting engineer.

In 1978 she was interviewed by Record Mirror Magazine and revealed she was the only woman roadie on the tours she worked on. [6]

In 2021, Douglas' memoir LOUD was published by HarperCollins. [2]

Awards

Australian Women in Music Awards

The Australian Women in Music Awards is an annual event that celebrates outstanding women in the Australian Music Industry who have made significant and lasting contributions in their chosen field. They commenced in 2018.

YearNominee / workAwardResultRef.
2024 Tana DouglasLifetime Achievement AwardNominated [7] [8]
Live Production Touring AwardWon

References

  1. ↑ Stuart, Coupe (2018). Roadies: The Secret History of Australian Rock'n'Roll. Hachette UK. ISBN   9780733638756.
  2. 1 2 3 Valentish, Jenny (2021-01-31). "From Sharehousing with AC/DC to Comforting Sharon Osbourne: Life as the World's First Female Roadie". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  3. 1 2 3 Douglas, Tana (2021). Loud. Australia: HarperCollins. pp. 44–78. ISBN   9780733340901.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. ↑ Coupe, Stuart (2018-09-24). "Read an excerpt from Stuart Coupe's book 'Roadies – the Secret History of Australian Rock'n'Roll'". The Music Network. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  5. 1 2 Keyes, Karrie (2020-03-02). "Ground Breaker Tana Douglas". SoundGirls.org. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  6. ↑ "This Lady Keeps Quo Satisfied" (PDF). Record Mirror: 14. 22 April 1978.
  7. ↑ "2024 Finalists". Australian Women in Music. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  8. ↑ "Australian Women in Music Awards shine a light on women in the Australian music industry". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 3 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
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