Down Under: Jimmy Barnes, AFIC, Love Machine Closing & More

As he preps for a lengthy stint on the road, R&B singer Jimmy Barnes set a new chart record Down Under.

His new album Criminal Record’s No. 1 debut June 8 on the official Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) chart marked his 12th solo chart topper since ARIA began its charts in June 1988. This latest chart topper trumps the eleven No. 1s by U2 and Madonna; Barnes’ had four No. 1s with the band Cold Chisel. 

The Glasgow-born singer songwriter has six shows in Europe, beginning at London’s Wembley Arena July 12 and taking in slots at festivals as the Netherlands’ Bospop (13), Belgium’s Werchter Classic (14), Holland’s Melkweg (16) and the UK’s Ramblin’ Man Fair (20). 

There’s a Glasgow club gig at the Garage July 18. After that comes his biggest headlining tour through Australia and New Zealand this century. 

The “Shutting Down Your Town” tour runs Sept. 18 to Nov. 2 with bands Jet and Eskimo Joe. 

In 2017 and 2018 Barnes toured a spoken word format behind bestselling memoirs Working Class Boy and Working Class Man. With their anecdotes of how a violent booze-fueled upbringing led to a self-destructive pattern during his rise from his teen days, the theatre dates continually extended to 100. 

This year Barnes played to nearly 100,000 across ten star-studded Red Hot Summer festival shows this year.

Michael Gudinski, whose Frontier Touring is booking the tour and whose Bloodlines label released the album, told Pollstar, “Jimmy’s had another lease on life, he’s just loving it. His resilience and the honesty have [meant] the people who have grown up with him have stayed with him. He’s captured the heartland. He’s like this country’s Bruce Springsteen.”

The program for the inaugural Australian Festival Industry Conference has grown so much it has officially been expanded to two days. It will be held Oct. 24 and 25 in Coffs Harbour, NSW.  

Recently announced speakers include Mike Hammond, CEO of EMS on health safety at festivals, Glenn Hardy, partner at IER Pty Ltd on tracking attendance and visitation at events; Jon (J.C.) Corbishley, director of The Safety Officer Pty Ltd on best practices and challenges on safety; and Chris Spencer, GM of Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance, on building First Nations events. 

They join SXSW Australasia & Hawaii’s business development manager Phil Tripp on the future of festivals; Adelaide Fringe CEO Heather Croall on how her event was transformed digitally; and Liquor & Gaming NSW’s director of policy and legislation Angus Abadee on the new legislation for NSW festivals.

Melbourne nightclub Love Machine, the scene of an April 14 drive-by shooting, is reportedly closing, according to the Melbourne Age. 

Since the deaths of a security guard and a patron, attendance has reportedly plummeted, the paper claimed. The club had previously rejected the paper’s reports on its Facebook page. 

Love Machine re-opened in November 2018 after a multi-million dollar refurbishment. Media reports claimed police inquiries were centering on attempted extortion by two motorbike gangs and the revenge motive of an alleged stand-over man’s sons being evicted from the venue weeks before.

Live music veterans were among nearly a thousand Australian recipients of the Queen’s Birthday honors list June 10. 

They received the Member of the Order of Australian (AM) or Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). Frank Stivala began as booking agent in the early ‘70s and now managing director of Premier Artists, partner in Harbour Agency and partner director of Frontier Touring. 

Peter Rix set up his management company 1972 and guided multi-platinum names Marcia Hines, Jon English, Richard Clapton and Hush. Rix’s event company produced the ARIA awards for 14 years, as well as festivals, Olympics staculars and the 1979 ‘Concert of the Decade’ on the steps of the Sydney Opera House before 250,000.

Ross Cunningham, one-time director of Brisbane’s QPAC and executive GM of Sydney’s Entertainment Centre and Capitol Theatre, co- initiated the live performance Helpmann Awards. Kevin McWhinnie was director of Sydney’s Theatre Royal for 22 years after a 17-year stint heading Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Hotel until 1989. Margaret Fischer is chair of LGBTIQ+ festival Feast. Hugh Jackman, currently on The Greatest Showman World Tour, got the country’s highest honor, the Companion of the Order of Australia  (AC). Others were former Savage Garden singer Darren Hayes, R&B singer songwriter and The Voice coach Guy Sebastian, singer David Campbell and comedian and actor Eric Bana.

Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom and three fellow accused began their final appeal against extradition June 10 in the New Zealand Supreme Court. 

Their lawyer argued that a December 2015 decision by the North Shore District Court supporting the extradition was so “flawed” it should never have been upheld. 

Previous appeals to the High Court and Court of Appeal saw both higher courts criticize the district court’s decision-making process but ultimately stood by its finding. 

Part of the Supreme Court defense was that earlier courts had not proved the men had committed the accused actions and, in any case, these were not criminal offences under New Zealand law.