The Australian Made tour ran from late December 1986 into the new year, making its way to each of the six state capitals and attracting flocks of fans in the process.
The lineup was unbeatable: alt-rock legends The Triffids rubbed shoulders with punk pariahs The Saints, while Divinyls and INXS played overstuffed sets full of the songs that would go on to make them two of the most beloved bands in Australian pop history. Jimmy Barnes, then still a relatively fresh-faced solo act, only a year out from the release of a little ditty called Working Class Man used the festival appearance to showcase every one of his brawny, unpretentious talents, while stranger delights could be found in showings from Models and Mental As Anything.
It was a frantic celebration of everything that makes Australian rock and pop great: a rare case of Aussies abandoning the usual cultural shyness that defines them and wholeheartedly embracing their own musical roots. And famed Australian director Richard Lowenstein was there to capture every minute of it, producing the landmark doco Australian Made: The Movie.
“It’s a bit of a time capsule,” Lowenstein says. “We filmed it for two or three days, then we spent six months editing it. It’s good to see the musical community all there together in a very vibrant way.”
To celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary it’s been given a digital restoration, and will be re-released for a special one night only screening at cinemas around the country. That’s a rare opportunity indeed, particularly given the film has gone through extensive re-edits over the years thanks to a range of petty copyright disputes.
“[The restoration] came out of the blue,” says Lowenstein. “We thought it was all lost in copyright problems. But then it appeared thanks to the producer John McLean.”
For Lowenstein, the most striking element of the film is the musical community it depicts – something he worries might just be a shining artefact of the past. “It was quite an interesting time,” Lowenstein says. “We may not have realised how unique it was. It was a very vibrant time – there was a lot more money floating around due to record companies. People could actually fantasize about making a career in music and making a living out of it. There was money coming in from record sales, which is something that doesn’t really happen anymore. It was a renaissance of art and music and filmmaking.”
Around the time of Australian Made’s filming, Lowenstein was largely supporting himself through the making of music videos, including several classics he filmed for bands like INXS and Cold Chisel. He speaks highly of the art form, not only because it allowed him to develop relationships with a range of influential bands, but also because in the early-to-mid-‘80s it proved to be a viable way for a young filmmaker to hone their craft while simultaneously being able to support themselves.
“Music videos and commercials – there was a lot of space for all of that, good and bad,” he says. “You could actually think of making a living by making music videos. Whereas [these days] I teach and I have interns coming in all the time, and they sit there and go, ‘How can we survive in this world?’ You really don’t know what to say. You can make music videos for your friends, but they’ll give you ten cents, so you’ve got to get a job as a courier at the same time. And of course that slows down your whole process.
Lowenstein argues Australian Made provides a glimpse into a different cultural epoch – a chance to bear witness to an era in which Australian art and culture was supported, and bands didn’t have to be afraid of the sound of their own accent.
“There was this proudness in the variations of Australian-ness of the music, without the cultural cringe,” he says. “Now it’s a global market, epitomised by Australian performers who have to pretend to be Americans. Now you have to appeal to a global market to survive.”
By Joseph Earp
