“It definitely picks up at this time, the spring racing carnival is almost like the gateway to the summer,” the affable Scott Campbell exclaims. The venue manager of Bimbo’s Deluxe, he originally dropped his plans of working for clubs and live venues to go back to uni. However, it was a casual job at Bimbo’s Deluxe that drew him back in. “The original owners showed me a different way these places can be run and I found a newfound love for this kind of work.” Over seven years later, he has taken the reins and has overseen the funky little venue as it has grown in reputation with both locals and tourists.
“In its inception Bimbo’s was a place for the Fitzroy locals to hang out and it’s developed into an inner-city lounge, somewhere they could be at home without being home.” In addition to the welcoming lounge-style atmosphere, there has been another key ingredient to the success of Bimbo’s. “With the four dollar pizzas, word spread pretty quick to tourists, students, young professionals,” Campbell says proudly. “That offer really appeals to everyone and we’ve been lucky enough to get some good little write-ups in newspapers, magazines, travel things. We’re situated near a couple of backpackers as well.” To help ring in their 10-year anniversary, Bimbo’s will be having a week-long celebration with food and drink specials, including a return of the two dollar pizza for lunch. The week will also see live sets from longtime resident DJs Agent 86, Mu-Gen, Matt Radovich and others who have helped shape Bimbo’s Deluxe into what it is.
“When putting together this week of celebrations we went back through what I can remember were the best running nights. Without a doubt one of the biggest nights was when Matt Radovich and Mu-Gen were playing on Thursdays. Without any sort of formal advertising the nights just took off. So we approached those guys and said ‘come back and do it for old time’s sake’.” In the decade since Bimbo’s Deluxe was first launched, the commitment to offering unique fare has remained the same. “I was lucky enough to work with the original owners for two or three years and [I] watched how they operated and saw what they were trying to achieve.” The Brunswick St-based building was originally the home of a much revered live music venue, the Punters Club. “It was a live music institution at the time and that was probably reflective of Melbourne at the time as well. Rather than more bars there seemed to be more live music venues and there was more relaxed, liberal licensing and those sort of venues flourished. It was a real icon at the time because we still to this day have people come through and say, ‘I remember when this used to be the Punters [Club]’.”
While the ensuing years have unfortunately seen the closure of several iconic live venues, a new breed of diverse bars and music venues have opened. As the times were changing, Bimbo’s was playing its part in making Melbourne a capital for idiosyncratic, boutique venues. “What the guys were trying to achieve was trying to appeal not just to the commercial scene but something that was a little more underground.” It became a haven for both punters and DJs, who enjoy hearing an eclectic array of tunes. “Bimbo’s was the kind of place where any artist could come and play what they wanted to play and the crowd would be into that, rather than playing to the crowd. And that’s something we’ve tried to really hold onto. The brief is come and play what you want, play the records you don’t get to play anywhere else and play them loud,” Campbell chuckles. The cosy confines of Bimbo’s, with its slightly dim lighting and couches, have enhanced the atmosphere and overall experience. “It’s a unique space to enjoy it, because it’s never been a standard flashy dancefloor. It’s really just meant to be that kind of laidback, comfortable environment. You don’t have lasers flashing, it’s just something different and about appreciating the music.”
BY ANDREW ‘HAZARD’ HICKEY
