From the mid-’70s to the late ‘80s, he ran or founded iconic punk and new wave venues as the Crystal Ballroom and Beverly Crest in St Kilda as well as the Jump Club in Fitzroy, the Tiger Lounge and Kingston Rock in Richmond and the Sarah Sands in Brunswick.
With a humorous and colorful lifestyles and a no-bullshit attitude, he gave exposure to 100s of small time bands, as well as jobs for newcomers who later went on to make a name for themselves in the Melbourne music industry. His clubs had a sense of style, and he’d always argue that Melbourne’s clubs equaled those in London and New York.
Richards was born in Hamilton, in country Victoria. In his teens, he was helping his father run resort activities as jukeboxes, pinball and slot cars in country towns. In his final year at Hamilton High, he began booking bands for country tours. “From then on, I only turned up to school to sell tickets for my shows,” he said.
He also quipped, “I started at the top and worked myself down.” By which he meant that the acts that he booked to country towns in his early days were major acts as Daddy Cool and Sherbet. But when he moved to Melbourne in the mid-1970s, at a time when the scene was exploding with creativity, he was only interested in small emerging acts. “I only book acts that I like,” was his personal motto. He also managed the rockabilly bands Pelaco Bros, which featured Joe Camilleri, Stephen Cummings, Peter Lillie and Johnny Topper.
Details are sketchy of his end. But friends told Beat that he’d been hospitalised after a fall while trying to break into his own unit.
