An ‘Orwellian vision’: Oz Rock scenes and regulation

Abstract

The present paper examines the emergence of a form of Australian rock and roll known as ‘Oz Rock’ from the mid-1970s. Heavily influenced by overseas rock performers, the term described a group of (mostly male) performers and bands regarded as identifiably ‘Australian’ in their performance attitudes and techniques. Beyond its use as a national marker within international rock practices, the present paper analyses the role of the local rock pub and club, in particular the Sydney rock music venue, as the basis for a series of city-based Oz Rock scenes that provided a remarkably stable community of performers and fans. The paper explains the consequences for the 1970s and 1980s local music venue as they were increasingly incorporated within wider state government regulation of night-time practices and scenes.