As docos go this one about the late rock/pop Svengali, Michael Gudinski is a banger.
Director Paul Goldman's "Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story" explores this wild ride of the maverick entrepreneur who defied convention and revolutionised the Australian music industry from the 70's to today.
As you'd expect there's Sex and Drugs and Rock'n'Roll with this story.
It's time I lived in firstly as a wide-eyed teenager and then as a young On-Air Radio Personality in Sydney at 2KA and 2DAY FM, before later becoming a Radio Journalist and Talk Back Radio Show Host in Brizneyland.
I knew most of the people involved in this period and interviewed and partied with quite a few of them in the 80's.
This was a fun pioneer epoch for Aussie Rock and Pop music fighting back from the US and Brit invasions of the 60's.
Congrats to writers Sarah Edwards, Goldman and Bethany Jones for nailing the vibe of the era in the course of this nearly 2 hour documentary.
It's a virtual who's who of music from this generation including Michaels biggest success stories Skyhooks, New Zealand's Split Enz, Jimmy Barnes, Rod Stewart, Garbage, Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), Kylie Minogue, The Police (especially Sting), Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen and so many more.
The beauty of Gudinski was his ability to make a buck from anything, starting with charging for car parking and running dance events when he still a student.
He was always going to become an entrepreneur and his gambling nature helped make him make both big profits and huge losses.
Michael didn't always back the right horse or get on board at the right time.
One of his biggest regrets that he joked put him into therapy for years was not signing Men At Work and also letting Silver Chair slip through his iron fisted grip.
Amongst his other financial mistakes was getting into bed with Rupert Murdoch and News Limited...it ended up costing him his dream of Mushroom Records for a few years before buying back the publishing division.
However, amongst his greatest achievements was also embracing the concert ticket dollar through the formation of Premier Artists/Harbour Agency Group and later Frontier Touring.
His lifelong friends including Michael Chugg and others pop up over the course of this doco to share his story.
Gudinski was no saint, he was a tough task master with plenty of demons, but this is still a fitting eulogy to one of Australia's brightest lights and Industry Leaders who could walk into a room and create sparks, even though underneath it all he was a desperately shy, insecure man trying to prove himself to his Jewish-Russian immigrant Father, Kuba.
He was an Australian record executive and promoter...a leading figure in the Australian music industry and also in Britain...never really making it great in the US of A.
Michael was born and raised in Caulfield, Melbourne near the racecourse where his passion for punting started.
As a young man of 30 he formed the highly successful Australian record company Mushroom Records in 1972.
The company's first album was a triple-LP live recording of the 1973 Sunbury Festival, where he made more money from a watermelon franchise...he was a larger than life character.
His diversified business interests included most sections of the music industry including venues, concert promoting, merchandise, publishing and recording.
He signed several generations of Australian musicians and performers ranging (all featured in this doco) from Skyhooks, Hunters and Collectors, and Paul Kelly to newer artists such as Eskimo Joe, Bliss n Esso (although he could never remember which one was Bliss and which one was Esso), The Temper Trap and others.
He supported First Nations music with Yothu Yindi, Archie Roach and others.
Even during the Covid-19 Pandemic lockdowns he was a player behind the Music from the Home Front concert, which was organised in nine days, so that artists could perform in the concert on ANZAC Day 2020.
Gudinski was considered to be "one of the most significant and powerful players" in the Australian music landscape.
Watch out for: heartfelt moments from his widowed wife Sue and their children Kate and Matt (who has taken over the business reins) and his god daughter Mahalia Barnes (Jimmy's girl) plus other tearful and moving tributes.
The so-called "Father of the Australian Music Industry" and life-long supporter of the St Kilda Football Club died during his sleep at home at age 68 on March 2, 2021.
A toxicology report revealed that he had died of mixed drug use, with 12 drugs including cocaine, oxycodone and morphine present in his body.
The report also revealed that he had heart disease, cirrhosis, and had suffered recent vertebral compression fractures and was living in a world of hurt, but living the dream right up until the end.
Michael Gudinski lived hard, played hard and died hard.
Music lovers seek out "Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story" at a cinema near you before it streams...unfortunately its in limited release.
