Michael Chugg

Music has an uncanny ability to revive memories and associations that are long past. I can't hear Starship's We Built This City without flashing on the Blue Light Disco's I attended as a pre teen and an AC/DC song will drag me right back into the middle of the concert crowd.Hey, You in the Black T-shirt is a memoir of Michael Chugg's role in the promotion of the Australian rock and concert scene from the late 1960's to the present. It has it's moments of scandal and gossip but largely the book concentrates on the work of the promotors behind the scenes. Some of it is interesting, particulary where I can recognise names like AC/DC, Sherbet, Angels, Fleetwood Mac etc but sometimes it seems like its little more than a string of names and numbers. It's not excatly a shock to discover the prevalance of drug and alcohol abuse, nor that music stars can be absolute divas. There actually wasn't a lot of detail about specific behaviour, most likely for legal reasons, but it did tend the leave things a little dry.The amount of money involved in putting on a tour is incredible, and how much actually goes into the organisation etc which I guess I had never given much thought to. I did find it fascinating in a way, and it certainly helps explain the extortionate ticket prices.Chugg himself is larger than life with very frank confessions about his own misbehaviour. His longevity in the business is to be admired, even if I found little about the man to like. Hey, You in the Black T-Shirt has fairly unique perspective on the Australian music industry and even though I found it a little dry, I imagine that fans and those looking to break into the industry will find it interesting.… (mehr)