Hard Rock Cafe Surfers Paradise: Secrets and valuable memorabilia revealed on 25th anniversary

It’s been 25 years since the Birdwatcher Bar gave way to the Hard Rock Cafe in Surfers Paradise. Now its amazing memorabilia collection and its astonishing value can be revealed.

A NIGHT out in Surfers Paradise has been a right of passage on the Gold Coast for more than 60 years.

Over the decades there have been plenty of memorable nightclubs and restaurants that have hosted big events and carved a place in the storeyed legends of the Glitter Strip’s night life.

For nearly a century the corner of Cavill and Orchid avenues has been ground zero for a good time, dating back to Jim Cavill and his famed Surfers Paradise Hotel.

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Today it is the home of the Hard Rock Cafe, a popular eatery which next week celebrates 25 years in Surfers Paradise.

The Hard Rock Cafe began in the UK in 1971 and grew into an international chain by the 1990s.

Hard Rock cafe staff Kylie Jasin and Doneena Jones with general manager David Vincent

In the mid-1990s it was lured to the Gold Coast to replace one of the city’s most venerable institutions — the Birdwatcher Bar.

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The Birdwatcher was a holdover of Cavill’s hotel and became well-known in the 1950s.

It survived the hotel’s demolition and was installed in the new Paradise Centre.

But by March 1995 the Birdwatcher Bar was closed with no replacement announced.

John Rosenfield, international curator for Hard Rock Cafe in Surfers Paradise in 1996.

Eight months later the Hard Rock Cafe was confirmed as the new tenant with features to include a 17m guitar on the roof of the Paradise Centre and a car called Pray for Surf that had room for 60 people.

Food and drink aside, the centrepiece of the cafe was the incredible collection of music memorability, including a black sequined suit owned by Elvis Presley and the suede jacket owned by The Beatles’ John Lennon and worn on the cover of the 1965 album Rubber Soul.

Concert pianist David Helfgott astride a Harley-Davidson at the Hard Rock Cafe, Surfers Paradise. Picture: Nathan Richter.

There were also T-shirts and signed albums from the likes of Silverchair, INXS and Hootie and the Blowfish.

“The whole collection is priceless,’’ general manager David Vincent said at the time.

There was also a rare Harley-Davidson, valued about $35,000, and another once owned by Slash of Guns N’ Roses.

The restaurant attracted huge crowds and brought in people from across the state.

Blues Band Blind Lemon at the Hard Rock Cafe in Surfers Paradise. Picture: Alex Carter

Jimmy Barnes played the opening night and the venue proved popular at Indy in 1997 when driver Jimmy Vasser visited wearing a Pearl Jam hat.

Other acts to have dined at the restaurant include Van Halen, Savage Garden, The Whitlams, Pink, Jeff Martin, Tea Party, Mark Evans, Dragon, Hoodoo Gurus, The Angels, Screaming Jets, Neil Finn, Gangajang, Iva Davies, Midnight Oil, Sneaky Sound System, Violent Femmes, Peter Jackson (Director, Lord of the Rings), Joe Bugner, Mario Andretti, the Beach Boys, John Daly and Diesel, which played there several times.

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NOVEMBER 11, 2004: The Hard Rock Cafe guitar fire in Surfers Paradise. Locals and tourist grabbing a picture. Picture: Brent Sexton

The Surfers Paradise Hard Rock Cafe was stuck by disaster on November 11, 2004 when the giant guitar burst into flames and was badly damaged.

Flames leapt 10m into the air as a large crowd of tourists gathered to watch the rock ‘n’ roll inferno, understood to have been caused by an electrical fault.

Hard Rock merchandising manager Karma Gilcken told the Bulletin at the time a customer alerted staff to the fire.

“A guy came into the store and asked if the sign was meant to be smoking. I said ‘no’, and he said ‘well, it’s on fire then’,’’ she said.

“It just took off so quickly. It was well ablaze within in minutes of us first seeing the smoke.

“It was cracking and popping, and all the plastic was exploding on to the street.’’

The sign was finally repaired by early 2006 just in time for the restaurant’s 10th anniversary.