How Music From The Home Front was created in just nine days
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What you are about to read will give you a small insight into what went into delivering one of the most unique events in a COVID-19 world.
A show that should have taken at least a month to deliver 26 songs by 39 artists, more than 1.8 million viewers and touch two nations, all in nine days.
A show that would spawn an ARIA No. 1 album, a brand new triple-coloured vinyl collectors’ keepsake and bring mainstream Australian musicians back to prime-time TV.
An event etched in history.
MUSIC FROM THE HOME FRONT – THE DIARY
When COVID-19 hit Melbourne in March promoter Michael Gudinski was devastated, as was his whole live business, all the artists and the many other industries.
He was seriously worried about his loyal staff, his artists, the crews and other music industry workers.
For a week he distracted himself from these growing worries by doing a decade overdue sort out of his dressing room, as a true hoarder he found himself wading through his thousands of T-shirts, the more than 40 years of backstage passes, then he moved onto his enormous collection of vinyl records, so many memories and emotions.
Then he got on the phone.
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Simply download, unzip and play, or add to your music player.
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THURSDAY, APRIL 16
It’s 8.34pm. Michael Gudinski AM, the biggest figure on the Australian music scene and equally at home in backstage areas around the world, contacted his COO Dion Brant and former Channel 7 sports heavyweight and TV industry veteran turned freelance producer, Saul Stein, the man who started MTV in Australia.
They are discussing technical requirements, TV production methods and most importantly composing questions for Michael to ask Hugh Marks, the CEO of the Nine Network to gauge Nine’s interest when they talk the following morning.
Gudinski’s idea has been bubbling for the last 36 hours, a televised TV concert of iconic Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) artists, performing unique performances of well loved songs, all from isolation, from their homes and/or home studios into the audiences lounge rooms, across the two countries on Anzac Day.
The virus has devastated the live music industry and Gudinski and his team know that artists are hurting.
In both countries the public have been ordered to isolate at home to stop the spread of COVID-19.
All but essential services have been closed down and Anzac Day Dawn Services have been cancelled. This COVID-19 Anzac Day would be like no other.
Earlier on the 16th, Gudinski and Brant spoke to John Watson, leading manager of legendary artists Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel, Missy Higgins and Birds of Tokyo, among others, who promised to pitch the concept to his roster and encourage them to take part.
Gudinski spoke to his friend and Australian music icon Jimmy Barnes who said he’d play and help curate, and importantly his good friend Daniel Andrews, the Premier of Victoria, who recognised the need for the music industry but also a need to boost the spirits of all Australians committed to, but weary of isolation.
The concert had to be uplifting, it had to reflect the new war on COVID-19 but not dwell on it. The Premier was encouraging and pledged his support.
Gudinski called Clive Miller, the head of the music industry charity Support Act, they discussed the depth of this growing COVID-19 health crisis for not only the artists but their crews and many other music industry workers.
Gudinski has been a major supporter of this charity for years, he knows what they do and how well they do it, they support the music industry workers with not only financial assistance but medical and mental health issues as well.
And this COVID-19 thing was going to greatly amplify the needs for financial and medical assistance, especially in the area of mental health.
Gudinski resolved to himself that Support Act would be the primary charity to benefit from this as yet unnamed television event.
FRIDAY, APRIL 17
At 8.45am, Gudinski received an SMS from Channel 9’s Hugh Marks – “WE’RE IN…”.
The project was away …. and the clock was ticking.
That morning was a whirlwind of calls, messages, emails and drafts.
The scene needed to be set, the tone had to be right.
A working title ‘Never Forget – Music Cares’ was used and the message developed.
The concert would honour the memory of the Anzacs and all armed forces who followed them, it also needed to reflect the current war against COVID-19, celebrate the frontline health care workers, and essential services workers as the new force protecting Australia and New Zealand.
The team started to grow. More of Mushroom’s senior team joined the loop.
Susan Heymann – Managing Director of Chugg Entertainment, Reegan Stark the CMCO, Anna Toman who runs the Mushroom Events business programming the AFL Grand Final, Australian Open Tennis and Spring Racing Carnival.
Channel 9 appointed an experienced production team. Head of programming Adrian Swift took control from Nine’s end, along with producers John Walsh and Andrew Rogers.
Tom Macdonald from Mushroom’s creative agency MCH started to plot out the production challenges. Susan and Anna were the talent co-ordinator.
Calls went out to managers, artists and trusted confidants in the booking agencies and record labels.
The ‘Together Alone’ televised global event by Lady Gaga and Global Citizen was being promoted for Sunday (Australian time). The Rolling Stones and Killers had just been announced and added to the line-up.
There was fear that the Anzac ‘concert’ would look like a poor cousin. Some thought Gudinski was crazy, drop Anzac Day and go a few weeks later and make it about COVID, more time, less pressure they said.
Even some of Gudinski’s closest and most loyal lieutenants wondered privately if this time he had promised too much …. how wrong they were!
SATURDAY, APRIL 18
Gudinski called Brant at 8.10am – he’d been up most of the night, made lists and was firing. The last time Gudinski had called his COO before 8.30am the Rolling Stones was cancelling their Hanging Rock show, this was a much better call.
Communication to New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern, seeking her support, was drafted. The New Zealand connection was important, and Gudinski knew Jacinda well having met her on the Paul McCartney tour three years earlier and visited her again with Ed Sheeran a year later.
Support on both sides of ‘the ditch’ symbolic of Anzac togetherness.
Artist target lists were developed with Heymann and Mushroom’s key talent bookers, the format debated, target songs identified, I Was Only 19, the seminal Redgum song was fitting and one of Gudinski’s favourites.
First round of budgets were developed. Calls, brainstorming, list development, more calls, more ideas, Gudinski hadn’t stopped …. It all continued until well after midnight, fuelled by passion, excitement, fear, adrenaline and maybe just a little bit of red wine …. it would be the first of many 16 hour+ days.
SUNDAY, APRIL 19
Together at Home was a global event. The Music From The Home Front team were glued to their screens. Notes flew around song by song.
Following the broadcast Gudinski felt mild panic wondering if he had bitten off more than he could chew. He watched the US show a second and third time.
It was a triumph, but there was nothing in it that couldn’t be replicated locally. Confidence was up, concern about producing a ‘poor cousin’ was down.
Sunday was also the day that the pitch to artists was refined, lists were pruned, expanded, re-cut, new artists added, artists known to be unavailable removed.
The name was debated and a much better title surfaced, Gudinski heard it and loved the double meaning – Music From The Home Front with the military connotations of the ‘Home Front’ combined with the focus on ‘Frontline’ workers and isolation of the community at Home were all covered. The brand was born.
Sunday was also the day that Gudinski started in earnest to connect with the Returned Services League (RSL) in Australia to ensure their blessing for the Anzac Day event. Calls were made.
While not technically required, as there was no use of the Anzac Day logo planned, it was important to Gudinski that the show did not upset the RSL and create unnecessary controversy.
MONDAY, APRIL 20
Five days out and Gudinski took to starting calls with “Right, I don’t want to panic anyone but we’ve got 132 hours to go…..” nothing like ramping up the pressure.
Artists started to lock in and songs started to be debated and agreed.
Missy Higgins was locked in, still working on which song but in.
Birds of Tokyo would bring the West Australian Symphony Orchestra with Unbreakable.
John Watson had delivered.
Jimmy and Michael discussed two songs, one of Jim’s and one of Cold Chisel’s, it had to be When the War is Over as the finale and Ian Moss would do it with him. It was quickly locked in.
Ben Lee was interested and could record in LA, his track We’re All in this Together had started to become a theme of the lock downs.
Kevin Parker of Tame Impala fame, one of the planet’s hottest and most revered artists would do it.
A logo was developed with much back and forth and with just a little bit of shouting and sighing – all agreed it was close.
TUESDAY, APRIL 21
Tuesday started poorly, Brant logged on to an email from Channel 9 saying they thought the ‘Music From the Home Front’ name was too passive and they had something better, ‘We Salute You – Musicians 4 the Frontline, an Anzac Day concert for the Fight against COVID-19’.
The night before had gotten tense with tempers fraying, particularly over branding.
Gudinski had Brant speak to Swift because he didn’t trust himself not to get riled up and tell him to f--- off. This is not The Voice or the Carols by Candlelight.
Brant told Swift Mushroom was committed to ‘Music From The Home Front’. It was agreed that Nine could add the tagline ‘An Anzac Day Concert for the Fight Against COVID-19’ and the issue was put to bed … temporarily.
Meanwhile – Lorde was out, the New Zealand connection was becoming more tenuous.
Midnight Oil were out, supportive but unable to make logistics work in the time frame, and in isolation.
The Wiggles were approached and immediately agreed to film an apt and special version of their hand washing song.
In the afternoon the call schedule broke through the ‘five minute barrier’, scheduled calls at 3.10, 3.15, 3.30, 3.45, 3.53, 4.05, 4.12 … suddenly appointments were being made with exact start times.
Col League was lining up Gudinski’s calls on two phones, when one call dropped out the phone came flying past a little too close for comfort … Gudinski swore it wasn’t aimed at him, but Col was more watchful the rest of the week ….
At 4.45pm on Tuesday – less than 100 hours to airtime Nine got their first run through of who was locked in from the artist side.
They agreed to rising Melbourne artist G Flip but insisted she play at her drum kit.
Dean Lewis locked in from LA giving the show further international credibility, Mark Seymour and James Reyne would perform together – at a distance, Bliss n Eso had some incredible ideas for their 2017 hit Moments.
Paul Kelly was in but wanted to do a version of My Mother’s Voice with the incredible Jess Hitchcock.
Shane Howard would do Solid Rock, an absolute anthem, with a contingent of Australian legends, William Barton, the country’s leading didgeridoo player would also join them.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22
Nine call saying they want more young acts, it’s too old they say, this delighted Gudinski.
Crowded House is out and the trans-Tasman angle is becoming a serious concern.
Gudinski wants Dave Dobbyn’s Slice of Heaven to be a big collaboration, like Solid Rock has been scoped, but Dobbyn doesn’t want to do it that way. Solo or not in the show. With the Anzac connection looking weaker it is confirmed.
John Watson confirms that Missy is recording her song with Tim Minchin, it’s a great get and a great name to add to the show. Vance Joy is confirmed.
The Rubens confirm they can record from a studio near their home without breaching lock down provisions.
Kasey Chambers is desperate to be involved, and Gudinski wants her in, but she is isolating with people in the ‘high risk’ COVID category. She can’t take the risk. It’s a situation that rules out a number of iconic artists in the coming days.
The artist with the world’s biggest song, Tones And I confirms!
Gudinski was getting wary of Channel 9’s potential to take over the look and feel of this unique event, and the risk they would deploy his despised commercial television habit of cross-promoting other programs within the body of the Music From The Home Front broadcast.
He decided to put his foot down, NOW, he’s not having a pull through promoting The Voice while one of his artists is performing.
He calls Nine and explains his concerns, they really don’t agree, then follows a series of loud and aggressive calls, at one point Gudinski’s so emotional and angry (and tired) that he absolutely cracks it with Nine.
Sue his wife, is very concerned, she has rarely heard him scream so loudly and get so emotional, he needs to have a heart pill, sit outside and collect his thoughts. Then he decides to resolve these artistic integrity issues – one way – his.
Gudinski calls back and makes it extremely clear that he is not accepting Nine’s wants in regard to network ‘pull throughs’, if Nine insist then he’ll pull the show. The call ends abruptly.
Senior executives at Nine are now gobsmacked. Nine calls Gudinski back and it is calmly agreed that all the design elements would be in the hands of the Mushroom team, there would be no network ‘pull throughs’ promoting upcoming programs.
We’re back on course just 75 hours from showtime, at 4pm Wednesday Music From the Home Front is announced.
THURSDAY, APRIL 23
The morning call with Nine saw them imploring the team to find more young acts … it was feeling too old.
Having held back the Tones And I news from the day before the team were able to give Nine a happy start to the day. Gudinski and the curating team wanted diversity.
Fair to say that landing the hottest new artist in the world, who two days earlier was announced as the first female artist to go past a Billion streams on Spotify with Dance Monkey was …. let’s just say ‘well received’.
The raw clips start to roll in, filming is done, first round edits start to come together.
News and snippets filter through to keep the team going.
Well past midnight the DMA’s demo of Crowded House’s Better Be Home Soon (an idea that they came up with) arrives in Gudinski’s inbox and it is absolute magic.
Gudinski and Sue listen to it six times straight, dancing and vibing. A great way to end a difficult day.
To get a digital download of the album simply go to this link http://fwd.rocks/MFTHFoffer and enter your codeword: NT News
Simply download, unzip and play, or add to your music player.
Please note: Mobile devices are generally not able to open redeemed files. Please use a desktop computer.
FRIDAY, APRIL 24
More production edits continue to roll in from the MCH team who worked through until after 3am. Jimmy Barnes calls Gudinski with great news.
He’s spoken to Neil Finn and convinced him that Crowded House should at least give it a go.
Finn, previously reticent about how to record a track with band members in 5 different locations spread across the world agrees.
A joint Anzac effort would not be the same without the Crowded House, a band acclaimed as both Australian and New Zealander at the same time!
Archie Roach agrees to join in on John Schuman’s I Was Only 19 and include a tribute to the often forgotten indigenous soldiers of the Australian Defence Force.
The publicity machine continues, Gudinski is on the airwaves, online and TV’s across the country talking up the show and the occasion.
Channel 9 is promoting the show heavily, but there’s an issue. They have designed their own Music From The Home Front logo.
In the music and touring world this is unheard of – you simply can’t run with anything other than the artist-approved artwork.
At 2pm Gudinski talks to Adrian Swift who promises to get the team to make the change.
At 6.30pm there’s a major crisis. Nine are still running the on air promotional spots with the home made logo.
The colours are wrong, the look is wrong and they promised to fix it over four hours ago.
What followed was later described as one of the all time great sprays, bringing a mix of fear, amusement and, just a little nostalgia to the halls of Nine in Willoughby.
No one had copped one like that since the days of the great Kerry Packer himself! Oh yeah …. And the logo was changed by the next ad break.
The edits keep coming through, song after song is amazing.
Tracks that the team were worried about look and sound incredible, special versions, and in the case of Mark Seymour’s Throw Your Arms Around Me a whole new, moving, second verse.
ANZAC DAY: SATURDAY, APRIL 25
At 7am the phone calls and emails start, the Gudinski household is pumping.
Gudinski has to do a live cross to the Today show via Skype at 7.35am; as she helps set up the computer in the dining room, Sue who is busy dealing with breakfast and phone calls casually remarks to Michael that she definitely does not want to be seen in the camera shot that he is haphazardly setting up.
She’s “not dressed” and has “no make up on”; naturally Michael agrees to ensure she is definitely ‘out of shot’. Well ... you can guess what happened!
Most TV programs would be in the can, delivered and ready for broadcast at least three days before. With less than 24 hours to go the Music From The Home Front is still shooting …
Gudinski is completely shattered, spent and yet still anxious, he remarks to various colleagues that evening “it’s like handing over a baby”.
More clips are finalised. Tones And I’s rendition of Forever Young (a song that has been a Number 1 on two occasions) is perfect, heartfelt from the stars home on the Mornington Peninsula, the Mark Seymour and James Reyne, shooting around the corner from Tones have completed a stunning double of Hunters & Collectors and Australian Crawl hits.
The inclusion of a new second verse in Throw Your Arms Around Me and Mark Seymour’s daughters Eva and Hannah add a beautiful poignancy and COVID reminder.
Gudinski drives to Channel 9 studios in Melbourne where he will sit in a private studio and listen to the show being called live.
As he settles into Nine’s private studio he hears the banter of the show producers in his headphones.
One asks the other if they’ll need armour to protect themselves from his rage if there is a stuff up? He smiles, they don’t realise he’s listening …
At 7.30pm sharp James Morrison opens the show with the haunting Last Post, flanked by a World War II veteran and a nurse, David Campbell opens the show and the Ben Lee track We’re All in This Together with its health worker cameos, kicks off the night.
The social media messages on the bottom of the screen say it all: “I wondered if I could get through the night without crying, I couldn’t make it past the first song, this is incredible, THANK YOU …”
The program runs for more than three hours. An hour more than its allotted timeslot.
No one wants to interrupt it, no one wants to end it.
The love from the public via the social media channels is incredible, the messages of gratitude and congratulation to Gudinski, the artists, the managers and the team are overwhelming.
The realisation comes that not only have they presented a great show, not only have they put Australian and New Zealand musicians on prime time TV and watched them shine ... they’ve fulfilled a need for the people of Australia and New Zealand to feel good, to feel positive, to be thankful for the sacrifices made in response to the COVID pandemic and to be entertained.
AFTERMATH
Music From The Home Front was viewed by a national audience on TV in Australia just shy of 1.5 million. More in New Zealand on TV3NZ and YouTube globally.
By 5pm Sunday there are 21 songs from the show in the Top 60 of the Australian music charts. Some of them for the first time in decades. There are 4 in the Top 10.
On the album charts, five of the Home Front artists are now in the Top 10. Clearly, if you give Australian talent a prime time platform, they will shine!
The show, the special event, that came together in nine days has achieved more than anyone could imagine.
The COVID-19 lockdowns in Australia and New Zealand have been wildly successful on a global scale.
They didn’t just flatten the curve, in much of the two countries, COVID was nearly eliminated, little or no community transmission and low numbers against any global comparison.
The success came with hardship, sacrifice, economic damage and a complete shutdown of normal life.
There is no T-shirt, there is no souvenir of this time in our lives that will stay with us forever, but there is Music From The Home Front.
To get a digital download of the album simply go to this link http://fwd.rocks/MFTHFoffer and enter your codeword: NT News
Simply download, unzip and play, or add to your music player.
Please note: Mobile devices are generally not able to open redeemed files. Please use a desktop computer.
Originally published as How Music From The Home Front was created in just nine days