Music industry icon Michael Gudinski farewelled by all-star list
Jimmy Barnes, Tina Arena, Kylie and Dannii Minogue and Molly Meldrum were among friends and family to farewell Michael Gudinski.
Music industry impresario Michael Gudinski was farewelled in a private service for family, friends and colleagues on Wednesday, following his sudden death at his Melbourne home last week.
Artists including Jimmy Barnes, Kylie and Dannii Minogue, Tina Arena, Paul Kelly, James Reyne, Jenny Morris, Archie Roach, Daryl Braithwaite and Mark Seymour were in attendance, as well as sports figures such as Shane Warne, Eddie McGuire and AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan.
At the conclusion of his funeral, held at heritage-listed venue Ormond Hall, Gudinski’s hearse was flanked by a guard of honour featuring more than 160 music industry workers, all of them wearing black T-shirts with a handful of letters that spoke volumes: “MG CREW FOREVER”.
“That was the family’s call, and I think that’s a terrific idea,” said Howard Freeman, co-founder of industry group CrewCare. “It’s a thing we will wear with pride for the rest of our lives, guaranteed.”
“The crew guard of honour was initiated out of respect for an industry icon – but from the crew point of view, we work because promoters take a chance on running events,” he said. “Without them, we don’t have anywhere to use our skill set or earn a living, and Michael Gudinski created so many events.”
“That’s just the only way to say thank you – just to be there, put your hand on your heart and be quiet for a minute, and go, ‘Thank you for keeping me alive. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to keep my family alive. Thank you for taking the risk. Thank you for having a clue about music.’”
“Michael Gudinski understood music, and understood people,” said Freeman. “It was an absolute necessity and pleasure. And to Sue Gudinski and the family for allowing us to do that – kudos to them in a really difficult time.”
Gudinski’s crew, as it were, was gathered across five decades of tireless energy and entrepreneurialism in the Australian music industry through his Mushroom Group companies, including Frontier Touring, which brought some of the biggest artists in the world to Australia since its inception in 1979.
After Mushroom Group announced last Tuesday that Gudinski had died peacefully in his sleep, performers such as Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and Foo Fighters – all of whom toured with Frontier – shared tributes online.
“He will be remembered by artists, including this one, from all over the world every time they set foot on Australian soil,” wrote Springsteen.
At the weekend, British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran – whose run of shows with Frontier in 2018 became the first Australian tour to sell more than one million tickets – shared a heartfelt note describing Gudinski as “a tornado of joy”.
As well, Sheeran detailed a remarkable story about a prized possession.
“When we finished the last tour, he asked me what I wanted as an end of tour gift,” wrote Sheeran on Instagram. “I said a life-sized bronze statue of him, so I could always have a drink with him at my house, because he lived so far away.”
“A year later this statue turns up. Me and him have had a drink together with the statue many times and laughed about how ridiculous it is. The night he passed, I was very grateful to be able to share his favourite wine with him and say goodbye.”
The private service in Melbourne on Wednesday took place a fortnight before a state memorial, which will be held on Wednesday March 24 at Rod Laver Arena.
More Coverage
