Archie Roach didn’t get the chance. Now, music legends will perform on all levels

In an upstairs rehearsal space at a rattling Richmond sanctuary for musos, a concert grand piano sits at the fingertips of some of the world’s best artists.

The area at Bakehouse Studios has hosted Ed Sheeran, Paul Kelly, Beck, Courtney Barnett and Missy Higgins. But for Uncle Archie Roach, rehearsing his final tour in 2021, it was inaccessible.

In Bakehouse Studios’ “Scrap Museum”: Artist and Over Our Dead Body co-founder Alex Lahey (left) with musician Eliza Hull, who has curated a gig celebrating artists with disabilities.Credit: Simon Schluter

“After Uncle Archie Roach died, a few advocates were talking to the then government, saying, ‘Look, Uncle Archie couldn’t get upstairs at Bakehouse to use the big grand piano.’ He had to go into a smaller room downstairs,” says co-owner Helen Marcou, who has run Bakehouse with partner Quincy McLean for 33 years.

“That really touched the state government at the time, as well as the many, many letters and the emails, and all the advocacy we’d received from a group of disabled artists.”

Eliza Hull and other musicians have championed greater accessibility at Bakehouse. Now, she is among a group of artists with disabilities who will perform in its upstairs space, dubbed the “Scrap Museum”, in a show she curated for the live music initiative Over Our Dead Body.

The December 6 show coincides with Bakehouse’s launch as a fully accessible venue, a long-time goal that was realised after the then Andrews government contributed $500,000 for a lift and accessible toilets, and the federal government paid for stage ramping. Bakehouse met additional costs to make the building accessible.

The show – presented in partnership with the state government’s Always Live program – takes place the same week as International Day of Persons with Disabilities, making it a meaningful celebration of hard-won ground.

But there’s a long way to go. For artists with disabilities, Australia’s music industry won’t be truly accessible until they don’t have to worry about performing logistics such as getting through doors to venues and recording studios, and moving from backstage to onstage.

Even when artists with disabilities aren’t nominated at awards shows, there should be ramps up to stages to show they are invited, Hull says.

Gigs need quiet spaces for artists with autism, alt-text for blind and low-vision musicians and listeners, and Auslan interpreters, she says.

Australia is planning to adopt Britain’s Live Events Access Charter, which gives venues an accessibility rating from bronze to platinum, from 2025, starting with a trial in NSW and then a Victorian rollout.

Hull, who is on the advisory panel for bringing the charter to Australia, performed at only gold-rated venues during her tour of England in 2023.

“For me, the biggest barrier is actually the stigma that exists about disability,” Hull says. “A lot of labels just won’t sign artists with disability, and they’ll often see it as a deficit.

“Often I’ve had a meeting with somebody, and we’re talking about my music, and I’ll say, ‘I’ve got a physical disability’ – they might not notice because I’m sitting down.

“[The response is] very much like, ‘Oh God, I’m so sorry’, and then slowly moving away.

“I just really wish that we had more representation in all the music industry spaces, so that emerging artists can really see themselves and know that it is an industry that can be and should be inclusive.”

Hull says there is no shortage of exceptional artists with disabilities in Australia, but they lack equitable platforms to showcase their talent. That’s changing faster overseas, and big international acts are sharing stages with artists with disabilities.

Initiatives such as Music Victoria’s Amplify Award, which recognises artists with disability, along with Elly-May Barnes’ ABC docuseries Headliners and projects such as Over Our Dead Body, are also forging new ground, Hull says.

Bakehouse co-owners Helen Marcou and Quincy McLean at the studios in Richmond.Credit: Joe Armao

Musicians Alex Lahey and Sophie Payten, known professionally as Gordi, launched Over Our Dead Body a year ago with the goal of connecting emerging artists with their audiences, and mitigating their financial risk.

Since then, the couple has put on six artist-curated gigs – including the coming one at Bakehouse – with a total of 21 acts, and about 80 per cent audience capacity.

“It’s just about making sure that live music is a place for everyone,” Lahey says.

Helen Marcou hopes the transformation of Bakehouse, which will host 24 residencies for artists with disabilities in 2025, starts a snowball effect in Melbourne. Too often such artists are siloed into town halls or government spaces because accessibility is lacking, depriving them of their community, she says.

“Music, in particular, is such an important art form – for the entire community, for your children.”

“Investing in art is not just for artists. It’s for everyone.”

Over Our Dead Body Deep Cuts Vol. 2 will be held at Bakehouse Studios at Richmond on Friday, December 6, with Eliza Hull, Kerryn Fields, Magnets and Charlie Lane performing. Tickets are available at overourdeadbody.com.

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