| MILESAGO: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975 | Venues |
THE MAD HATTER DISCOTHEQUE
Melbourne, 1960s
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LOCATION: PROMOTERS: |
History
Melbourne disco The Mad Hatter is now all but forgotten -- mainly, it seems, because it only operated for a short period. The only internet reference we've been able to track down so far is a passing mention in Iain Macintrye's interview with Lobby Loyde on the Wild About You website, in which Lobby refers to Mad Hatter as one of their regular gigs in Melbourne.
Fortunately, Mike Olive spent many exciting evenings at the Hatter and he has kindly contributed these great memories of this venue:"One excellent Melbourne
venue that seems to have been overlooked is the Mad Hatter
Discotheque. I first went there as a pretty naive mid-teen seeking out
hot live bands with two of my best mates. If memory serves me well, the
Mad Hatter was located at the top of Little Lonsdale Street and as as
we walked along the lane we heard a wailing harmonica and spine
tingling guitar, the likes of which we had never heard before from an
Australian band. The sounds belonged to Mick Hadley and Lobby Loyde of
the mighty Purple Hearts."
"The initial location of the Hatter
was the top floor of what looked like a converted warehouse. The fairly
large area was pretty basic, with a minimum of decoration and
facilities, but we thought it was fantastic. Then the Hatter moved to a
new location just a few doors down the Lane. The building was one of
those funky blue stone affairs that seemed to be the norm for Melbourne
discos in those days. This venue was a bit more up market with the
walls painted in black and white Alice in Wonderland /Art Deco theme
murals apparently by Kim Lynch of The Loved Ones."
"As discos went the Mad Hatter was
smaller than most, smaller even than Sebastian's, but it was was a
great venue. The small size and the fact that the stage was only about
6 inches higher than the dance floor meant that is was the best place in
Melbourne to experience a live performance. It was a bit like having
the band play in your lounge room!
The band members usually mixed
freely with the audience after their set, one night I was fortunate
enough to get an impromptu harmonica lesson from Gerry Humphreys no
less. The Hatter had some great bands playing there; The Loved Ones
were regular (amazing) performers and I was fortunate enough to
experience the feedback frenzy and guitar/amplifier smashing anarchy of
the incredible Running, Jumping, Standing Still with the manic Andy
James and Doug Ford in full flight."
"The Mad Hatter did not seem to last very long and after it closed in 1966(?) my friends and I moved on the
the totally wild Biting Eye, a place that suited our increasingly
rebellious attitude down to the ground."
References / Links
Sincere thanks to Mike Olive for his recollections.
Wild About You: The Purple Hearts
Interview with Lobby Loyde by Iain D. Mcintyre
http://www.3cr.org.au/way/content_02.html