Sad news to hand yesterday of the passing of Anthony O’Grady, the original editor of hugely influential Australian rock paper Rock Australia Magazine aka RAM.
When RAM Started publication out of Sydney in March 1975, it gave Australian music something that it had long needed. Unlike Go-Set, which had ceased publication in 1974, RAM was a rock publication as opposed to a pop one, and unlike the Australian edition of Rolling Stone of the day, it had a robust homegrown focus. Like Melbourne’s short-lived Daily Planet/Planet publication, which had run in 1971 and ‘72 (with the backing of Michael Gudinski and future AC/DC manager Michael Browning), it was streetwise and hip, but it didn’t live just in the underground, and it had a stronger national focus. Perhaps most-importantly, RAM entered the fray at a crucial time: Skyhooks (their first cover stars) and Sherbet were breaking all sorts of records, AC/DC was set to take on the world, Australian pub rock was set to explode, and punk was brewing. Indeed RAM appeared at virtually the same time that Countdown first hit our screens (four months later to be more precise), and while the two entities each aimed at different audiences, they both cultivated those audiences wonderfully for the Australian artists they championed.
AO’G’s stint at RAM lasted until 1981, and under his stewardship, the publication introduced Australian rock audiences to Skyhooks, Dragon, Split Enz, Hush, Ol’55, Radio Birdman, The Saints, Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons, Cold Chisel, The Angels, The Sports, Midnight Oil, Australian Crawl, Dave Warner’s From The Suburbs, Mental As Anything, Matt Finish, Sunnyboys, Paul Kelly & The Dots and countless others. Anthony was a fan, and a friend of many of the acts he wrote about.
After RAM, Anthony kept writing about music, as well as working in radio and TV. He put together the first rock music soundtrack to win an AFI award (for Street Hero in 1985) and started the music industry bible, The Music Network in the 90s. In 2001, he wrote the first Cold Chisel book, entitled Cold Chisel: The Pure Stuff. More recently he wrote liner notes for Festival Records’ The Glory Days of Aussie Pub Rock collection.
Anthony O’Grady had a significant but largely unsung influence on Australian rock music over the years, and ILYOS had a chat with him about RAM and other things a couple of years back. Have a look at that interview here, then crank up our Aussie Pub Rock Playlist and raise a glass to the man they called A’OG.
