Michael Solomon Gudinski

Michael Solomon Gudinski AM (22 August 1952 – 2 March 2021) was an Australian record executive and promoter who was a leading figure in the Australian music industry. Born and raised in Melbourne to Jewish Russian immigrants, Gudinski formed the highly successful Australian record company Mushroom Records in 1972 through which he signed several generations of Australian musicians and performers ranging from MacKenzie Theory, the Skyhooks, The Choirboys, Kylie Minogue, and New Zealand's Split Enz to newer artists such as Eskimo Joe, Evermore and others. Gudinski was considered to be "one of the most significant and powerful players" in the Australian music landscape. Gudinski was educated at Mount Scopus College and Melbourne High School. In his teenage years, he began promoting dance hall events around Melbourne. In 1970, he established the Consolidated Rock artist agency with Michael Browning, managing artists including Chain and Healing Force. The pair later founded the short-lived music magazine Daily Planet. Gudinski and fellow music agent Ray Evans formed Mushroom Records in late 1972. The company's first album was a triple-LP live recording of the 1973 Sunbury Festival. In its first few years Mushroom released albums and singles by some of the most significant Australian rock acts of the period, including Madder Lake, MacKenzie Theory, Matt Taylor, Ayers Rock, and the Dingoes. Mushroom struggled to survive for its first two years, hampered by lack of airplay on commercial radio, and the company reportedly came close to folding on several occasions. But the label was dramatically pushed to the forefront of the Australian music scene in early 1975 with the massive success of Skyhooks, whose debut album Living in the 70's became the biggest-selling Australian LP ever released up to that time. In 1977 Gudinski opened the music venue Bombay Bicycle Club in Bourke Street, Melbourne, soon moving it to Sydney Road Brunswick and renaming it Bombay Rock. This became one of the premier music venues of Australian and international rock bands in Melbourne. In 1979, Gudinski co-founded Frontier Touring with Michael Chugg and Frank Stivala. Frontier became one of Australia's leading concert promoters, bringing some of the world's biggest acts to Australia and New Zealand, such as Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Ed Sheeran, Madonna, U2 and many more. Frontier also organised benefit concerts such as Sound Relief in 2009 and Music from the Home Front in 2020. Gudinski also ventured into other areas of the music industry, such as publishing, film production, merchandising and television. He produced several movies and documentaries related to Australian music, such as Dogs in Space (1986), Chopper (2000), Molly: The Real Thing (2016) and Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story (2023). He also created Mushroom TV in 2012 as an online platform for music videos and interviews. Gudinski was honoured with several awards for his contribution to the Australian music industry. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2006 for his service to the entertainment sector as a promoter of national and international musical artists as well as through his support for young performers. He also received an ARIA Award for Outstanding Achievement in 1998, a Helpmann Award for Outstanding Contribution to Live Performance in Australia in 2015, an APRA Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music in 2017 and a Music Victoria Hall of Fame induction in 2018. Gudinski married Sue Gudinski in 1980 and they had two children: daughter Kate, whom Gudinski signed to Liberation Music in mid-2004, and son Matt, who became the CEO of Mushroom Group in 2021. Gudinski was also the godfather of Jimmy Barnes' daughter, Mahalia Barnes. Gudinski was a life-long supporter of the St Kilda Football Club, and once served as their vice president. Gudinski died in his sleep at his home in Melbourne on 2 March 2021, aged 68. His death was widely mourned by the Australian music community and beyond, with many artists paying tribute to his legacy and influence. A state memorial service was held at Rod Laver Arena on 24 March 2021, featuring performances by Kylie Minogue, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly, Ed Sheeran and others. A toxicology report revealed that he had died of mixed drug use, with 12 drugs including cocaine, oxycodone and morphine present in his body. The report also revealed that he had heart disease, cirrhosis and had suffered recent vertebral compression fractures.